BOSTON – Alexander Ovechkin – Dynamic goal scorer. League MVP. Penalty kill specialist?

In Thursday night’s preseason tilt against Carolina, Capitals Head Coach Bruce Boudreau used both Ovechkin and fellow winger Alexander Semin in shorthanded situations. The idea being that the speed, stick skills and the skating ability of the pair would wreck havoc with the passing lanes and allow the defense to skate the puck out of danger.

“Two years ago we scored 27 goals shorthanded in Hershey,” Boudreau told the media at practice yesterday. Perhaps that’s why Semin’s 4:13 of shorthanded ice time was more than he received on the kill in 63 games last season.

“Semin killed penalties in the World Championship last year and Russia did win the title. This is a way to give him more ice time without taking away from the four-line way that we play.”

As far as Ovechkin is concerned, it’s probably a case of creative thinking. He hasn’t seen significant time on the PK since his rookie season when he led all rookies with three shorthanded goals. Not to mention he already logs significant ice time in even-strength and power play situations.

Ovechkin had a league best 65 goals in 2007-08, which represented almost 27 percent of his team’s total scoring (242). Which means the key to the Capitals season may be simply keeping him on the ice. It would be hard to imagine Washington fighting for a playoff spot if they can’t.

The reigning Hart Trophy winner didn’t suit up in the Caps preseason tilt Saturday in Boston, not that he needed too. He showed his club all they really wanted to see before Washington’s first regular season game on October 10th, scoring two goals and an assist in a 5-2 victory.

It’s hard to imagine anybody in the league more important to his club than Ovechkin. While Sidney Crosby, picked first overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, is often compared, both in numbers and in endorsements, his team is surrounded by a plethora of young talent. Ovechkin is only starting to see his club evolve around his skill set. And while Nicklas Lidstrom is the league’s best defensive player, Detroit still needs people to put the puck in the net.

And while it’s also hard to imagine someone with such tremendous skill getting even better, the continued development of setup man Nicklas Backstrom should help Ovechkin's game evolve even further. Washington will also have the services of fellow Russian Sergei Fedorov for a full season, and if Michael Nylander, who only dressed for 40 games, can stay on the ice, it will help out their line depth immensely.

All of this comes amid increased expectations as Washington’s blistering playoff run, in which they finished the season 15-4 and won the Southeast Division, has sent Caps Fever to heights unseen since the 1998 Stanley Cup Final.

And there is good reason to feel confident as since Boudreau took over last Thanksgiving, the Caps finished with a 37-17-7 mark and the club's first playoff spot since 2003.

Now getting there won’t be good enough.

The biggest move the Caps made in the offseason was bringing in Jose Theodore, who notched a 28-21-3 record with a 2.44 GAA with Colorado. He'll have some solid help on the blue line in the name of Mike Green, who had a breakout 07-08 season with 18 goals and 38 assists from the blue line. And you can't imagine Tom Poti will finish another season with only two goals, like he did 2007-08.

What you can envision is the Southeast Division continuing to carve its place as the league's weakest. It's hard to believe that Tampa Bay, the league's second-worst team last year could be second in the division. Yet a drastic overhaul should prove to set them apart from the other weak sisters of the South - Florida, Carolina and Atlanta.

All of which is good news for Capitals fans ... as long as Alexander Ovechkin stays on the ice.