Dylan Strome was up early to join the Junkies Thursday morning, as he's out in Los Angeles for the second and third games of the Caps' five-game west coast road trip.
Game 2 was a 2-1 win over the Kings Wednesday and Game 3 is tonight in Anaheim, where he'll face off with brother Ryan – but because of the back-to-back, the brothers didn't get to have their usual pre-game hangout when they face each other.
"We usually do, but this one being on a back to back it, it's tough. Last year when he came to Washington, we got dinner, and he got to see my daughter and came over and saw the dog and the house, and when I was in California last year, I went over to his house and they took me a real nice meal," Strome said. "But this year, when you have a back-to-back, it's kind of tough, so I'm hoping his two girls get to come to the game and I'll see them after. But there was no hangout this year before the game, unfortunately."
Strome's parents will likely be watching somewhere in the Toronto area, but unlike Donna Kelce for any Chiefs-Eagles game, they won't be in Anaheim tonight…or anytime soon?
"I think they came to like the first game and maybe the second or third that we played against each other, but I have this funny feeling that they don't like to see us playing each other at the same time," Strome joked. "They haven't been to one in a couple of years, maybe four years or so, and I'm starting to think that they don't like watching us play together in person too much! But yeah, just outside Toronto is quite a ways from California for just one game."
The Caps won three in a row to end October and are 7-3-1 in November, and tonight get a 9-13-0 Ducks team that has lost seven in a row.
"They started out pretty hot, nice little winning streak there, but yeah they're struggling as of late, so a good time for us to kind of jump all over them," Strome said. "They're maybe a little bit more fragile than they were, you know, two or three weeks ago, and we gotta get out to a good start. If we can get a lead, we've had some success recently when we play with the lead and found ways to close it out. So, I think a good start is gonna be huge, and if we do that, I like our chances."
Wednesday got the team back on track after two straight losses, though, but they're still towards the bottom of the league in goals…even as they're near the top of the standings.
"Everyone wants to score goals and be successful in that sense, and don't get me wrong, it's awesome to score goals – but we're also doing pretty good in the standings," Strome said. "So, I think you gotta look at it kind of from both sides. Last year we probably had a goal and a half more average per game, but we were also five points out of a playoff spot at game 19. So, now we're kind of hitting our stride and in a good position in the standings, and I think the goals will come. I think we showed in that stretch there that we can score goals; we wish we would have you come away with a few more against San Jose, but that's hockey, and that's puck luck. So I think we're gonna start scoring on the power play and pick it up, and with our winning record right now, I think we just got to stay positive and the goals will come. But, we've been finding ways to win, and I think we're gonna continue to do that."
Take a listen to Strome's entire segment, which also talks about the fact that the Caps have gone a full month without a power play goal, the report that Martin Fehervary's high stick was incorrectly called in San Jose, and more!
