{"id":489286,"date":"2026-02-25T08:58:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T08:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/489286\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T08:58:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T08:58:07","slug":"why-capitals-players-especially-tom-wilson-began-beating-up-dylan-strome-in-a-goal-hug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/489286\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Capitals players, especially Tom Wilson, began beating up Dylan Strome in a goal hug"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Capitals\u2019 final goal before the NHL\u2019s Olympic break \u2014 a Jakob Chychrun tally on February 5 against the Nashville Predators<\/a> \u2014 was a memorable one. <\/p>\n

With 6:49 remaining in the third period, Dylan Strome threaded the needle with a pass near the blue line, slipping the puck under a Predators penalty-killer\u2019s stick to the Capitals rearguard. With a wide-open lane to the net, Chychrun skated to the top of the circles and ripped a shot past goaltender Justus Annunen.<\/p>\n

The power-play goal was Chychrun\u2019s second of the night and his league-leading 21st goal among defensemen. But most importantly, it gave the Capitals a 4-2 lead in a game they absolutely needed to win.<\/p>\n

Then something absurd happened. In the preceding goal hug, Tom Wilson skated over out of left field and shoulder checked Strome into the glass with authority before playfully punching him several times in the right arm. \u201cThat\u2019s f***ing right,\u201d Wilson appears to yell, if my lipreading is correct.<\/p>\n

Chychrun then joins in, punching Strome in the chest, before Ryan Leonard jumps into the pig pile. The video was posted by @bobbyfinnerty2 on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re goofing off, having fun,\u201d Ryan Leonard said. \u201cHockey\u2019s fun, so sometimes you\u2019ve got to be loose and mess around a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another angle posted by the Capitals on social media<\/a> includes more yelling from Wilson at Strome, which appears to be encouragement.<\/p>\n

So what happened?<\/p>\n

\u201cActually, Tom, Ovi, and I had gotten scored on earlier on in the third period, so we weren\u2019t playing too much the rest of the game,\u201d Strome explained to RMNB\u2019s Katie Adler after a recent Capitals practice.<\/p>\n

The goal Strome is referencing was a five-on-five tally by Predators forward Michael McCarron. After some soft play along the boards, McCarron beat Strome to the net and scored easily on Logan Thompson, allowing Nashville to narrow the Capitals\u2019 lead to 3-2 just 1:17 into the third period.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then we got a power play, and I made a bad [play],\u201d Strome continued. \u201cLike Tom kind of gave me a puck in my feet, and he knows I can make that play. And I didn\u2019t make the play.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the next power play, he just came up to me on the way to the faceoff circle and just told me that I could make the next play. He didn\u2019t, you know, scream at me, but he was pretty stern and said, \u2018You know, make a play here. We need a goal. Make a play.\u2019 So when I passed it to Chychy, and then Chychy scored, obviously, we were excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then the beatdown began.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom just came in and just shoved me from behind because he told me to make the play,\u201d Strome said. \u201cAnd then I pushed Chychy. And then, I don\u2019t know, Lenny went to dunk on the guy. So it was more just, we were all just excited because we weren\u2019t playing five-on-five \u2014 our line, the rest of the third \u2014 and we got a power play and we made it count.\u201d<\/p>\n

The takeaway for Dylan was just how great a teammate Wilson is and how powerfully he drives the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a real leadership play by Tom,\u201d Strome said. \u201cI felt like he fired me up right before the faceoff. We won the draw. Went right back to me, to Chychy, in the goal. So it was just one of those plays where we were just excited to get the goal. And we kind of screwed up earlier on in the game, so we were happy to help the team out there when we weren\u2019t playing and just on a power play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t