On any given night, Alexander Semin has the ability to be the most dangerous player on the ice.

But through nine consecutive wins for the Montreal Canadiens, who have scored a league-leading 35 goals, Semin has been anything but threatening.

You’d have to search with the world’s most magnified glass to find holes in a near flawless start for the Canadiens, so this storyline has justifiably flown well below the radar. Also, no one in Montreal was expecting miracles from Semin when general manager Marc Bergevin signed him for one year at $1.1 million just weeks after the Carolina Hurricanes bought out the remaining three years and $21 million on his contract.

It was commendable Semin came to Montreal—one of hockey’s most pressurized markets—on the heels of the worst season of his NHL career; a six-goal, 13-assist non-performance through 57 games that cemented his reputation as a player that just didn’t care enough.

The idea that he could rebound, change his reputation and overcome his lack of speed with deceptive strength, and generate offence with one of the NHL’s most lethal shots was gaining steam in pre-season.

He gelled with linemates Lars Eller and Alex Galchenyuk from the onset of training camp, was one of the team’s most dominant players in three exhibition games, and he appeared prepared to get off to a great start to the regular season.

But Semin has yet to rely on his strength consistently, his creativity hasn’t boosted the productivity of his linemates (he has two assists), and he’s only averaging 1.4 shots on net per game (he has one goal).

It’s early, but there are reasons to be concerned.

None of Montreal’s forwards, aside from Galchenyuk, have had the opportunity to start more shifts in the offensive zone than Semin has, but nine of them have recorded more points than he has.

Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Plekanec are the only forwards on the team who have averaged more than Semin’s 2:52 per game on the power play, but he’s the only one of the four without a power play point.

And on more than one occasion, Semin’s found himself in coach Michel Therrien’s doghouse for defensive lapses.

Most recently, a couple of giveaways he made in Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs led to goals against and saw him parked on the bench for the majority of the third period. Fourth liners Brian Flynn and Devante Smith-Pelly took turns skating in his place next to Eller and Galchenyuk.

During Monday’s practice in Vancouver, Paul Byron, who’s been a healthy scratch for all nine of Montreal’s games, was rotating into drills in Semin’s place.

Perhaps this slow start for Semin has been influenced by the team’s balance.

Despite his power play allotment and being leaned on heavily in the offensive zone, his average time on ice per game (13:44) is the lowest it’s been since his rookie season in 2003-04 (12:37). Fourth liners on the team are averaging more than 11 minutes per game.

It’s worth noting that last time Semin broke the 20-goal mark in a season was during the 2013-14 campaign, when he averaged 19:54 per game. He’s not going to come close to sniffing that kind of ice-time under Therrien, and things could only devolve for him if he doesn’t start producing more.

Montreal’s riding the NHL’s third-highest shooting percentage (11.9) and as that begins to fall closer to last year’s average (9.2 per cent) Semin must be depended on to help pick up the slack. If he can’t do it, the Canadiens don’t really have a player within their system suited for the role that Semin’s been given.

Montreal’s torrid start is affording Semin time to figure it out, but that luxury will disappear quickly with the team’s first losing streak.

It’s time to see how he responds to this first bout of adversity.