Flames forward, Nikita Kuzmenko, is experiencing a significant slump in his scoring this season. With only one goal so far, his coach, Ryan Huska, is urging him to take more shots and find his offensive rhythm.
The 28-year-old pending unrestricted free agent is stuck on one goal so far this season, a power-play marker back on Oct. 15, the fourth game of the season. Kuzmenko’s last even-strength goal was back on April 14. He is on pace for two goals this season after scoring 22 last season and 39 with the Canucks in 2022-23. Kuzmenko’s shooting rate has plummeted this season and he’s been a healthy scratch multiple times, given he’s not used on the penalty kill or in key defensive situations.
He’s gone five straight games without a shot on goal and is averaging 1.03 shots per game, well below the 1.68 he averaged last season, when he scored 22 goals. His shooting percentage has also plummeted, from 18.18 per cent last season to 3.33 per cent this year. Flames head coach Ryan Huska spoke after practice on Monday and said he wants to see Kuzmenko’s shot volume increase and also emphasized that the right winger needs to put himself in positions to shoot more often. “We all want him to shoot more because we know the type of shot that he does have,” Huska said. “There was a night where he had two goals and he took a shot just inside the blueline and scored. I wouldn’t consider that a high-danger chance from there, but he’s got a very hard shot where, oftentimes, when it hits the net, there’s something that’s going to come off it, whether it happens to find its way in or if there’s a rebound for someone else. “For me, when a guy is struggling to put the puck in the net when that is part of his game, I would revert to shot volume and that’s where we do push him.” Kuzmenko, the club’s third highest-paid forward, admitted he’s a ways off from rediscovering his form. His nine minutes and 49 seconds of ice time in Vegas on Sunday was the third-lowest of his career. “I hope,” he said, when asked if he feels like the goals are clos
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