txpd said:
this comment...If Semin was a talented goal scorer and finisher already it wouldn't matter who was on the powerplay with him...is downright stupid. of course it matters who is on the power play with him. the vast majority of power play goals are NOT scored unassisted.
I don't think it's stupid at all. The players that some are comparing Semin to in this thread could create offense on their own. To say that he is almost as advanced as Ilya Kovalchuk is asanine. Without a whole lot of help, Ilya Kovalchuk can make a powerplay click. He is a differance maker on a powerplay unit and makes the whole unit better. Semin isn't even close to being at that place yet. Just watch Kovalchuk run his powerplay the next time the Capitals play the Thrashers. The whole center of gravity revolves around him and he's still able to make it productive. That is because Ilya has the natural skill and talent level that can provide him with the ability to create offense on his own and get the puck where the goalie isn't. Same for Mario, Forsberg, Naslund, and all the other dominant offensive players in the league. Even in his rookie season when he didn't have Heatley on his unit he was able to make the muckers and grinders that he was playing with look savvy with the puck due to the defense overplaying Kovalchuk's ability. Which swings me back around to my original point, if you have the talent to produce on the powerplay, you're going to produce on the powerplay.
Yes, most powerplay goals aren't unassisted. However, the burden really falls on the expected finishers on the team in order to make sure a powerplay is working like it should. Just like the Carolina Hurricanes powerplay. Jeff O'Neill, our finisher, had one of his worst seasons of his career and guess where Carolina's powerplay was ranked. Dead Last. It's not always the fault of the supporting cast when the finisher can't produce. The finisher should be scoring the goals no matter what.
Semin hasn't exactly been playing with driftwood either as far as linemates are concerned. The players on the powerplay with him may not be all-stars, but they have enough experience and talent to at least funnel the puck to Semin if he was the finisher that the people in this thread are claiming.