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WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals might not win another game, let alone even dream of winning this series unless Evgeny Kuznetsov and his second line resemble the one that put fear into opposing teams in the regular season. The uber-talented 23-year-old Russian center exploded for 77 points (20-57) in 82 games this season, a strong MVP case on the team, or at least right up there with Braden Holtby, but his postseason has certainly been less than desirable. He did get a secondary assist on Marcus Johansson's power-play goal Saturday night, and there were moments where Kuznetsov flashed his dangerous offensive skill, but in the end, it was another night where the line with Johansson and Justin Williams didn't do enough. One goal and one assist for Kuznetsov in eight playoff games so far; that doesn't cut it.  "The puck is not going into the net," Kuznetsov said after Saturday night's 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. "Tough situation. You always worry about how you play, it's a team game. Our line, I just think we have to get through it and keep working hard. If we do the right things, the pucks will go in. We have to play strong and physical." You can tell he cares. But what you don't want to see is the burden of his offensive struggles weigh on him to the point he's doing things he shouldn't be. Again, in Game 2, I thought No. 92 had his moments, three shots on goal and seven shot attempts overall. But the breakthrough must come for this team to get past the Penguins. "I'm trying to play better every game," said Kuznetsov. "It's pretty tough when your line isn't going. I always want to help my team. [In Game 2], we did lots of good things but we have to score more than one goal. I know it's tough, it's the playoffs, it's a pretty good team we're playing, but we have to score more than one goal." That's where the veteran Williams will come in handy. The 2014 Conn Smythe Trophy winner is a great leader. Just ask the Los Angeles Kings how much they miss him. He doesn't have a goal yet in these playoffs, and you know that's not going to last forever. "Well, we're obviously not doing enough," Williams said after Game 2 about his line. "We challenge ourselves and certainly the coaches challenge us to be a lot better. We need to be. We had some chances [in Game 2]. [Johansson] got a goal on the power play. But I think we certainly recognize it and know we need to be better for us to win and advance." Capitals coach Barry Trotz hasn't hidden the fact he needs more from that line. And that's because he knows, deep down, they can't win this series without it. "We want to get some production from them -- that's where we can start," Trotz said Saturday night, when I asked him what he needed to see from that line. "I thought today they were better. I thought they had more battle in the game. Therefore they had some puck possession. Still, getting it to the next level, I still thought there were some turnovers in their game and when you don't have the puck, it takes away from the skill set of all three players. So, we've got to limit that." There's too much talent on this line for it not to reawaken. In the meantime, watching video and simply talking with each other about what they should be doing better is a way to help get out of it. "I'm always trying to develop my game and go to the next level, of course I'm always watching video and talking with my coaches and my line- and teammates," Kuznetsov said. Added Williams: "Sure, we're doing everything that you would do. Watching shifts, going over it and talking about it as much as we can. It'll come, we're working." The Caps have to hope so.
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