Kuznetsov A Healthy Scratch For Hurricanes On Anniversary Of Historic OT Winner For Capitals vs. Penguins In 2018 Cup Run

On the six-year anniversary of the biggest goal of his career, former Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov will be off the ice as he's a surprise late scratch for the Carolina Hurricanes in their second-round Game 2 against the New York Rangers.

Kuznetsov did not take warmups and is not listed on the roster report, as Max Comtois will skate in his place and make his playoff debut.

Per ESPN's Emily Kaplan, he is a healthy scratch.

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Over the course of Caorlina's playoff run, Kuznetsov has been centering the fourth line and helping bolster the Hurricanes' second power play. They currently trail their series against the Rangers 1-0 after a 4-3 loss on Sunday. New York is coming off a 4-0 sweep of the Capitals in the opening round.

Through six playoff games so far, he has two goals and two assists for four points, as he's managed a goal and assist in two of his postseason outings so far. In Game 1 against the Rangers, he skated 13:02 minutes and was held off the scoresheet.

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On this day in 2018, Kuznetsov played in Game 6 for the Capitals in the second round against the Pittsburgh Penguins, breaking away and scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to finally push Washington past Pittsburgh and through to the Eastern Conference Final.

D.C. would go on to win its first Stanley Cup in franchise history, and Kuznetsov would finish with the league lead in playoff scoring that season with 32 points in 24 appearances.