Capitals Injury Updates: Strome & Sandin Join Group For Practice & Could Return For Weekend Slate, Frank To IR

Here's the latest news and notes surrounding the Capitals after practice on Thursday.

ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals got quite a bit of news on the injury front on Thursday, and saw Dylan Strome and Rasmus Sandin take big steps in their respective recoveries.

Strome, who was officially listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury suffered on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators, was back on the ice and joined the group for practice in a non-contact jersey. Then, when it came to power-play work, he upgraded to a regular jersey, a good sign.

Meanwhile, Sandin, who had been skating on his own as he deals with an upper-body injury, joined the group for practice in a non-contact jersey.

Per coach Spencer Carbery, it was a positive progression for Strome and Sandin, and neither are ruled out for the Capitals’ weekend slate of games. Washington hosts the New York Islanders on Friday before visiting the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

Strome skated on the top line with Alex Ovechkin and Ryan Leonard, cycling with Connor McMichael, while Sandin was on an extra defensive pairing with Dylan McIlrath.

In less positive news, Ethen Frank did not skate and has been placed on the injured reserve. The 28-year-old was hurt at the end of Tuesday’s loss to the Dallas Stars when he ran into Mikko Rantanen, and he had to be helped off the ice.

Here are the line combinations:

Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome/Connor McMichael-Ryan Leonard

Aliaksei Protas-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson

Anthony Beauvillier-Hendrix Lapierre-Justin Sourdif

Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Sonny Milano

Martin Fehervary-John Carlson

Jakob Chychrun-Matt Roy

Declan Chisholm-Trevor van Riemsdyk

Rasmus Sandin-Dylan McIlrath

Logan Thompson

Charlie Lindgren