DETROIT — Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom stand in front of the net, distracting goaltenders and tipping pucks past them as well as any NHL player.
The Dallas Stars plan on helping Marty Turco by getting the pair of Detroit Red Wings out of the way Saturday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.
The problem is, teams have been trying to do that with Franzen for two months and Holmstrom for three years since the league made it tougher to clear out such powerful pests.
Franzen has scored an NHL-high 27 times since March 2, a 27-game roll that includes a league-high and franchise-record 12 goals in the postseason.
Holmstrom averaged about 15 goals in the six seasons leading up to the 2004-05 lockout season, and would have likely doubled that production for a third straight year had injuries not sidelined him for much of the season.
The players known as Mule and Homer both redirected shots into the net, helping Detroit beat Dallas 4-1 in of the Western Conference finals opener.
