Kuzmenko back in prime position as Canucks shake up lines after loss
The Vancouver Canucks did something very unusual for this year’s team on Friday night: they lost a game.
The Canucks are currently first place in the entire NHL. Almost everything has gone perfectly so far this year. One of the things that has not worked out is the play of winger Andrei Kuzmenko.
The right winger scored 39 goals last season, good for the team lead. This year, he has just six goals. He’s also sat out of four games as a healthy scratch, including the team’s two most recent contests.
After losing to the Dallas Stars in overtime, Kuzmenko now appears to be back in the lineup and he’s been given a great opportunity. Head coach Rick Tocchet had the winger back in the top six, skating alongside Elias Pettersson and Ilya Mikheyev, per Rink Wide’s Jeff Paterson.
Kuzmenko back with EP40 and Mikheyev at #Canhcks skate š
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) December 23, 2023
Phil Di Giuseppe was not included in this morning’s lines, according to Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor.
Last year, the combination of Pettersson and Kuzmenko was a devastating offensive force as both scored 39 goals. The team hopes that by putting the two players back together, they can find some of that magic again.
Kuzmenko also took back his spot on the team’s top power-play unit. Last season, he scored 14 goals with the man-advantage but he has just two power-play markers so far this year.
The Canucks’ president of hockey operations, Jim Rutherford, recently discussed Kuzmenko’s season thus far on a podcast.
āHe got a little bit more attention this year, coming off a terrific first year where he had 39,” Rutherford said on a recent episode of The Bob McCown Podcast. āBut heās a good player, heās a highly skilled player.”
The Canucks are preparing to take on the San Jose Sharks tonight at Rogers Arena. The puck drops for that game at 7 pm PT. The two teams have already played three times this season, with the Canucks winning two of those games, including a 10-1 beatdown in early November.