Per multiple reports out of Verizon Center, John Erskine will return to the Caps’ lineup this afternoon against Philly and Philipp Grubauer will back between the pipes. As to who sits for Erskine, it’ll be either Nate Schmidt (probably most likely) or Steve Oleksy, but here’s what we think we know about today’s lines and defensive pairings:
Marcus Johansson – Nicklas Backstrom – Alex Ovechkin
Eric Fehr – Mikhail Grabovski – Troy Brouwer
Jason Chimera – Martin Erat – Joel Ward
Aaron Volpatti – Jay Beagle – Tom Wilson
John Erskine – ?
That leaves Alexander Urbom and one of Schmidt and Oleksy as healthy scratches, Brooks Laich and Jack Hillen out with injury, Michal Neuvirth on a rehab assignment in Hershey, and Braden Holtby backing up Grubauer.