DETROIT –- If it’s playoff time in Hockeytown, the octopi are sure to be flying.
Just don’t expect some of the opponents, like the Chicago Blackhawks, to be so crazy about it.
“Isn’t it supposed to be a penalty when their fans are throwing things on the ice?” Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith asked reporters. “I think it’s in the rule book. Maybe we can get a power play from that.”
Don't count on it.
The tossing of octopi onto the ice has been a Detroit Red Wings’ tradition going back more than 60 years. The eight-legged creature was supposed to signify the eight victories it used to take to win the Stanley Cup.
Now, it takes 16 wins.
A victory by Detroit Monday night would be the eighth in the playoffs for these Red Wings, putting them into the conference finals and halfway to the Cup.
Keith was so caught up in the octopi fever that before Game 4 he skated over to Al Sobotka, the building operations manager at Joe Louis Arena and the man responsible for cleaning up the on-ice mess.
“I’d never seen something like that, that big,” Keith said of the octopus that Sobotka held in his hand.
For several years now, Sobotka has been adding another aspect to the tradition by holding up the octopus and waving it madly to fire up the crowd.
During their exchange last week, Keith said to Sobotka, “That thing’s gross.”
According to Keith, Sobotka responded, “You’d better get out of the way or you’re going to get hit.”
Good advice.
