Photo credit: Evan Vucci

Troy Brouwer’s return to the score sheet for the first time since March 30th came in three parts. First was the power play goal, a zippy shot from the slot set up by Mike Ribeiro. Then came the empty-netter, in spite of Alex Semin’s cross-check, sealing the deal with only seconds to spare. And finally came the trash talk: Troy Brouwer letting ex-teammate and international man of mystery Alex Semin know what he thought of — well something, I guess. Lipreading is not our bag. If lipreading is your bag, give it a try in the comments below.

Alex Semin lashing out while trailing behind a shooter? I’m shocked. Shocked! /Casablanca

No really: what is Brouwer saying there? It could be anything, as these guys have a bit of a history. Of all Semin’s ex-teammates, Brouwer was first to say how over the break-up he already was. “It was tough to lose his scoring ability when he wanted to play,”  Brouwer told the Washington Post. “But all in all, I think we’ve been doing well without him.”

Six wins in a row, leading the division, and smiling all the way to the postseason. Yeah. Troy is right.

GIFs by welshhockeyfan. Additional reporting by Ian Oland.

Way back in November, Igor and I spoke to Dmitry Orlov’s best friend Alex Burmistrov in Hershey. When we asked Burmistrov about his friendship with his fellow Russian, the Jets forward said, “I don’t think either one of us ever hit another when we played against each other.”

Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin do not have such an agreement.

With fifteen minutes left in the second period of Sasha Bowl IV, Ovechkin and Semin raced for a puck along the boards. Semin did not make it there.

Here’s a closer shot of it. (GIF by welshhockeyfan)

With no regard for his bff, Ovechkin totally counter-hit Semin to the ice and snatched up the loose puck.

The hit was so bone-rattling that Semin later had to dig deep into the crevices of his Sashaness to make sure everything was in its correct place.

GIF by welshhockeyfan

The Caps beat the Canes three out of four times this season. They’re two points out of first place and .500 again. In addition to rocking his best friend, Ovechkin is now rocking the rest of the NHL. He’s third in goals and first in shots. Good stuff.

Photo credit: Gregg Forwerck

Breaking news, hot off the presses.

From the Canes:

Canes Agree to Terms with Semin on Extension

RALEIGH, NC – Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with left wing Alexander Semin (SEH-min) on a five-year contract extension. The deal will pay Semin $7 million per season through 2017-18.
“We’re very happy to retain Alex,” said Rutherford. “Alex is an elite player and has been a major contributor to the Hurricanes having a very strong top line.”

Semin, 29, is in his eighth NHL season and his first with Carolina, after signing as a free agent on July 26, 2012. The Krasnoyarsk, Russia, native leads the Hurricanes in assists (22), and ranks second in points (30) and plus/minus rating (+18) in 30 games this season. Semin (6’2”, 209 lbs.) is tied for 11th among all NHL skaters in assists this season, and tied for 10th in plus/minus rating. He ranks first among Hurricanes forwards in time on ice per game (20:39) and has spent the majority of the season skating alongside Hurricanes captain Eric Staal.

Semin has totaled 205 goals and 233 assists (438 points) in 499 career NHL games with the Washington Capitals and the Hurricanes. He netted his 200th career NHL goal on Feb. 11 against the New York Islanders. Washington’s first-round selection, 13th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Semin is fifth in the NHL in plus/minus over the last five seasons (+110), behind only Henrik Sedin, Zdeno Chara, Alexandre Burrows and Daniel Sedin.

Photo credit: Rob Carr

Mark Gandler is always good for a pot stirring. As an agent for Alex Semin, Gandler has rarely hesitated to drop a bombastic statement about his client or his critics. With Semin moved to the Carolina Hurricanes, playing pretty well, and pulling in a cool prorated $7 million for 48 games of work, Gandler must have figured it was his time to speak. In an interview with Sovetsky Sport’s Pavel Lysenkov, Gandler talks about how great Semin is doing in Raleigh, how underappreciated he was in DC, and why the Washington Capitals are so bad this year.

(Hint: Not enough Russians)

Igor Kleyner has your translation.

Why do so many Russian players look so unremarkable this season? Is it because of their KHL efforts?

Normally you start the regular season in the NHL in October. By February there is terrible fatigue. You can’t wait for the season to be over. It’s so unbearable, the results don’t matter. They call it “the dog days” in America.

Why then there are no dog days for Alexander Semin in Carolina?

The people who work for the Hurricanes are direct. If they don’t like something, they’ll come to you and say it. They won’t whisper behind your back and point fingers. The team leader Eric Staal is a great person, and so is his brother Jordan. The goalie Ward, LaRose… they have personable relationships in the locker room. That’s why Semin is comfortable.

In Washington, they didn’t notice all the good things Sash was doing. They only saw his mistakes. But every hockey player makes mistakes. They are not robots. Everybody in Carolina is positive. Semin knows if he plays well defensively, they’ll praise him. The Capitals saw it as a given.

What’s happening in Washington? They are in 13^th place in the East.

