Dylan Strome a healthy scratch

Right as I was about to write a piece on why fans should vote Dylan Strome into the NHL All Star Game, I learned the Washington Capitals scratched Strome from their lineup ahead of Saturday night’s contest against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Caps held an optional morning skate on Saturday and Strome was out there with the extras which included Nicolas Aube Kubel and Alex Alexeyev.

Looks like all signs point to Anthony Mantha to be back in after a two game timeout. Head Coach Peter Laviolette said the team is still working through some things, trying to find the right line combinations.

Perhaps Strome could be scratched due to going five games without a goal. He did record three assists in last Thursday’s win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He also needs to step it up defensively as he has a plus minus of -6. He didn’t record a shot during his last two games.

Strome was playing good up until that stretch. He had eight goals and 23 assists for 31 points through 44 games. The Caps brought on the 25 year old to fill in for Nicklas Backstrom.

There was some thought the Caps would be without Backstrom for the full season but that wasn’t the case. That’s the good news.

The bad news for Strome and others is that no one is necessarily safe in the lineup anymore. Laviolette is working through things in the room as he likes to say and is trying to figure out which line combinations will keep the Caps competitive as they look to continue their season turnaround.

The Caps came into the season banged up and they still have players banged up but 14 healthy forwards is a good problem to have. But 12 have to be in the game so unfortunately there are two odd men out.