ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Dylan Strome was never good at losing, whether it was playing baseball in his front yard or stick hockey in the basement with his brothers.

“He hated losing more than he loved winning,” younger brother Matt Strome said. “He was never satisfied unless he won, and if he lost you would definitely know about it. I was on the wrong end of that a couple times.”

Strome won the Ontario Hockey League championship and the Memorial Cup at the junior level, was the third pick in the 2015 draft behind Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, bounced around as a pro, and up until now had only experienced the NHL playoffs in the 2020 pandemic bubble. He doesn’t count that as the real thing.

“Losing in this league can wear on you a little bit,” older brother Ryan Strome said.

It wore on Dylan so much that he worried he was the problem and wondered if he’d ever play for the Stanley Cup again, through its true, grinding 16-team format. He will get that chance with the Washington Capitals when they face the New York Rangers in the first round, and Strome’s play looking like a man possessed down the stretch is a big reason they beat the odds and made it.