Holmstrom Article: DieHard on the Ice

[Guest Crymson]

I couldn't agree with this one more. The guy is a gladiator and an inspiration, and we're so lucky to have him. I just can't say enough about him; after an incredibly brutal and dirty hit by one of the biggest guys in the NHL (plus Niedermayer), he not only comes back in the 3rd to an already-won game but also sets up our 5th goal.

Also, you can find TSN's one-on-one with Homer after last night's game here: http://broadband.tsn.ca/?vid=7735

On to the article:

Who does Tomas Holmstrom think he is?

Willis Reed? Steve Yzerman? Paul Kariya? That song, the one that goes, “I get knocked down, but I get back up again,†has got to be about him. Every time you look up, he’s coming back from an injury or getting off the ice after being smashed before doing something extraordinary. The heroics never seem to stop.

With the beating the guy’s taken in the playoffs, he’s looking more and more like Bruce Willis’ character in the Die Hard movies. Holmstrom’s been beaten, blasted, squashed and squeezed. And that’s just on any given shift out there.

The best part about him is, like The Terminator, he just keeps coming back for more. He’ll be back. Don’t think so? Well, Scott Niedermayer threw a two-hander across his arms and Holmstrom still wound up scoring a clutch goal in Game 1.

The show goes on. The Red Wings got two more gargantuan goals out of Holmstrom Tuesday night to take a 2-1 lead in the series against the Ducks, a team that plays like they’re named after the command -- duck! -- rather than the feathery animal. Holmstrom also was threaded with 13 stitches in his face after he was clobbered high and from behind by a combination of Rob Niedermayer and Chris Pronger.

Even with his head cut and the game pretty much in the bag, Holmstrom was back on the ice for the third period. He was back in front of the enemy goal, as always. Still taking a beating down there, as always.

If you’re wearing a Detroit uniform, how could that not inspire you?

The Red Wings have impressed a lot of people with their toughness and playoff grittiness in the tournament this year. They are an older, wiser team, a true band of brothers that plays for the guy next to them. Holmstrom, one of several Red Wing lifers, is emblematic of what they’re about. Like how he scored a goal his first game back earlier in the playoffs after suffering a scary eye injury. One of the lasting images of this current run Detroit is architecting was Holmstrom arriving at the rink in San Jose with his gear slung over his shoulder after he was cleared to play.

Put me in, coach.

HOLMSTROM

While guys like Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios and Pavel Datsyuk get plenty of deserving credit, Holmstrom has been invaluable to the operation, too. And that has nothing to do with the fact he’s been on the ice for 11 of their 14 power-play goals in the tournament or that he’s impossible to move out from in front of the net.

Playoff hockey is about inspiring hockey, playing through pain and going all out until someone eliminates you. Passion and heart aren’t urban legends in springtime hockey games. If you watch enough hockey, you can tell when it rubs off on the rest of the team. That seems like it’s going on with the Red Wings right now.

With The Terminator on their side, Detroit’s looking like a pretty tough out.

[glasgowcelticwing 18]

Good read. Homer's been awsome so far in the playoff's.

Homer says Yippy kiyae MF.

[hak 21]

great read

"The Terminator" i like it!