By John Moore / Inspin.com

The Washington Capitals have plenty of talented players to look at when they need to score. Of course there's Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. However the #1 option this season is Alexander Semin, but not on Monday.  - After leading the Washington Capitals in minor penalties taken for the last two seasons, he's off to the races again -, with 28 penalty minutes on the season so far, leading the team in both penalty minutes and minor penalties taken and being 4th on score table-. He had to settle to watch the game all suited up.

Made to support the team from the sidelines by coach Bruce Boudreau, Semin  took no part on last night’s come back 4-3 win over the Phoenix Coyotes.

"We've talked about it. I guess the talk has gone away from it because we were starting to lose," Boudreau said of scratching Semin. "We've scratched guys. He was taking penalties seven games in a row. At some point you have to be accountable for your errors."

Accountability has been the buzzword surrounding the Caps all season. Semin has been benched during a game before; he sat out of the second half of November 11's win over the New Jersey Devils. Yet, this was the first time that one of the Caps' "Young Guns" wasn't dressed without being hurt in quite a while. Washington ultimately did not need Semin Monday, but a message has been sent not just to Semin, but the entire roster.

"I don't like doing those things to people that are that talented, but everybody's got to know that everybody's accountable," Boudreau said. "It was a tough decision, but it was a decision, I thought, that had to be made for the group."

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