MONTREAL (AP) — Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome learned during the first intermission Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens that his wife, Tyler, had given birth to their third daughter.
“I had so many emotions going through my head,” Strome said tearfully after assisting on three goals in the game. Capitals win 8:4. “First of all, you have to make sure everyone is okay, it's a pretty scary thing. During the first period I kind of thought I might make it home in time. Obviously that didn't happen.”
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The couple named the girl Sutton Kimberly.
Strome said his wife “felt it” two hours before puck drop at 7 p.m. and gave birth at 7:30 p.m. He said there was no way to get back in time and emphasized the sacrifices Tyler makes by spending so much time on the road.
“Very proud of her,” Strom said, occasionally pausing to speak. “It's hard and you obviously want to be there for the birth of your children and didn't know it was coming so soon but you can't wait to see her… It's something I don't think I'll ever experience again, I hope no one does, I just feel helpless.
“We have two little ones at home and she takes care of both of them while I'm gone. I had to call for backup so she could get to the hospital. It's crazy that I definitely wasn't thinking about hockey the first time, but I got the call after the first one when she was there. So it's incredible and I can't stress enough how very proud I am of her.”
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Strome won the faceoff to score Alex Ovechkin's first goal, then passed to the captain on a 2-on-1 to make it 6-4.
“Because, like the first shift, I think Stromer felt it,” said Ovechkin, who added the empty-net goal. hat-trick. “I think he was unstoppable today.”
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