Alexander Semin, center, celebrates a goal after another torrid night. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Coach Bruce Boudreau knows Alexander Semin, who had a goal and three assists in the Capitals’ 4-2 win over Phoenix Saturday, has been playing well recently. Boudreau told reporters after Saturday’s game that he attributed it to a solid power play (the Caps lead the league in power play percentage) and the lines being able to stick together.

But when asked by Comcast SportsNet’s Lisa Hillary if Alexander Ovechkin’s captaincy is helping Semin (Hillary pointed out Semin has 17 points in the 10 games since Ovie started wearing the C), Boudreau couldn’t completely rule it out.

“If it’s because Ovie’s captain, that’s great,” Boudreau said. “Whatever it is, I don’t want it to not continue.”

So what have Semin’s teammates noticed about his play?

“He’s really been playing hard,” Tom Poti said. “I think everyone wants him to shoot the puck as much as he can, ’cause he has a pretty sick shot, so, he’s been doing that for us.”

Semin, for one, doesn’t seem to think he’s changed much.

“I haven’t really changed anything, I just play the way I play,” he told reporters after the game via translator Dmitri Chesnokov. “Sometimes I shoot to score, sometimes I give a pass. It depends on the situation, really. It’s just situational hockey for me.”