The Calgary Flames are set to host the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight in what will be a very emotional game for both sides as the Flames will be honouring the late Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.
In other news, Andrei Kuzmenko will sit as a healthy scratch tonight for the first time this season, as his very poor play as of late has certainly caught the attention of head coach Ryan Huska.
Kuzmenko has not been good enough
It is just a plain fact that Kuzmenko has not been nearly good enough as of late for the Flames, and being held out of the lineup tonight was certainly warranted. Kuzmenko has not scored since October, he only has nine points in 25 games this year and has been a non-factor in the lineup for a while now.
He has been getting plenty of ice time and offensive opportunities all season long and he has done nothing with it. Sure, he has been unlucky at times, but when you are an all offence, no defence type of player, you need to produce on the offensive sides of things, Kuzmenko has not done that.
It is unfortunate because he was so much fun to watch last season after he came over from the Vancouver Canucks and he looked like he would have been someone to unlock the Flames offence, and then hopefully fetch a nice return for the Flames at the trade deadline. Well, neither of those things is really going according to plan. Guess it is a good thing the Flames never signed him to an extension.
A wake-up call
Hopefully, this can be the wake-up call that Kuzmenko is in need of to get his game going again. We have seen flashes of what he can do, but he has not been able to put it all together this season.
With Jakob Pelletier and Walker Deuhr recently being re-called (and who both will dress tonight), there has to be a sense of urgency in Kuzmenko’s game moving forward, or he might be in danger of losing his spot to the younger and hungrier players the Flames have.
Only time will tell, but this is a huge message that is being sent to Kuzmenko.
