Nashville — It was a play that could ultimately define the Nashville Predators’ season. It was a move so shocking that hockey fans had to watch it over and over again just to make sure their eyes didn’t deceive them. It was a decision that led to a benching the next game.
Sergei Kostitsyn’s ill-timed blunder in Sunday night’s game against Edmonton was costly. In a tied game, one-on-one midway through the third period, Kostitsyn had the puck bounce over his stick while playing the point on the power play. Instead of backchecking on a two-on-one, he went to the bench for a line change. The Oilers scored seconds later and won the game 3-2.
If you haven’t seen the play by now, here it is:
As a result of the play, Kostitsyn was benched by head coach Barry Trotz for Tuesday’s road trip finale, another loss, in Columbus. When asked by The Tennessean’s Josh Cooper Tuesday morning if Kostitsyn would play, Trotz emphatically stated, “Absolutely not. That’s just accountability as a coach to the group that you have to be accountable.”
This isn’t the first time the Predators have been frustrated by Kostitsyn’s play. In the past they’ve lobbied for him to shoot the puck more, which still hasn’t gotten through to him. Kostitsyn has just 20 shots on goal in 28 games, including three shots in the last nine games.
In a season where the team has been offensively challenged and decimated by injuries, Kostitsyn hasn’t generated any offence whatsoever. Though he hasn’t been a liability defensively (sans Sunday), the 26-year-old has 11 points in 28 games.
The Predators simply need more from him, but are they expecting too much?
When Kostitsyn was a restricted free agent last offseason, the Predators re-signed him to a two-year, $6 million contract. This came on the heels of back-to-back solid seasons where Kostitsyn thrived on one-year deals just trying to stay in the NHL. The Predators gave him that opportunity and he succeeded. He tallied 50 points in his first season with the Predators, 43 the next and earned a two-year contract as a result.
Does he now have a sense of comfort that he didn’t have before? Did the Predators simply squeeze everything out of him that they could have the last two seasons since being acquired from Montreal?
This is a player that had red flags before arriving in Nashville and was practically scooped up off the scrap heap by Predators GM David Poile. They didn’t give up much to acquire him and have benefited from a lot better results from Kostitsyn than anyone could have expected.
Kostitsyn also hasn’t been the same point producer ever since the team acquired his brother, Andrei Kostitsyn, at last February’s trade deadline. Sergei had 36 points in 57 games in 2011-12 before the trade. In 55 games since the trade, including the playoffs, Kostitsyn has been ineffective with just 20 points.
A direct correction? Who knows?
The fact remains, Kostitsyn is vastly underachieving compared to what the Predators need and expect from him.
Will being scratched in two of the last three games spark the forward? If it doesn’t and his offensive struggles continue, the Predators will have to wonder if they made a mistake going back to well one too many times.
