ARLINGTON, VA — The Washington Capitals will go without center Dylan Strome on Tuesday when they head south to face the Dallas Stars. Head coach Spencer Carbery confirmed on Monday that Strome is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury and would not join the team for the road trip.
Strome’s injury came early in the first period of Saturday’s game against the Ottawa Senators. He initially fell to the ice after getting tripped up by Artem Zub at the right circle before knocking over Jakob Chychrun, who fell on top of Strome as the pair slid into the boards.
Both Chychrun and John Carlson helped Strome exit the ice, and he went down the tunnel in visible pain. Strome briefly returned later in the period but lasted just two shifts before heading back to the locker room for the night.
The injury came just as the Capitals’ center depth had returned to full health, with Pierre-Luc Dubois suiting up for the first time in six games after suffering a lower-body injury against the Minnesota Wild on October 17.
Though losing a top center is always a blow, Carbery noted that Strome’s injury could have been a lot worse.
“You’re always concerned when someone goes into the boards,” he said. “Those awkward — I guess it wasn’t really a collision — but going into the boards awkwardly, you’re always a little bit concerned. But him coming back out to try it, I would say, then optimistic, because if he doesn’t come back at all, that means it’s pretty significant. So him coming back to try it and going through a shift after that, I would say made me feel a little bit more positive about where he was at.”
With Strome out of the lineup, Washington recalled Ethen Frank on Monday morning, slotting him in on the third line at practice. The Capitals placed the also-hurt Rasmus Sandin on injured reserve in a corresponding move on Monday afternoon.
Strome has led the Capitals in scoring each of the past two seasons, ending the 2024-25 campaign with a career-high 82 points (29g, 53a). He’s continued that point-per-game pace so far this fall with 10 points (2g, 8a) in his first 9 games, just one point behind the red-hot Tom Wilson for the team lead.
He’s also spent much of his time in Washington centering Alex Ovechkin, a role Carbery acknowledged has some idiosyncrasies.
“Yeah, it is different (to play with Ovechkin), and so there are –I wouldn’t necessarily characterize them as challenges,” Carbery said. “I would characterize them as nuances and differences — are very similar to playing with any other winger. But O has some tendencies that you need to be aware of, and sort of where he likes pucks, or where he’s going to be on the ice, and communication style, and all that sort of stuff.”
Anthony Beauvillier, who has spent time as the other winger on the Ovechkin-Strome line, noted that the rest of the team would need to step up to replace the points Strome normally delivers, especially after a dismal 7-1 showing against Ottawa.
“He’s our offense driver,” Beauvillier said of Strome. “I think he does so many things offensively and all over the ice. I think he’s so poised and so creative out there that yeah, it’s definitely a big loss for us. But it’s next man up mentality. I think here we have a lot of depth and I think a lot of guys can step in and do a good job, but yeah, he’s a big part of our offense and he’s going to be missed for sure.”
Connor McMichael filled in for Strome at the Capitals’ practice on Monday, skating on a line with Ovechkin and Ryan Leonard. After seeing McMichael play with Ovechkin as a winger last season, Carbery felt he was prepared to serve as Ovechkin’s temporary center, but he explained that the team’s line combinations as a whole were in flux even outside of Strome’s injury.
“Mikey I think has played with him enough for us to feel comfortable, because if you remember he played quite a bit with him last year,” Carbery said. “He was playing on the wing, not in the middle, so it changes it a little bit. But the reality is we’re trying to find a lot of things in our forward group right now.”
The Capitals will play Dallas on Tuesday before returning to DC for a two-day break, with Strome’s earliest potential return coming against Islanders at home on Friday.
