Strome is the Capitals leading scorer this season with 22 points in 14 games.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — Over the last few weeks, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, who has found his scoring touch with 10 goals in 14 games, has been referring to Dylan Strome by a different name.
His classic "Stromer" moniker is no more, as Ovechkin has taken to referring to him as "Zini" in all of his recent press conferences.
"Our line play well, our line generates lots of chances, and sometimes we don't want to be too cute," Ovechkin told reporters following the 8-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. "Zini and Pro do a great job to find me out there, and it's working."
Not quite sure I was hearing correctly, and wanting the inside scoop on the new nickname, I decided to do some investigative journalism and ask Strome about it.
He laughed.
"Well, he says Zena, but everyone else says Zini," Strome told The Hockey News. "Some guys started calling me like, 'Stromezini,' and then it just changed to Zini, instead of Stromer."
Tom Wilson came into the locker room then and chimed in on the fun.
"Hey, where'd Stromezini come from?" Strome asked Wilson.
Wilson smiled. "You, like, add it to the last name."
He then walked through an example with my name: Sammi Silber = Silber = Silbzini.
The new nickname's worked out well for Strome, who has assisted on all of Ovechkin's goals this season and is among the NHL's scoring leaders with 22 points through 14 games so far. He is on pace for 129 points this season.
