WASHINGTON - Evgeny Kuznetsov knows little of the Game 7 hell his Washington Capitals have been through over the past seven years.
He knows little of the pressure the 16 teammates who had been part of big Caps defeats must have felt the longer Monday’s Game 7 at the Verizon Center went.
But the 22-year-old Russian rookie now knows what it feels like to score a big goal when it matters most.
With 7:18 remaining in the third period and showing the patience some of his veteran teammates lacked, Kuznetsov skated, waited and skated some more then eventually roofed the puck high above a sprawled Jaroslav Halak in the New York Islanders net.