Evgeny Kuznetsov coming under fire for making a mockery of shootout once again

Two goals in the final two minutes for the Carolina Hurricanes helped them steal an extra point from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Canes got two goals from Sebastian Aho to tie it before Jake Guentzel won the game in a shootout, much to the dismay of Leaf fans who thought the team had the game in the bag, up 4-2 with 2 minutes to go.

Guentzel was the only player to score in the shootout for either team, but it was teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov who became the talk of the shootout once again. Kuznetsov took more than 20 seconds to complete his attempt, weaving side to side across the blueline before coming to almost a complete stop while stick handling, much like he did in his infamous slow shootout attempt with the Capitals.


The crowd knew right from the time he jumped over the boards what they were about to witness and rightfully booed him. Not only was the crowd displeased, but Sportsnet's Craig Simpson also blasted Kuznetsov, saying that it was painful and Chris Cuthbert said he could get a delay of game penalty. The Canes broadcast team called him molasses due to how slow he was skating.


When asked in the past about it, Kuznetsov has said he doesn't care, he is trying to help his team, but when you act like your controller dies, almost come to a complete stop and the opposing team's goalie doesn't have to move at all, it creates a boring atmosphere for fans and becomes a problem.

Kuznetsov's shootout attempt was almost worse than Nikita Kucherov's effort at the NHL's Skills Competition during All-Star weekend. While that kind of embarrassing effort may fly under the radar in Washington and Carolina, when you're in Toronto, it gets criticized to the fullest extent.