SEATTLE — After 42 goals in 100 National Hockey League games — but none in his last nine — talented winger Andrei Kuzmenko will be a healthy scratch Friday night for the Vancouver Canucks.
A 39-goal scorer last season when the Russian would have been a runaway Calder Trophy winner were he not one year too old for the award, Kuzmenko, 27, will be scratched for the second time in his short NHL career when the Canucks visit the Seattle Kraken.
Kuzmenko is stuck at three goals in 19 games in his sophomore season, pointless in his last three games and finished minus-three (with one shot on net) in the Canucks’ 5-2 road loss Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche.
“I think his mind, he wants to score so bad, he’s forgetting about those other parts of the game,” head coach Rick Tocchet said Friday when he and Kuzmenko were the last two people off the ice after the morning skate at Climate Pledge Arena. “So sometimes you have to reset as a player. Like I said, it’s his second year. It’s not like he’s a seven-year guy.
“You’ve got to make sure that you participate in the system stuff, but also be creative (offensively). Hashmarks down, I hope he spins around and does his thing. But when it comes to away from the puck, maybe a little better forecheck and stuff to create turnovers. Those are the little things that we — I’m not just saying him — that’s what playoff teams do. You’ve got to make sure that you participate. It’s just not about a waiting game, not moving your feet, because you’ll wait all game for the puck.”
Kuzmenko’s healthy scratch comes one year and 11 days after previous Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau sat him out in Boston.
After Kuzmenko chose the Canucks ahead of other NHL teams before last season and signed a one-year contract as a coveted free agent out of the Kontinental Hockey League, the forward’s 39-goal campaign earned him a two-season, $11-million-US extension.
He has 14 points in 19 games this fall, spent almost entirely beside Elias Pettersson on the first line and on the Canucks’ top power-play unit. Kuzmenko is expected to be replaced tonight by speedy, depth forward Sam Lafferty alongside Pettersson and Ilya Mikheyev. Lafferty has four goals this season.
“I think Petey’s. . . doing great defensively,” Tocchet told reporters. “I think he’s not getting the puck enough. And he’ll tell you, he’s got to move his feet more. Like he’ll tell you, he’s got to be better. But I still think we can play more of a give-and-go game with Petey — give him the puck, get through the middle of the ice, cause some problems and let Petey have some more time. I think sometimes that line — and I’m not blaming Petey — it’s a little too perimeter. I think we need some more stuff through the middle of the ice. That will help Petey out.”
Tocchet rejected conjecture that Pettersson is playing through an injury.
The centre is among NHL scoring leaders but has managed just one goal and four points in the last seven games while going minus-eight.
“No, he’s fine,” the coach said. “I think it’s a chemistry thing right now and we’ve got to reset that chemistry. When you have a talented player like Petey, you want to get him the puck and you want to go through the middle. I think we’ve got to get maybe that half-second more for Petey (with the puck). Don’t get me wrong, he has to participate, too. But I just like that little reset and I think we’ll be fine.”
Earlier, Tocchet said: “Quite frankly, we’ve got to get that line going a little bit. It’s been struggling. So maybe putting up a guy like Sam Lafferty may create some turnovers, help out on the forecheck and help that line.”
Tocchet said Canuck coaches and senior management had a “roundtable” discussion about Kuzmenko before the head coach made the call to sit him. Tocchet said he considered doing it for Wednesday’s game in Denver, where Kuzmenko’s failure to maintain his defensive position in the slot contributed to the Avalanche’s winning goal.
With Kuzmenko out and Lafferty promoted, Canuck forward lines are expected to be: Lafferty-Pettersson-Mikheyev; Anthony Beauvillier-J.T. Miller-Brock Boeser; Dakota Joshua-Teddy Blueger-Conor Garland; and Phil Di Giuseppe-Nils Aman-Nils Hoglander.
Defencemen Mark Friedman and Tyler Myers, who both left Wednesday’s game due to injuries, skated fully Friday morning and will be available to Tocchet against the Kraken.