DETROIT — There are two things you can count on during every NHL playoff game in Detroit. Octopi will splat on the ice, and Tomas Holmstrom will be parked in front of the net.
Holmstrom will take his usual place early and often for the Red Wings tonight against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 1 of their second-round series.
Against defensemen Chris Pronger, Holmstrom knows it won’t be easy.
“It’s the playoffs, it’s supposed to be tough,” Holmstrom said Thursday. “It’s supposed to hurt.”
The Red Wings have won four Stanley Cups since Holmstrom was a rookie in 1997, and he played a pivotal part in each of their last three title runs.
“He’s amazing, actually,” Detroit forward Jiri Hudler said. “They called him ‘Demolition Man’ in Sweden and that nickname is right on. He’s black and blue sometimes on his body after games, but he just wants to win.”
Holmstrom stands in front of goaltenders, distracting their view from shots and tipping pucks past them perhaps as well as or better than anyone in hockey history.
“The only guy that was close was Dino Ciccarelli,” 47-year-old teammate Chris Chelios said. “But nobody has perfected it like Homer.”
Holmstrom says he puts extra protection where he gets hit a lot. Where? “I can’t tell you,” he said, seriously.
Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer had a similar response when asked what his strategy was against Holmstrom.
“It’s a secret,” Niedermayer said.
Pronger still finds a way to mix it up within the rules just as Holmstrom straddles a fine line of interfering with goalies.
“That battle is going to go on for two weeks, ” Detroit general manager Ken Holland said.
