Andrei Kuzmenko faced a challenging return to the Calgary Flames lineup, contributing to a 4-1 defeat against the Nashville Predators. After being a healthy scratch in seven of the previous eight games, Kuzmenko's comeback was marred by two penalties that led to power-play goals for Ryan O’Reilly. Coach Ryan Huska criticized the team's penalty kill, which ranks among the worst in the league, as they allowed goals on both of Kuzmenko's infractions.

The Flames have struggled significantly with their penalty kill, failing to stop power plays in six consecutive games. This has become a critical issue as they vie for a playoff spot, trailing Vancouver for the second wild-card berth in the Western Conference. Kuzmenko's performance has also been under scrutiny, as he has only scored once in 30 games this season, a stark contrast to his previous scoring rates.