Dylan Strome flexes his impressive NHL stats knowledge

On Wednesday, a detailed DC Backcheck feature pulled back the curtain on how deeply Strome lives in the numbers. Head coach Spencer Carbery likes to say information is a weapon, and Strome might be his happiest trigger man.

Ask him about Corsi, expected goals or PDO and he calmly fires back textbook definitions without reaching for a tablet. Then he guessed which Capitals line tops the league in five on five xGF, correctly pointing to Aliaksei Protas with Justin Sourdif and Tom Wilson.

That curiosity started in school, where math was his favorite subject and stat sheets with the Erie Otters became required reading. Now a 28 year old center drafted third overall by the Arizona Coyotes in 2015, Strome still treats numbers like homework he actually enjoys.

Carbery says Strome wants every possible clip on opposing centers, especially faceoffs, forever asking what they like to do in specific spots.

Strome talks about information as preparation, using underlying numbers to ride out slumps and trust that the process will eventually reward Washington.

That mindset showed up last season when he quietly put up 29 goals and 53 assists, a career high 82 points in 82 games.

Now he is again near a point per game pace while the Capitals sit at 18 9 3 and atop the Eastern Conference.

The cool part is that Strome still leans on the eye test, reminding that numbers only matter if they match what actually happens. Nic Dowd figures the analytics habit just proves how much Strome enjoys watching hockey and searching for little edges shift after shift.

He did not initially realize he sits near the top of Washington's roster in shot share metrics like Corsi and Fenwick at all strengths.

When asked which stat matters most for number seventeen, Strome barely hesitated before giving the only answer that really lands in a locker room, wins.

So yes, Dylan Strome will keep carrying a mental spreadsheet into every game, tracking trends, matchups and faceoffs like a second coaching staff.