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ARLINGTON, Va. — Capitals center missed morning skate Monday for the “maintenance” of an undisclosed injury and will be a game-time decision for their contest against the Vancouver Canucks, according to a team spokesperson.
Head coach Peter Laviolette didn’t elaborate on the nature of the injury in his press conference but indicated it wasn’t something Kuznetsov picked up in over the Montreal Canadiens.
“Nothing per se against Montreal,” Laviolette said. “Just stuff we’re dealing with. Inside the meetings today we’ll make a decision.”
Kuznetsov, 30, has no goals and one assist over his first three games. Laviolette both the first line and top power play unit following the Capitals’ 0-2 start, breaking him and up after the pair played together for most of last season.
Kuznetsov then played 16:56 of ice time against Montreal without a shot on goal, though he did pick up the primary assist on an Anthony Mantha goal in the second period.
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“I thought everybody was a little bit better last game,” Laviolette said. “We got to continue to push and so Kuzy’s gonna push, the power play’s gonna push, our 5-on-5 play’s gonna push and work to get better here, so I thought it was better last game for all of us. And we’ll look to take more steps tonight.”
Puck drop between the Capitals and Canucks is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena. Darcy Kuemper (1-1, 2.55 GAA) is expected to be in net for Washington with Thatcher Demko (0-2, 3.64) going for Vancouver.
