Flyers prep for Caps without Ovechkin

Jeff Carter called this week the biggest of the Flyers' season.

"No doubt," he said.

And it appears that the Flyers may catch a little bit of a break, as the Washington Capitals - tomorrow night's opponent - will be without star Alex Ovechkin.

Ovechkin will sit out 7-10 says according to Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau. The nature of the injury was not disclosed.

"He's had some nagging injuries for a while now that have bothered him," Boudreau told the Washington Post. "We thought this would be the best time to get him completely healed up."

Ovechkin has 21 points in the Capitals' last 16 games, as they have surged to the top of the Southeast division and overtaken Tampa Bay. Overall, Ovechkin has 77 points this season.

Washington is just 2 points behind the Flyers for first place in the Eastern Conference. A Flyers win would put them in the drivers seat of the conference, giving them a 4 point lead with 2 games in-hand on the Capitals.

That would also give them the possibility of an 8 point lead over Pittsburgh in the Atlantic division before their matchup on Thursday night.

The Penguins, as you know, are already without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby ramped up his skating on Sunday morning prior to the Penguins' afternoon game, but a return does not seem imminent. He has been out since early January with concussion symptoms. Malkin is out until August.

The Flyers, of course, said their game plan against Washington wouldn't change without Ovechkin. They'll be missing a star of their own in Chris Pronger, who practiced with his teammates on Monday for the first time since last week's hand surgery. He wore a yellow non-contact jersey and did not work with pucks.

For more on this week's matchups, check out our video below.

Big home games this week against the Capitals and Penguins are coming at the right time for the Flyers. The Daily News' Frank Seravalli talks pucks with CineSport's Noah Coslov.