Gameday: at Philadelphia, Jan. 18

Marcus Johansson has impressed with his play of late. (AP)

The Washington Capitals are in Philadelphia tonight to take on the Eastern-Conference leading Flyers in a huge game.  The Flyers have been on quite a roll of late and are second only to Vancouver for the best record in the NHL.  The Caps, on the other hand, have lost four of their last six, but did defeat the Senators with a promising comeback victory in their last game.  The Caps and the Flyers have developed a solid rivalry over the last three seasons, and tonight's contest should be no different, with both teams looking to make statements against the elite of their conference.  In their only other meeting this season, the Capitals defeated the Flyers at Verizon Center in Novemver, with Mike Green scoring the game-winner in overtime.

The Capitals did get some good news this morning when it was revealed that Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger will not return from injury tonight.  Pronger has been out since December 17 with a fractured bone in his foot that required surgery for him to repair.  There was some thought from Flyers coach Peter Laviolette that this would be his return game last week.  The Flyers will start Russian rookie Sergei Bobrovsky in goal.

For the Capitals, Michal Neuvirth will get the nod in nets from head coach Bruce Boudreau.  Neuvirth made 22 saves, several of them stellar, in the Capitals' 3-1 win over the Senators on Sunday.  Mike Green is expected to play after missing practice yesterday with a cold.  DJ King will get a sweater from Boudreau to help fend off the Flyers' multiple goons, which means that Andrew Gordon is likely to take a seat.  King will skate on a line with David Steckel and Jay Beagle.  Other than that, there are no lineup changes expected, which means that Alex Semin will not play, nor will Matt Bradley or Tom Poti.

Puck drops 7:07-ish.  Check back later.