Dylan Strome is due

Dylan Strome leads the Caps with six goals, twice as many as anyone else on the team. But guess what: he’s due. But he’s not due for more goals, he’s due for assists.

Strome had 22 assists at 5v5 last season, the fourth time in career he’s posted at least 15 5v5 assists. So far this season Strome has zero assists during 5v5 play. The good news is that Strome has not suddenly forgotten how to set up his teammates. Rather, his teammates can’t buy a goal when he’s on the ice.

The Caps are shooting a reasonable 8.3 percent with Strome on the ice at 5v5. But if you take Strome’s 18.8 percent shooting percentage out of the equation, you can see why he’s due for some assists soon (and why his linemates, like Alex Ovechkin, are due).

When Strome is on the ice, non-Strome Caps are shooting 5.8 percent at 5v5. For context, no NHL team shot below 7.5 percent last season. So, I think it’s a safe bet, given Strome’s passing skills and his linemates’ shooting skills, that non-Strome Caps won’t continue to shoot nearly 2 percentage points below the worst shooting team in the league.

The Caps play back-to-back this weekend. I’m setting the over/under for Strome assists at 2. What are you taking?