Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov out for game against Flyers due to illness

The Washington Capitals have announced that Evgeny Kuznetsov will not play in tonight’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers due to an unspecified illness. This will be the fourth game of the season that Kuznetsov will not play in for the Capitals. He last played on Sunday night when the Capitals defeated the the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2.

Kuznetsov has been mostly healthy over the last few seasons, playing 79 and 81 games in 2021-22 and 2022-23, respectively. He has two years remaining on the eight-year contract he signed with the Capitals that took effect in the 2017-18 season. So far this year, Kuznetsov has scored five goals and 11 points in 22 games. He is tie with Aliaksei Protas for sixth on the team in scoring.

The Capitals have been an interesting team to watch this year. When you look at their roster, they look like a rebuilding team. Many of their players have had underwhelming seasons, including future Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin who has only scored five goals this year.

The only aspect of the team that really impresses is goaltending. Charlie Lindgren has shown he can be a dependable goalie and he has the stats to back it up. So far, Lindgren has an impressive 2.34 GAA and .931 save percentage. However, against all odds the Capitals find themselves occupying the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference with a record of 14-8-3. Whether they can keep it up all year or not will be interesting to see play out.

There have been a lot of colds and flues going around Canada and the United States, including COVID-19, so it’s possible Kuznetsov has been under the weather due to one of these ailments. Over his career, Kuznetsov has scored 170 goals and 562 points in 702 games, all with the Capitals.