Caps Show Character

When Alex Ovechkin was hurt, many speculated how the Caps would react. Well, it's unanimous: the team can excel without Ovie (and now Mike Green) -- as evidenced by a pair of wins over Florida the last two nights. Of course, Alex Semin also had a chance to shine -- and he's disappeared even further.

"It says we've got good players on this team," Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "And both nights Semin didn't get a point, either. It says that these other players are good. We all know how good Alex and Mike and Semin are. But there's a lot of depth here."

Leading the way have been Tomas Fleischmann, Mike Knuble and newcomer Mathieu Perreault -- who, between them, scored four of the Caps' five third-period goals last night.

Semin, meanwhile, remains the biggest mystery on the team. Potential does equate to wins, and at this point, it seems his potential outweighs his actual skill. Here's how Flash and Semin compare on the season:

Flash: 6 games, 5 goals, 2 assists, plus-4, 0 PIMs, 16 shots

Semin: 15 games, 7 goals, 8 assists, plus-2, 16 PIMs, 49 shots

Let's remember that five of Semin's seven goals came in the first four games. Both are restricted free agents after this season, with Flash making $725,000 and Semin hauling down $5 million. There's no doubt who I'd rather keep -- and it's not Semin.

Speaking of malcontents, Michael Nylander agreed to be put on waivers -- which may finally resolve one of the biggest distractions on the Caps' roster. The deadline for another team to claim him is tomorrow at noon, so we'll see what comes of it. And the GM meetings start Tuesday, so that might give George McPhee an avenue to work some magic.