His goofy mug adorns the cover of ESPN: The Magazine at newsstands across North America, his scraggly hair, scruffy beard and gap-toothed grin — open wide like an opposing goalie’s five-hole — serving as the face of its 2008-’09 National Hockey League season preview.

But Alexander Ovechkin, the NHL’s reigning MVP, is more than just a magazine cover boy, though the outgoing Russian superstar plays the role well. “Ovie,” as he’s called by adoring, awestruck fans, is the embodiment of hockey’s resurgence in the D.C. area. Since he was selected first overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Ovechkin has single-handedly restored credibility to the Capitals and public interest in their home city, especially after the crippling lockout.

Last season, the electrifying left winger led the league in scoring, lifting the Caps from last place on Thanksgiving Day (the day Bruce Boudreau was hired as coach) to the Southeast Division title and an unexpected playoff bert. The Caps were knocked out of the first round in heartbreaking fashion, losing Game 7 to the Flyers in overtime. But the “Red Fever” that engulfed Washington and even stretched up north to hockey-deficient Baltimore — what’s hockey, hon? — has Marylanders brushing up on their Russian and looking forward to the Capitals’ season, which begins Friday night against the Atlanta Thrashers.

There hasn’t been this much buzz surrounding the Capitals since their fruitless trip to the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals, unless you count the acquisition of Jaromir Jagr in 2001 (most Caps fans prefer to pretend that never happened, though). More importantly, the young and talented Capitals haven’t been this poised to contend for a Stanley Cup over an extended period of time since the days of Peter Bondra, Dale Hunter, Don Beaupre and Michal Pivonka.

The dark days of the post-Jagristic apocalypse allowed the Capitals to retool their roster through high first-round picks, none higher than Ovechkin himself. In his first three seasons, Ovechkin racked up 163 goals and 310 points, giving goalies a different kind of red fever. Goal-induced vertigo, perhaps? His 65 goals and 112 points last season were both career highs, but a supporting cast of other budding stars could propel Ovechkin — and the Caps — to even higher levels.

Nicklas Backstrom, a 20-year-old slick-passing Swedish center, totaled 55 assists and 69 points playing alongside Ovechkin last season. He was a runner-up for rookie of the year. Mike Green, 22, led all NHL defensemen in goals and quarterbacked Washington’s effective power play unit. Alexander Semin — the Caps’ other Russian sniper named Alex — has the talent to make opponents pay for focusing solely on his countryman. Sprinkle in veterans such as Michael Nylander, Sergei Federov, Victor Kozlov and Brian Pothier, and you’ve got all the makings of a dark horse Stanley Cup contender.

Still, there are some tough questions when it comes to the Caps’ Cup prospects. Can new goaltender Jose Theodore elevate his game to the level of former goalie Cristobal Huet, who signed a free-agent contract with Chicago? Will Boudreau, last year’s coach of the year, be able to duplicate his magic? And does Washington have enough depth to repeat as division champions and compete with the Canadians, Rangers and Penguins — it always comes back to the Penguins, doesn’t it? — for a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals?

One thing is for sure: as long as Ovechkin is in a Washington uniform, the Caps will be in the hunt, making things interesting. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Matt Vensel is a content creator for b. Contact him at matt@bthesite.com.

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