Tomas Holmstrom, the goalie-screening, crease-crashing, bad boy of the Detroit Red Wings, was asked the obvious first question - how soon might it take him to become Public Enemy No. 1 in Pittsburgh?
"It usually doesn't take long," answered Holmstrom, with a wry smile.
It could even come as soon as tonight. The Red Wings, seeking their first Stanley Cup championship in six years, meet the Penguins in a championship for the ages — and the aged. It is a series featuring the Red Wings' experience against the raw youth of a talented collection of Penguins' players, assembled in short order by Craig Patrick and Ray Shero, the former and current general managers.
The teams have not played each other since the second game of the regular season two years ago, so most of the talk in the run-up to the series has involved polite platitudes about each's other abilities. The nastiness can't start until the two teams actually hit the ice which mercifully, finally, happens tonight.
As the home team, the Red Wings will get the last line change, meaning coach Mike Babcock will the first opportunity to determine match-ups in the series. While neither he nor his Penguins' counterpart Michel Therrien, was prepared to reveal their respective in-game coaching strategies, the thinking is that the Red Wings will play their top line against Pittsburgh's top line, which is mostly how they've played through the first three rounds of the playoffs.
If that strategy continues, it means that Holmstrom, along with his linemates Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, will play against the Penguins' top unit of Sidney Crosby, Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis, at least in even-strength situations. It also means that Detroit's finesse defence pair, of Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski, will go up against Crosby's line, while the most physical duo of Brad Stuart and Niklas Kronwall would then draw Evgeni Malkin's line, which also features Ryan Malone and Petr Sykora.
The Red Wings are scheduled to be without forward Johan Franzen for tonight's game, as he recovers from concussion-like symptoms suffered in the second round against Colorado. Even though Franzen leads the playoffs with 12 goals, the Red Wings want him back as much for his defensive abilities — primarily his size and strength — as his suddenly robust offence (27 goals in his past 27 games, regular-season and playoff). Franzen plays on the No. 2 line and they would love nothing better than to get him out on the ice against Malkin, whose size and strength is a combination that Detroit hasn't seen in three previous series against the Nashville Predators, Avalanche and Dallas Stars respectively.
"We've gone the whole series matching up against their top line and it's been working," said Holmstrom. "For sure, this time, it's going to be a big test for us — we're playing one of the better players in the league (in Crosby). For sure, it helps us having that 'D' in the back end that can move the puck and play the puck so well and be in the right position."
Statistically, the Red Wings hold an edge in face-off percentage compared to the Penguins, who are one of the worst teams in the league in the circle. Detroit is at a 55.7 per cent success, Pittsburgh at 46.7
Centre Kris Draper is the top Red Wings' face-off man and was third overall in the regular season this past year (at 58.6). He may not get a chance to play against either Crosby or Malkin in even-strength situations, but he will invariably be out there on the first penalty-killing unit. That is when face-offs can make a difference — in either getting the puck cleared from their zone, or allowing a gifted offensive team to set up and make plays.
