The Washington Capitals defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 8-4, on Thursday, November 20, but for center Dylan Strome, that was far from the biggest news of the day.
Strome, 28, revealed after the game that his wife, Tayler Strome, gave birth to the couple’s third daughter during the game.
“I got some news for everyone,” Strome told the media in the locker room. “While the first period was going on, my warrior of a wife had our third daughter while we were on the ice.”
“Really proud of her,” Strome continued as he fought back tears. “It’s tough, and you obviously want to be there for the birth of your children and [I] didn’t know it was coming this soon, but can’t wait to go see her.”
Dylan revealed that their daughter, born at 7:30 p.m., is named Sutton Kimberly Strome. She joins her older sisters, Weslie, 4, and Emerson, 2.
“There was just so many emotions going through my mind,” Dylan continued. “First of all, you want to make sure everyone’s OK, it’s a pretty scary thing. At the time of the first period, I kind of thought I was going to make it home in time, maybe. Obviously, that didn’t happen.”
Dylan said that Tayler “felt it” about two hours before the puck dropped, and while he hoped to be able to get home before Sutton was born, he felt “helpless” playing a road game.
“We got two young ones at home, and she’s taking care of both of them while I’m gone,” he said of Tayler. “I had to call in some reinforcements for her to go to the hospital. It’s a crazy thing that hockey was not really on my mind going out for the first period, but I got the call after the first that she was there. So it’s incredible and I can’t stress enough how super proud I am of her.”
Despite the distraction, Dylan still earned the praise of his teammates in the Capitals’ win. Team captain Alexander Ovechkin, who had a hat trick on Thursday, gave Dylan plenty of credit for his three assists.
“Since like first shift, I think Stromer was feeling it,” said Ovechkin, 40. “I think he was unstoppable today.”
Later Thursday night, the Capitals shared video via X of head coach Spencer Carbery addressing his team in the locker room. After going around the room to recognize everyone who contributed to the win, he took time out to congratulate Dylan.
“This guy,” he said, “makes arguably the 2-on-1 play that seals the f***ing game and his daughter…we’re gonna tell stories about this for years.”
The team then applauded and showered him with pats on the back and handshakes while chanting his nickname, “Zini!”
Meanwhile back home, Tayler took to Instagram to share the first image of Sutton, a black-and-white photo showing her sleeping and wrapped in a blanket.
“Blessed with the best girl gang,” she wrote over the picture.
On the next slide, she shared Dylan’s postgame interview, calling him “the best dad.”
“Baby girl didn’t check the game schedule before deciding to join us,” she joked.
