Semin's Turn to Shine

- Maybe the endless rants by Caps fans about the lack of attention paid to Washington has paid off.

Maybe Semin's performance has been too good to ignore.

Maybe someone at NHL.com lost a bet.

Whatever the reason, there is actually an article on Sasha on NHL.com. (Special thanks to hockeygirl for the tip!). Amazing. So people actually do know about other players in Washington other than the Great #8.

My opinion? It's about damn time.

For all his defensive inadequacies and lazy mistakes (both of which are a byproduct of youth), Semin is quietly climbing up the goal leaderboard and has been for the last month or so. Yet no accolades, no NHL stars of the month, no spot on the All Star roster.

The fact that he was overlooked for that last one really drives me nuts, even weeks later. The rest of it just adds salt to the wound. I'll have to agree with Kolzig on this one, and kudos to him for coming out on saying it. The fact that players of lesser caliber were given spots while Semin was left off the roster is beyond me. I know it's a meaningless, stupid exhibition show for people who don't like real hockey, but you can't tell me that players don't appreciate getting voted in, especially the first time.

Players like Blake and Williams are good players, don't get me wrong. Both are having successful seasons and each of them performed well in the game. Both are having great years of their own and each performed well. And yes, it's just an exhibition game that means nothing. I also get that every team needs a rep, which maybe explains Blake's presence (and some others). But if you're going to have an all-star game, shouldn't you have, oh, I don't know...all stars? I do have to disagree with Olie on one thing, though. Semin wasn't overlooked because the Caps are lower in the standings than the Isles and Canes. What about all those years when the Thrashers were horrible (ah, memories...*sniff*) and Kovalchuk and Heatley managed to make it in?

But I digress. As usual.

It is nice to see a little respect finally being paid to our little Sasha. After all, he is keeping up with the top goal-scorers in the league and has a decent amount of assists to boot. The players who have more goals so far? Ovechkin, Lecavalier, St. Louis, Heatley, Hossa, Selanne, Kovalchuk and Drury. Not bad company for a kid who, in his first NHL season, had just 10 goals.

(Just a reminder that 8 of the top 10 scorers are from the Eastern Conference...and 6 of them are from the Southeast Division. Is anyone else scared?)

- I saw this yesterday and wasn't going to mention it because it's far too disturbing, but I caved.

Rangers Acquire Avery

There. I mentioned it. Anyone else really looking forward to Saturday night? The gruesome twosome of Jagr and Avery...which by the way reminds me of my favorite YouTube clip ever:

And let's not forget Kasparaitis. And Orr. And Hollweg. Fun bunch - I can't wait.