You need certain chemistry. But with the Capitals, the last few years their backbone is third line players. They can do very well in a few games. But when you don’t have such skillful players as Fleischmann or Semin, the style of the game changes.

True, this season Washington acquired Mike Ribeiro. But the backbone is still the same. Also, the injures hit: Laich, Green… The goalies didn’t always carry them. If they’d kept Varlamov, maybe they would be playing better. Although Holtby is quite a strong goaltender – mentally, and technically as well.

I think they will improve. They are probably strong enough to be the 8^th team in the East, to make playoffs. But it’s difficult to catch up when many games are worth three points, but a win only gets you two. Also, because of the lockout, all games are within the conference.

Is it possible for the Capitals to trade Ovechkin?

The team’s problem is not Ovechkin. Such a trade can relieve the pressure, but the team will not get better from it.

Tuesday morning at 7:25, former Capital Alex Semin got his wake-up call courtesy of Elliot in the Morning. EITM’s resident mama Diane quarterbacked the call, gently chiding Semin for sleeping through morning practice. After a few monosyllabic grunts, Semin hung up. Twelve hours later, he set up Joe Corvo for the game-winning goal. #BlameEITM.

Artist rendition of Semin answering the phone.

Elliot’s escalating apologies for Semin’s name are maybe the best part. Diane and Semin finally speak at the 4:45 mark.

Semin: Allo’

Diane: Sasha!

Semin: Whaddup.

Diane: Sasha?

Semin: Whaddup.

Diane: Hey, man. You’re late for morning practice! Are you going to get up?

Semin: Who’s that?

Diane: Serena.

Semin: Who??

Diane: Serena. From the front office. Come on. We need to get ready for the morning skate. Did you forget to set your alarm ahead because of the time change?

[Breathing, audible confusion]

Diane: Are you there?

[Semin hangs up]

After conferring with expert Russian person Igor Kleyner, we have concluded that Semin spoke no Russian. That was all English or possibly some kind of glottal-snap-and-grunt-based language that Sasha speaks only among his confidantes.

It probably didn’t achieve the intended outcome, but valiant effort. Way to go, class.

Photos and GIFs from the lovely and talented welshhockeyfan.

On Tuesday, Alex Semin finally earned a point against his former team, an assist on Joe Corvo’s first period goal. But one nightmare shift in the second period threatened to spoil Sasha’s whole night.

Right after a faceoff,  Alex Ovechkin shot the puck, the blade of his stick catching Semin flush in the cheek during his follow-through. Ovi’s ex-BFF fell to the ice like a sack of vodka. When Semin got up, he had a bright red mark on the right side of his face.

Then, just 30 seconds later, Semin took another high stick to the face. Braden Holtby passed the puck to Cameron Schilling, who was curling behind the net. The Holtbeast gave Semin some more sweet chin music as he skated by.

(Maybe it was intentional…)

Semin moaned on the ice, apparently injured. That second hit drew blood, and Semin required some attention from the trainers once he returned to the Carolina bench. But Sasha didn’t miss a shift, because he’s a gosh-darn hockey player after all.

Way to make Semin feel welcome, guys.

Photo credit: @SuzanneKang

For the first time in 290 days, Alex Semin, the 5th greatest goal scorer in Washington Capitals history, was back in his old barn. Now wearing visitors white, the 28-year-old forward was booed each time he touched the puck. Despite four shots on goal, Semin finished the game without a goal.

Here are my 28 favorite Semin-related photos from the night.

Photo credit: @misspuskar

Photo credit: @tripptracy

Photo credit: @k_wattelet

Photo credit: @wesjohnsonvoice

Photo credit: @puckbuddys

Photo credit: @wyshynski

Photo credit: @AllisonGyovai

Photo credit: @MissPuskar

Photo credit: @alexisrowland

Photo credit: @carolinacanes

Photo credit: @clydeorama

Photo credit: @pmullll_

Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

Photo credit: @ianoland

Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

Photo credit: @ice_chip

Photo credit: @thehornguy

Photo credit: @theGREATK8

Photo credit: @RFCapsMoustache

Photo credit: @TheBigYoush

Photo credit: @Bagace

Photo credit: @hannahcane30

Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

Photo credit: Alex Brandon

Photo credit: @swhyno

Photo credit: @ianoland

Photo credit: @makeyagoMADS

Photo credit: @ianoland

“I knew you were trouble when you walked in…”

Happy Sasha. (Photo credit: @megab23)

Ahead of tonight’s reunion game against the Caps, Alex Semin sat down with Carolina Hurricanes color guy Tripp Tracy for a two-part English interview. It’s totally awkward.

For those worrying Tripp would nail Semin with incisive, hard-hitting questions like “Are your shoes comfortable?“, you may now relax. Instead, Tracy tossed up softballs like “What do you think of your teammates?” and “Do you enjoy Carolina?”

Hey, you guys don’t think there was any collusion between Tracy and Carolina PR following Troy Brouwer’s unkind words, do you? Naw! Tracy probably came up with “your teammates are clearly the most important relationship to you” all on his own.

With immense thanks to welshhockeyfan and Tom Kaz, videos and transcript are below.

