The Capitals' musical chairs act with their goalies will continue. Michal Neuvirth will receive his second straight start in goal as the Caps take on the East-leading Philadelphia Flyers tonight.
It looked like Semyon Varlamov had emerged as the number one option after playing well all of January, but supbar performances against Florida and Vancouver convinced Bruce Boudreau to make a change. Neuvirth fared well in the Caps' 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, and Boudreau has decided to reward him with another start in net.
Neuvirth is 15-6 on the year, which is better than Varlamov's 8-6 mark. However, Varlamov has the advantage in goals allowed per game (2.19 to 2.55) and save percentage (92.6 percent to 91.2 percent). Varlamov also has two shutouts on the year in significantly fewer starts, compared to just one for Neuvirth.