On Frozen Blog

Greg Wyshynski, Washington correspondent for The Fourth Period, is one of the most enjoyable and insightful folks in town with whom to take in a hockey game. Last week I had the pleasure of his company at the Islanders’ game, and in the midst of another failed Caps’ power play he asked me if I thought that Alexander Semin’s absence from the lineup was decidedly detrimental to the Caps’ man advantage. “Semin,” I told Greg, “is the difference between this power play ranking 25th or 12th in the league.”

I may have slightly overstated Semin’s impact, and last night’s 0-for-4 showing while a man up against Tampa in the Caps’ 5-3 victory doesn’t appear to offer prima facie evidence of a potent power play with Semin back on it. But don’t be fooled. It sure looked different, didn’t it?

Imagine the Caps’ power play unit entering a robust pumpkin in a Halloween pumpkin carving contest. For the past three weeks, the Caps’ pumpkin has sat uncarved and unilluminated on a shelf, its suggested visage traced out in black marker as jovial as opposed to menacing. For the purposes of this contest, hosted by Wes Craven, the Caps’ unit seeks to make a menacing jack-o-lantern. Tom Poti carves out the top. Michael Nylander might chisel out a set of frightening eyes. Alexander Ovechkin would follow with a creepy-wicked mouth. Alexander Semin brings the finishing light within. It offers a harrowing red glow.

A potent power play first needs a playmaking catalyst. The Caps have had that this season in Michael Nylander. It needs finishing skill as well. Alexander Ovechkin certainly brings that. It must also have competency at the points. The jury’s still out here, but Tom Poti and Mike Green and others on the Caps’ blueline are putting up a healthy tally of points in five-on-five play, and Poti’s career has more often than not brought healthy power play production. The arsenal in Green’s game surely suggests he can help generate production on an effective power play unit. So far this season, the Caps have missed a complimentary finisher opposite AO. It’s been a one-side-of-the-ice threat. That’s relatively easy to defend.

Great or at least reasonably effective power play units boast scoring threats on both sides of the offensive zone. Semin obviously brings that compliment to his countryman Ovechkin. But Glen Hanlon has also deployed Semin on the power play point. The Caps haven’t had him in either role much of this season to date. Some in hockey (Craig Laughlin comes to mind) regard Semin as possessing hockey’s most lethal wrist shot down low. Now think back to the 5-on-3 man advantages the Caps have had thus far, all of them without Semin. Think that wicked wrister might have helped out there?

Here are five qualities to the Caps’ power play that, from my vantage, Semin helps facilitate:

• The addition of a world-class finisher who requires precious little time and space to produce in lethal fashion;
• The arrival of crisp, cross-ice and often creative passes between Ovechkin and him, among others, adding a horizontal threat to the attack;
• Depth in quality personnel at the point;
• With Semin and Ovechkin working the half boards, the creation of more open lanes for the point personnel, as PK units understandably are drawn lower in the box to try and check the superstars;
• An altogether different realm of confidence in the entire unit.

A scary-good power play is within this team’s potential with its current personnel, I wager. It’s a nice time of year to anticipate its arrival.