The Washington Capitals have produced the NHL’s most dangerous scorer during the season’s first quarter.

This is not a surprise.

But the big scorer is Alexander Semin, not Alex Ovechkin.

Now THAT is a surprise.

While the explosive Ovechkin only recently got back on track (after missing time for family matters), Semin has been scoring all season.

Those two, plus Nicklas Backstrom, are deadly when they play together. With Viktor Kozlov and Sergei Fedorov injured at the same time – and with center Michael Nylander slumping with one point in his last seven games -- Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau let his big three have some fun.

"What can you say about our line," Ovechkin told the Washington Post. "We control the game. We never play in our zone, I think."

"You can tell the potential they have when they’re on top of their game," Boudreau said. "All three of them were on top of their game tonight."

Semin surged into the NHL’s scoring lead with his two-goal, three-assist performance during a 5-1 victory over Carolina. The Capitals are fast becoming a one-stop shopping center for fantasy GMs.

Here is a look at the stalwarts:

Alexander Semin, W: Last season he slumped to 42 points in in 62 games. His plus-minus rating was, gulp, minus-18. So, sure, his 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) and 27 points in 15 games was a bit unexpected. Fantasy experts figured he could get back to a point-per-game pace, but this? Perhaps Boudreau should play him and Ovechkin together all season and let them take their chances against top checking lines.

Alex Ovechkin, W: Earlier this season, he went nine games without a goal. That was startling, since Alex scored 65 times last season. But he’s been a better player since returning from Russia, where he tended to family matters. The last few games told us that he is all the way back.

Mike Green, D: He scored six goals and added six assists in his fist 15 games. His plus-minus is plus-10. After jumping from 12 points in 2006-07 to 56 points last season, he is more than ready to bid for the defenseman scoring title this season. He is living up to his high fantasy draft status.

Nicklas Backstrom, C: He is a pass-first guy, which makes him a great linemate for Ovechkin and/or Semin. He scored his first goal of the season in the 5-1 victory over the Hurricanes. He can do a LOT better than the 10 points (one goal, nine assists) he scored during the first 15 games. Any fantasy GM that dumped him earlier this season must be sorry now.

Brent Johnson, GT: Until he suffered a hip injury – which he insists is minor – he was displace Jose Theodore as the starting goaltender. He is 5-1-2 with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. Given Theodore’s erratic past, don’t rule out Johnson seeing significant time this season.

Sergei Fedorov, C-D: Boudreau pulled a Scotty Bowman and asked him to play some defense this season, giving the Caps some additional puck-rushing ability. This long-time fantasy disappointment might put up numbers in this skilled group. After scoring 28 points in 50 games for the Blue Jackets last season, has scored 22 points in 30 Capitals games. That's not great, but it puts him back on the radar screen.

Jeff Schultz, D: Might he become the next breakout player on this team? This former first-round pick, imposing at 6-foot-6 and 125 pounds, has picked up his scoring pace. He scored six points in his first 15 games after scoring just 18 points in 72 games last season. Warning: He has yet to earn a power-play point in the NHL. And he hasn’t been a big PIM guy either. If this team takes off, he could be an OK depth defenseman on your fantasy team.