ARLINGTON, V.A. — Less than a week after suffering an ominous-looking lower-body injury, Dylan Strome could be back in the lineup for the Washington Capitals on Friday.
The 28-year-old, who skated in a non-contact jersey for half of practice on Thursday before upgrading to a regular sweater halfway through for power-play work, was in a regular jersey again at Friday’s morning skate. Strome was a full-go, and after speaking with trainer Jason Serbus, headed off early and did not stay on for extra work.
Strome is officially a game-time decision against the New York Islanders, as coach Spencer Carbery will see if he’s ready to return after speaking with trainers.
Getting Strome back int he mix will be a big boost for Washington, who was shut out on Tuesday in Dallas and is seeking a spark at 5-on-5 and on the power play, which continues to struggle. Through nine games this season, Strome has two goals and eight assists.
Meanwhile, Rasmus Sandin, who is day-to-day and on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury, remained in a non-contact jersey and will not play Friday, and he is also unlikely for Saturday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. Ethen Frank, who went on the IR on Thursday after having been hurt on a collision with Mikko Rantanen on Tuesday, did not skate.
Logan Thompson will start against the Islanders, with Charlie Lindgren expected to get the nod on Saturday against the Sabres.
If Strome returns, Carbery said he’s inclined to keep Hendrix Lapierre at center, so the lineup could look like this:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Ryan Leonard
Aliaksei Protas-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson
Connor McMichael-Hendrix Lapierre-Justin Sourdif
Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Anthony Beauvillier
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun-Matt Roy
Declan Chisholm-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
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