Part One

Alex, I know it’s been a few games, but boy does that jersey look good on you. And I think that’s a perfect place to start. How have you enjoyed Carolina?

In Carolina? I like in Carolina. Everybody support me. I like fans in this area. Everyone is good.

In watching you, your teammates are clearly the most important relationship to you. They have loved you. Talk to me about getting to know your teammates.

[Odd noise that sounds like Ahhh] I say before. Everybody support me and help me. Doesn’t matter where on the ice. Off ice. When we’re on the road, guys tell me go with us for dinner. I like these guys.

I want to ask you about one guy in particular. As soon as we landed in Washington, Eric Staal — your captain, your linemate — he sent me a message that said “I’m so excited. I wanna win this game for Alex.” He’s enjoyed you so much. Talk about getting to know him.

I’m very excited too to be stay here. Cuz I play before heres seven years. It’s very important for me this game tonight. I wanna wins this game too.

What have you liked most about Eric?

He’s good guy. He support me every time on ice. He’s well spent. He wants to pass it to me. I like play here.

Part Two

I want to get to know you a little bit. Your relationship with your father who was a great player in his day. He was a forward like you. I believe he was your coach. Can you tell us a little about your dad?

Yeah. He’s good player when he was younger. He support me every time. No [laughs] he suggest me every time. Sometimes after a game, I call him and we talk about a game when I play well, when I play bad. So we talk to after game [about] how I play. He… help me. [nods]

You must stay up pretty late with the time-change in Krasnoyarsk.

It’s 13 hours.

Baby.

[I stay up until] 11, 10 PM.

Anybody that watches you says “Man, he’s a smart hockey player.” Does that come from your dad? They talk about you. They say “you are a smart hockey player. You think the game well.” Does that come from your dad?

Yeah. Probably.

Everybody says it. [Head Coach] Kirk Muller says,”You know what? He’s such a professional.” He hates to lose. Can you talk about Kirk Muller?

I just work on myself. I don’t know how to explain this. I like working with Kirk. He’s a good coach.

Before I let you go, when you’re training in the summer, is it true you train with a ski team?

Ski team, yeah. The coach for the ski team have a group. And the young guys — same like me — starts training with this guy in June and practice two months with these guys.

Whatever you’re doing there, you’re doing right. What are your hobbies when you’re not training?

Fishing. And I like other water sports like jet skis in summer.

We’ll try to get some video of that. Alex I wanna try something because you’ve taught me a lot of Russian. But you didn’t teach me this. This will be my best try. And then I’ll translate. [Tripp speaks absolutely terrible Russian.] Alex, we’re proud you scored your 200th NHL goal as a Carolina Hurricane.

[inaudible] I really happy to scoring Carolina 200 goals.

We’re very happy to have you here. Good luck.

So… Frost/Nixon, right? And how much does it burn to hear him say “I like play here” after he said the SAME THING to us?!

You’ve all seen Troy Brouwer’s comments about Alex Semin. Brouwer echoed Matt Bradley, David Steckel, Michal Neuvirth, Pierre McGuire, Marc Crawford, and sarcastic Peter Hassett: Semin is a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get from that enigmatic Sasha Minor.

We’re not here to re-litigate it, even if we have minor quibbles about the substance of his argument.

The fact remains: Semin is back in town, and we all gotta pretend like we’re not emotional basketcases for the next few hours.

It is entirely possible that around around 8:28 pm Alex Semin will rip a filthy wrister over Braden Holtby’s left shoulder. It is entirely possible that his celebration will involve dropping his stick, pointing at Brouwer, and then playing an imaginary djembe. We just have to accept that this may happen.

Like Peter said in June, Semin was a big part of this team. However you choose to characterize that part, it’s true. And tonight the Capitals are going to have to move on– not with words but with  deeds.

So… Ovechkin-Semin open-ice check a la Jagr ? Semin hat trick? Brouwer-Semin fight at opening faceoff? What do you think?

Now please peruse our favorite memories of Alex Semin. You know you want to.

Photo credit: Jamie Kellner.

During Saturday night’s game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning, Alex Semin took a puck to the face.

Relax: he’s fine, and his face is mostly in tact.

Photo credit: Jamie Kellner

It all happened during the second period. About six minutes in, a puck hit Alex Semin in the side of his face. He fell to the ice, and play was stopped. After a few minutes in the quiet room, Semin returned to the ice, seemingly unscathed except for a puck-sized bruise on his right cheek. Considering Semin’s long-standing reputation as a “soft” player, here’s some striking evidence to the contrary.

Carolina ended up losing to Tampa by a score of 5 to 2. Semin earned four penalty minutes on the night– a trip and a high-stick— and was held without a point. Still, Semin is a positive possession player on a decent team. Carolina is currently second in the Southeast, two points behind Tampa with one fewer game played, and four points ahead of the Capitals.

Carolina comes to Washington on Tuesday night. Semin is expected to play. It’ll be his first game in Verizon Center since April 5 May 9, 2012. Yeah, we’re on it.

Photo credit: oethreads. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Special thanks to Jamie Kellner of CanesCountry.com for the photos and story.