ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals got some great news on the injury front on Thursday, as Dylan Strome and Rasmus Sandin both took the ice with the group for practice and took steps forward in their respective recoveries. And looking ahead to the weekend, it's possible they could return.

Both were in non-contact jerseys to start practice, with Strome taking some rushes on the top line with Alex Ovechkin and Ryan Leonard. Strome upgraded to a regular jersey for power-play work while Sandin remained in powder blue. It's a good sign for Strome, who left Saturday's loss to the Ottawa Senators in visible pain with a lower-body injury.

According to coach Spencer Carbery, it was a good sign to see both on the ice for practice, and he will speak with athletic trainer Jason Serbus to see where they're at further. When asked if they'll need a full-contact practice before playing or if they could just slot back in without that step, Carbery said it's "possible," and added there's no update when it comes to their status for the weekend.

The Capitals face the New York Islanders at home on Friday before heading north to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Sunday.

In less positive news, Ethen Frank was not on the ice for practice and has been placed on the injured reserve. He left Tuesday's loss to the Dallas Stars with an upper-body injury after running into Mikko Rantanen, and needed help getting off the ice.

Here were the lines 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