After Montreal's stunning upset of the Washington Capitals, many fans are looking for someone to blame. While no one specifically can be pointed out, it was evident that two players, critical to the Capitals, failed to show up.
Everyone knows who they are, and so do the two of them. Alexander Semin and Mike Green had stunning regular seasons. Semin scored 40 goals in the regular season. Green tallied 76 total points, beating all other defensemen and getting him a nomination for the Norris Trophy for the second year in a row.
In the playoffs, Green recorded three assists, and Semin got two assists. That's it. On 44 shots, Alexander Semin got completely dominated by Montreal's miracle worker, Jaroslav Halak.
As far as Green, a defensemen isn't asked to do that much offensivley, except when you're Mike Green. Green was a pivotal part in Washington's top ranked powerplay, which went 1 for 33 against Montreal. When he flops, the power-play flops, and the team flops.
Green's poor defense in the series and crucial turnovers, including a game seven turnover which led to the game winning goal, killed the Capitals. However, it is Semin who shou ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Sam Snyder
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May 15th, 2010 by Sam Snyder Leave a reply »
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