NHL 2009-10 Preview: Southeast Division

  Washington Capitals Plus: 1. Semyon Varlamov: The young goalie who had his coming out party in the ’09 postseason will be starting in net for the first time in the regular season.  Will he respond the same way in an 82-game regular season as he did in a shortened playoff run?  I think so.  Key stat: Varlamov had a .918 save percentage and a 2.53 GAA in the Caps’ playoff run. 2. Ovie and the Caps: Consistently a powerful team in the new NHL, Ovechkin leads this talented team that will simply dominate the weakest division in the NHL (yeah, I said it).  Key stat: Ovechkin was tied for the league lead in playoff points per game in 2008-09. Minus: 1. Depth: The Caps are missing depth.  That is clear, as they were beaten by a Pittsburgh team that was simply built for playoff hockey; talent mixed with grit.  Washington lost Donald Brashear and they don’t have much talent past the first-and-a-half lines.  If they want to succ...