Strome Appears To Be Healthy Scratch For Capitals vs. Flyers

ARLINGTON, V.A. — It looks like Washington Capitals forward Dylan Strome will be drawing out of the lineup, as he stayed on with the extras for the optional morning skate prior to Saturday's puck drop against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Strome was joined by Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Alex Alexeyev.

Through 44 games this season, Strome has eight goals and 23 assists for 31 points. The 25-year-old has been hitting his stride and is on pace for the best year of his career. This would be his first healthy scratch of the season.

He has gone five games without a goal and had three assists back on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. His defensive play also needs improvement, as he has a +/- of minus 6. He has also gone without a shot over his last two games.

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Head coach Peter Laviolette said that the team is working through lineup decisions and combinations. It looks like Anthony Mantha will be back in, though, after being a healthy scratch for the last two games.

Lars Eller and Marcus Johansson, who were interchanging with Strome during Friday's line rushes, did not skate, indicating they will play.

As Laviolette mentioned, the lines will change, as the team now has 14 healthy forwards to manage.

"These decisions are tough… it will change, and I had a conversation with the players saying if it does change, you can come in and talk to me, but there may be no specific reason why you're coming out of the lineup other than we want to keep everybody active and moving," Laviolette said.