The Capitals center skated just 11:30 minutes against the Penguins, a season-low.
WASHINGTON — Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome found himself in unfamiliar territory on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, watching the majority of the game from the bench in a 4-3 win over the Penguins.
The Capitals' scoring leader skated a season-low 11:30 minutes against Pittsburgh, while also not playing the final 14:43 minutes of the third period. In turn, the team's other three lines got the majority of the time as the team worked hard to survive an ambush by the Penguins to secure two points.
According to head coach Spencer Carbery, the decision to sit Strome wasn't based on his performance, but rather on the team being up by one goal and trying to defend a tight one-goal lead after stepping off the gas in the second. The Capitals had led 4-0 late earlier in the night.
"It was a product of the situation and the scenario that we had three lines. I talked to him today about it," Carbery said. "I think just with the three lines that were going and the flow of that third period and how it went down and us protecting the lead, I liked the way those three lines were playing. It was nothing more than that."
Strome, who Carbery said struggled back on Saturday in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators, will skate with Max Pacioretty and Matthew Phillips on Wednesday against the New Jersey Devils, and things are expected to get back to normal for No. 17 in that sense. He has 22 points in 35 games this season.
"Stromer didn't do anything specifically to put himself in that spot, it was just more a product of the situation," Carbery reiterated.