Strome reignites career with Capitals, playing key role in playoff push

WASHINGTON -- Dylan Strome has waited his entire NHL career to play these types of games at this time of the season.

So, there was an expression of grateful joy on Strome’s face when he looked to the ceiling and raised his arms in celebration after his goal 1:55 into overtime gave the Washington Capitals a 4-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings at Capital One Arena on Tuesday.

“That's probably as close as I've played to playoff hockey,” Strome said.

The Capitals (36-26-9) have some work left to do in their final 11 regular-season games to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs but took a significant step in that direction Tuesday. With Strome scoring twice, they moved two points ahead of the Red Wings (36-29-7) for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference with a game in hand.

Washington, which has won three games in a row and six of seven, also climbed within one point of the Philadelphia Flyers (36-27-10) for third in the Metropolitan Division with two games in hand.

“Nice to get the extra point in overtime, obviously,” Strome said. “Hopefully, that goes a long way in the end.”

Selected by the Arizona Coyotes with the No. 3 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Strome has played in the playoffs only once in his eight NHL seasons, with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020. But that postseason was played in isolation, with no fans, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You know, the bubble,” Strome said, discounting his nine-game experience.

The 27-year-old center longs for the opportunity and the intensity that comes with playoff games played in buildings packed with passionate fans. That’s why he’s enjoying this drive with the Capitals so much.

“It’s special, for sure,” Strome said. “Growing up being from Toronto, [I was] always very fortunate to be on a really good team growing up in minor hockey. And then in the OHL, we had four really good teams (with Erie) and really good years, always made it to the conference finals or finals.

“Obviously it hasn't worked out in the NHL so far for getting to the playoffs, but it feels like, hopefully, this is the year.”

Strome is doing his best to help Washington get there after it didn’t qualify last season for the first time since 2014. He has nine points (three goals, six assists) during a five-game point streak. He also scored the deciding shootout goal in a 7-6 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.

Strome’s overtime goal Tuesday was his third of the season, tying him for the NHL lead, and he leads the Capitals with five game-winning goals.

“He wants to win so badly, and you can feel it when you talk to him,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “You feel it on the bench. It’s not about him, it’s not about his own individual stats; goals, assists. He wants to score so badly because he wants to win. So, when he delivers in these type of games where there’s so much at stake, and [where] we’re at this point in the year, you can just feel it how proud he is that he’s the one that’s scoring the big goal that’s carrying us to a victory.”

Strome has rekindled his career with the Capitals the past two seasons after the Blackhawks opted not to extend him a qualifying offer following the 2021-22 season, making him an unrestricted free agent. His 25 goals in 71 games this season are an NHL career high, surpassing his 23 from last season, and one behind Alex Ovechkin for the team lead. Strome leads Washington with 60 points, which is five behind his NHL career-high 65 last season.

Recently, Strome has been racking up assists, but had only one goal in 11 games before Tuesday. He picked a good time to end his cold spell.

His first goal, which came on the rebound of defenseman John Carlson’s right point shot, gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead at 4:49 of the third period. It appeared that would stand up as the game-winner until Patrick Kane capitalized on a turnover to pull Detroit even at 3-3 with 5:20 remaining in the third.

Washington watched Kane and Alex DeBrincat, Strome’s former Chicago linemates, dazzle and dance all night. DeBrincat scored Detroit’s first goal and later set up Kane’s tying goal.

“They're very good together,” Strome said. “It was great playing with them, for sure. … But I'm liking it in Washington quite a lot.”

Demonstrating again that he doesn’t need Kane and DeBrincat to produce, Strome worked a give-and-go with Carlson on his overtime goal, driving to the net to redirect Carlson’s return feed in over Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon’s glove. That set off a celebration the Capitals could enjoy for one night before looking ahead to their next big game at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT).

“We’re right there,” Strome said. “We control our destiny, for sure, and we’ve just got to keep going. It's a lot of fun to play.

“Everyone wants to thrive in the big games and play games that really matter. It feels like that right now, and we're trying our best.”