Nyquist the horse -- which is one of the favorites to win the Kentucky Derby on May 7 -- is named after Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist. Detroit was eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in five games in the Eastern Conference First Round series by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

DETROIT -- The season is over for Nyquist the hockey player, but it is about to begin for Nyquist the horse.

Nyquist's owner, J. Paul Reddam of Reddam Racing, was born in Windsor, Ontario, which is across the Detroit River, and he is a life-long Red Wings fan. He has named several horses after Red Wing players. Nyquist the horse is 7-0 in his career.

"He runs fast, wins races," Gustav Nyquist said on Monday when the Red Wings cleaned out their lockers. "That's a good thing since he's a horse."

Nyquist said he has never really followed horse racing despite the fact that the sport is popular in his native Sweden. But he has watched his namesake run on the internet a few times and said it was strange listening to the race call.

"It's a little different when you hear your name mentioned in a horse race and not a hockey game," he said.

Nyquist said he has never attended the Kentucky Derby but would like to be there in a couple of weeks to watch his namesake.

Reddam also has had a horse named Kronwall -- for Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall -- and currently has a horse named Tatar, for forward Tomas Tatar, who hasn't matched the success of Nyquist.

"I didn't like that he wasn't as fast," Tatar joked Monday.