Newly acquired center helping to settle Semin
Capitals center Jason Arnott has skated alongside plenty of skilled players during his 17 years in the NHL. He has been on Stanley Cup champions and playoff contenders for much of his time in the league. But Arnott says Alexander Semin ranks among the best he’s ever played with.
“It’s been fun. He’s an unbelievable player,” said Arnott, who was acquired by Washington at the NHL’s trade deadline Feb. 28 and has primarily centered the second line with Semin on his right wing. “Sometimes it’s hard to read off him on what he does. But for the most part we’re just talking a lot and communicating and just trying to get to know each other.”
At 36, Arnott seems better suited to a third-line role at this point in his career rather than flying up and down the ice with an offensive dynamo such as Semin. But the two have meshed well so far. Arnott has a goal and two assists, and Semin has three goals and two assists in these five games.
As an added bonus, the vocal Arnott appears willing to let Semin know when his otherworldly tricks are better left in the bag. At times Semin can coast through a game with little notice yet still win it by himself with a flash of brilliance. He did exactly that Sunday night with an overtime goal against Florida. On Monday night at Tampa Bay, Semin produced maybe his best game of the season. It was a 60-minute effort that included physical play, energy and a wonderful game-tying tally late in the third period.
But sometimes those moments of gold come at a price — as when Semin’s toe drags fail and lead to turnovers the other way. Arnott isn’t willing to let those things slide because they can cost a team in the end.
| Caps notes |
| » Washington (38-20-10, 86 points) faces Southeast Division rival Carolina (31-26-10, 72 points) at Verizon Center at 7 p.m. on Friday. |
| » The Caps have won six games in a row and nine of 11 overall. They have beaten Carolina all four meetings this season. |
| » The Hurricanes entered play Thursday in ninth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. |
“That’s when in certain times of the game if [Semin] does that you’ve got to go and talk to him about that and tell him to keep it deep and just communicate with him,” Arnott said. “I don’t know how many times in the past guys have communicated, but he seems to talk on the bench and know what’s going on. If you can just relay to him on the odd time when not to go one-on-one with a guy late in games, it’ll make him that much better.”
Spoken like a true captain, which Arnott was for four years in Nashville with the Predators before returning to his Stanley Cup roots in New Jersey this season. He is playing a role similar to what legendary center Sergei Fedorov provided after a trade deadline deal in 2008. In two seasons with Washington, Fedorov — in the twilight of a Hall of Fame career — became a mentor to his younger teammates, especially his countrymen Semin and Alex Ovechkin.
“When [Arnott] first came here, the one thing I thought is he could talk to [Semin],” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said. “And there was definitely a respect before he got here because of what he’s accomplished in this game. So maybe he’s listening, and maybe Jason is just the right tonic for him.”
