He had one of the biggest goals in Capitals history when he scored in overtime of Game 6 of the 2018 second round to eliminate the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and help Washington advance to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 1998. Kuznetsov followed that with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in seven games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and a four-assist performance in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Following an NHL career-high 83 points (27 goals, 56 assists) in 79 regular-season games in 2017-18, Kuznetsov’s production wavered. He had 78 points (24 goals, 54 assists) in 79 games in 2021-22 before falling to 55 points (12 goals, 43 assists) in 81 games the following season, when the Capitals missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014. He had 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 43 games before being traded last season and entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program twice, most recently on Feb. 5. When he was cleared to return on March 2 he was loaned to Hershey of the American Hockey League.
Kuznetsov scored the opening goal and assisted on the winning goal in Carolina’s 3-1 victory against the New York Islanders in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at PNC Arena and finished with six points (four goals, two assists) in 10 postseason games.
Before joining the NHL, Kuznetsov won a silver medal with Russia at the 2009 IIHF U18 World Championship and a gold (2011) and silver (2012) at the IIHF World Junior Championship. He also won gold at the 2014 IIHF World Championship.
