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Can't understand the headline above? Then you can't play on the Caps top line tonight against Carolina. Brent Johnson gets his second start in a row as the Caps look to keep their streak of games with at least a point at home to, well, all 5 of them.

Ovechkin on playing both ways

This just in... The Russian Machine likes to win. And he's willing to play in both ends to make it happen. From IWHC.net, Ovechkin's quote after Russia's 4-0 quarterfinal win over the Czechs:

"It doesn't matter if I don't score as long as I play well defensively," said Ovechkin, who's been limited to one goal so far. "We support each other all the other time. It doesn't matter who scores goals. We're just happy for everybody."

Of course, it's easier to say that and mean it when your team wins every one of its games.

Now if only we can get Ovechkin some of the same kind of top flight talent the Russian National Team has here in DC to take some of the offensive load off him...

US loses heartbreaker at Worlds

Team USA rallied from a two goal deficit to tie their game with the Czech National Team (well, in honesty, 2/3 of the Czechs. The rest are playing for the Rangers) with only 5 minutes to go yesterday, only to lose the game in heartbreaking fashion. With just over a minute remaining, John Grahame was beaten by Jaroslav Bednart to secure the Czech Republic's victory and first overall in their group.

Both teams now advance to the knockout round by virtue of their 1-2 finish in group B.

Team Russia won their third game in a row to secure their position atop group D, defeating Finland, who also advanced.

No current Caps scored in either affair.

Also, I'm bitter that Vancouver wasn't able to hold on to a 2-0 lead and dropped game 4 to Anaheim last night. The Canucks didn't just take their foot off the gas in the third period, they slammed the car into reverse and backed over All-Universe Roberto Luongo, who was once again spectacular in a loss.

Although he lacks the polish that Patrick Roy had, Luongo's technique is the most accurate approximation of Roy's modified butterfly in the league. I don't expect him to dominate the way Roy did, but he's certainly adding an exclamation point to an already fantastic season in the playoffs. The chants of MVP heard throughout Vancouver's arena last night are not without merit. I can't say I'm unhappy that he's no longer in our conference. Nice trade, Keenan.

You already know this

But it bears repeating: Alexs Ovechkin is really, really good. In fact, as we've said here time and time again, he's the best Russian player in the NHL. Apparently the rest of the Russian players agree (for the second year in a row).

Despite his efforts, Kovalchuk did not finish in the top 3. Personally, I'm shocked Malkin came in 2nd. I figured Kovalchuk and Datsyuk would finish above him.

Ovechkin's reaction to Semin's removal

Vogs does a solid follow up on the Semin situation, which details Ovechkin's reaction to Semin's removal from the team. Check it out here.

As would be expected, the Russian Machine walks the delicate line of expressing his sadness that his friend was cut, but also understanding as to why the move was made.

It's also very interesting that Semin had to hear the news that he was cut secondhand from Ovechkin and not directly from a team official. That smacks of unprofessionalism. Then again, Semin probably called Ovechkin before any team officials when he arrived in Moscow.

To me, the organizers for Team Russia should have done a much better job handling the situation. If they were going to cut Semin, they should have let him know before he caught a flight to Moscow. And they definitely should have alerted him to the situation before he heard it from someone else. It's very clear that team officials were making a statement with their actions, but in the way they did it they made another, less flattering one about themselves.

Just a bad situation all around.

It's none and done for Semin at the Worlds

Per Mike Vogel, Alexander Semin has been dismissed from the Russian National team. Semin was cut because the flight he had scheduled into Moscow would not arrive until after the team's deadline for players to report to training camp. Semin was unable to switch his flight reservations in time to comply with coach Sergei Nemchinov's timeline, and thus will not play in the tournament.

Although at first glance this seems terribly unfair, the Russian team has had issues in recent years with players who seemed either indifferent or uninterested in playing for their country. Russian hockey officials have repeatedly stated that they only want players who want to represent their country.

While Semin seems to have the desire to play for the team, Nemchinov believed he had to stick to his guns and set an example by suspending Semin, even though he admitted the team would miss Semin's offensive ability.

While Nemchinov's actions may have been for the long term good of the Russian hockey program, there is no doubt that Semin's suspension from the team does nothing but hurt their chances at the World Championships. It's a shame that things had to unfold this way, especially since Semin seemed to be looking forward to playing in the tournament.

One can only wonder what effect cutting Semin will have on the morale of Caps teammate Alex Ovechkin and the rest of the Russian team.