No idea how long Dale Hunter will stick with forward Alex Semin on the fourth line. Maybe it will be for just a shift or two. Maybe he sends a message that lasts the whole game. Maybe Semin is hurting and his minutes are going to be limited for that reason. Hunter insists that’s not the case, though Semin was chatting intently with head trainer Greg Smith on the bench before the morning skate.
But no question Hunter also wasn’t happy with Semin’s overall play on Saturday in Game 1 against the New York Rangers, including a pair of penalties. So he will start alongside Keith Aucoin and Mike Knuble – a little bit of accountability that could go out the window if Washington falls behind in the first period. We can’t really talk with Semin about any of this so let’s go to Alex Ovechkin, who knows his teammate as well as anyone.
“[Semin is] not a rookie. He knows that he can’t take that penalty, can’t take that kind of penalty that he take in the first [period],” Ovechkin said. “Of course, he takes a penalty, of course everybody thinks, ‘Jeez, why I have to do that?’ You feel bad for your penalty guys to kill the penalty while you sit on the benches. You’re like, ‘Please don’t score a goal.’ It’s not a good feeling. You can ask [Jason Chimera] how he feels when he take that penalty in Game 7 [against Boston] with two minutes left in game.”
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