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12/12/2008 Slava Malamud

12/12/2008   Slava Malamud

“Semin is Back, But He is Afraid to Shoot”

All last month the NHL’s most injured team tried to somehow hold onto their first place position in the Southeast division.  They tried to not think about their overflowing infirmary, or the fact that they were basically playing their farm club team and Alexander Ovechkin (who wasn’t in the best of shape himself). Even while he was scoring, the pre-season favorite himself didn’t know how they would manage. But he scored nonetheless- on a wing and a prayer, juggling goalies and believing in the power of prayer during the PK.  They could lose unceremoniously to Florida and Columbus, or they could blank Montreal. Whatever would be, would be.

It was a good thing that Ovechkin chose this time to come out of his goal scoring slump and, just like old times, become the irreplaceable guy and carry the team on his shoulders. And, of course, their friendly rivals in the weakest division in the league didn’t let them down. Playing in the same group with such friendly guys as Atlanta and Tampa, they were totally able to keep their lofty position even while undergoing major personnel losses. Why, even Carolina has rather kindly chosen this exact time of the season to wallow in wretchedness.  Basically, they were lucky, and that is not an insignificant factor when you consider that it is difficult for players to be without any protection and be released to their wives and girlfriends. Who is the next one to fall in battle?

But you won’t get far on luck alone, and consequently the gradual return of the injured players recently became the theme of the day in Washington. People were talking about defenseman Tom Poti and most of all about the Russian forward Alexander Semin. The latter went out of circulation 12 games ago, at that time the best goal scorer in the league. While healing an injured lumbar region, he lost not only his leadership, but also some credibility in the eyes of the fans. Semin’s heroics at the beginning of the season were forgotten, while everyone vividly remembered the fact that Alex has frequent issues with his health. People even started questioning whether the Siberian was overreacting to his injury and whether the trainers/manager/agents shouldn’t put a little pressure on him somehow. Oh how easy and pleasant it is to discuss someone else’s injuries which you yourself don’t have!

Semin, by the way, is one of those people who can’t be forced to change their mind. Therefore, he and he alone determined when he would return. The best team in the Eastern conference, Boston, ended up being the “lucky” ones.

IS IT VARLAMOV’S TIME?

The Bruins rolled into Washington having won five games in a row. True, one of these wins (over Detroit) was worth all the others together (over Florida, the Islanders and twice against Tampa), but the easy schedule didn’t take away Boston’s undeniable advantage. These advantages, of course, were the brilliant goalkeepers Thomas and Fernandez, an impassible defense with Chara at the head, and that terror to noggins and glass boards, Milan Lucic (the NHL leader in hits), as well as one of the best PP teams in the league. You can understand why the home team had something to be worried about, even with the reunited superline of Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin up against all that fun.

However, the first line set the tone for the game right from the very start, when Boston was on the PK. Semin and Kozlov played the puck to the left of the goalkeeper, Ovechkin caught the pass and, standing between the circles, shot a powerful low shot and Backstrom wisely had his stick in front of the net. 1-0.

The further actions of these three young guys suggested that they had become terribly bored with one another and decided to celebrate their meetings with feint competitions. In the first period this looked great (although with all the chances they got, the guys rarely shot at the net), and in the second period the mistakes started happening and they were losing the puck which, of course, was to be expected. No wonder Washington coach Bruce Boudreau at times has such an allergic reaction to the excessive youthful enthusiasm for the passing game.

In the end, the game was saved by home team goalkeeper Brent Johnson, who probably played the best game of his career. After having stopped two lethal shots in a row in the first period, Johnson hurt his already ailing hip. However, that didn’t stop him from robbing Wheeler of a sure goal and making several other miracle saves. But it did bring up the question of the goalkeeper situation on the team. If you consider that there is no more faith in Jose Theodor, isn’t it time to start thinking about Simeon Varlamov?

WHAT IS AILING OVECHKIN?

Ovechkin nonetheless didn’t leave the ice without scoring a goal, and Semin a point. At the last minute, Alexander-28 made a pass through the neutral zone to Alexander 8 and he happily went on a predicted duel with an empty net. By the way, this year Washington has not lost in regular time once in the ten games in which Ovechkin scored at least two goals.

All of this and much more about our star was extremely interesting for Miss Virginia, who visited the Capitals dressing room after the game. This very slender young lady, who appeared to be mature enough to be called “missus” (at least by Russian standards), really wanted to have her photograph taken with Alex, but for some or other reason was turned down. Ovechkin said that the photo would cause a scandal in Russia. He said this with one of those expressions on his face which could mean either extreme seriousness or total mockery. I very much hope that this brief sketch on the subject of “moral character” doesn’t cause a scandal.

As you can easily guess, Alexander answered the last question below with the exact same look on his face.

-  Was it good to have Semin back on your line again?

“Of course! To have a player like Semin is a huge plus for any team, especially when you play on the same line with him. True, we sometimes change it up a little. We’ve started playing more with Semin so he can get a feel for the puck. In general it went great, although we only made one goal into an empty net.” (Alexander is talking about playing at equal strength- S.M.)

-Would you say that with his return the team has left the dark side of injuries and bad luck?

“Yes, we are leaving it gradually. I hope to God that Feds and Green also come back soon. Then everything will be back in harmony.”

-And have you really not played with an injury?

“With an injury? Well, yeah, my stomach is aching. But I’m going to the toilet now and that too will pass.”

WHAT IS THE SIBERIAN AFRAID OF?

Now Semin usually doesn’t come out to the press at all, and he has a good excuse – he doesn’t feel like it. But this isn’t so bad, since the Russian press can simply go up to the player. Which is exactly what it did in this instance, having caught up with Alexander in the hallway.

-How are you feeling?

“I’m still afraid to shoot… I got really tired, could barely stand.”

-It didn’t seem like you were afraid of anything.

“No, I was really afraid. Something subconsciously wasn’t right. True, I did forget about that sometimes (smiling).

-Does it hurt when you shoot?

“I feel a little something… Basically I can’t shoot at full strength yet.”

-So why did you return if you can’t do it?

“No, physically I feel all right. I don’t feel any pain at all while skating. The injury was in the lower part of my back, in the lumbar region, and I’m not feeling any particular pains there anymore. But you could sit for a month or two not knowing when you would be totally ready. I decided that the confidence would return with the game.”

-So they really didn’t pressure you?

“Who would be pressuring? They themselves didn’t want me to come back unless I was ready. For me, last year was enough, when I came back too early. I simply didn’t know enough then, I just wanted to get back as soon as possible: “Well, it’s about normal, let’s go”. So I came back, and went right back out.”

-Are they giving you any anesthetics?

“No, I’m playing just as I am.”

-How did you feel coming back on the ice with Ovechkin and Backstrom?

“I felt good with them. It is nice to play with someone, when your partner wants to do something interesting. But after three weeks away, of course a little freshness isn’t enough. You want to do something beautiful, and it doesn’t work out.”

-Considering the long break, are you happy with how you played?

“Of course not. I’m absolutely stale. I couldn’t run and I couldn’t beat anyone. I only played 17 minutes and I got terribly tired. Previously I could easily play 22-23 minutes. It is a good thing that recently I skated at the practices, even without a puck. I ran like crazy. If I hadn’t done that, I would have died. But no player coming off a break like this is going to be 100% ready. I’m happy that we won the game more or less normally, and I didn’t get a new injury. I think that in due course everything will be fine.

-You returned at a very difficult time for the team: three games in four days, with difficult rivals.

“I think it is better that way. A good rival means good hockey. I like that. I think that I will get my form back after a game or two. Of course, it isn’t necessary to make any predictions.”<–>