I formally apologize to Mikael Samuelsson

[Izzy24 44]

I just edited the picture of him from the front page of sports illustrated's website.

btw, I apologize to sammy as well.

Well done! When I advised Sammy to "rock on" in the other thread about him, this is exactly what I had in mind.

[hallelujahlogic 1]

haha my dad called him "mr. october--erm...mr. may".

[zata40 3]

Alright who told sammy the pucks supposed to go in the net?

[Herr Hockey 0]

Thanks guys. I stared at that picture for a good minute knowing that something fit perfectly, and when I figured it out I had to act.

[betterREDthandead 58]

"Doing your part", even for a series (and it's just one game) doesn't negate the bland averagness of his performance (at best... you guys said WAAYYYY worse about him all year) for the past two seasons.

If we finish this season with the Cup, in part thanks to Sammy's big game, then it absolutely makes up for the whole season....what do you play the season for otherwise?

[LidstromIsASuperhero 29]

Samuelsson has never bugged me as much as a lot of people on here, if at all. You look at him and expect him to be some genuine, top 6 scoring winger but he simply is not. I view him primarily as a checking line player with some offensive capability. In that role, he is perfect. In fact, the fact that he can step in and play both roles as both a checker and a scorer should he need to says a lot about his versatility and his value to this team.

[CAredwingsfan91 28]

you guys will still hate on him just watch.

[Krystal 41]

I had many "I hate you Sammy!" moments, in just this game alone (empty net - WHIFF!) but he definitely redeemed himself tonight. A wrap around?! I would have lost a huge bet if someone had the clairvoyance to predict that one. And the second goal was nothing short of beautiful.

Though my husband did have to joke that Fleury must be wearing Pens boxers with a logo on the ass that Sammy was aiming for

[thedisappearer 291]

If we finish this season with the Cup, in part thanks to Sammy's big game, then it absolutely makes up for the whole season....what do you play the season for otherwise?

I'm not saying that he didn't come up huge today- he clearly did. All I am saying is that after about a million threads bashing this guy like he was the worst player in Red Wing history AND then basically blowing him for two goals... well, it seems a little "homerish".

None of this has to do with why you play the season, BTW.

[CupChamps979802 35]

For you Chappelle's Show fans:

[RedFX 48]

When he scored the second goal, I was somehow reminded of the end of the 3rd Mighty Ducks movie when Goldberg scores the winning goal:

"YEEEEEEEEAHHHH!!! WOOOOOOH!.................Goldberg?!?....................GOLDBERG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[betterREDthandead 58]

I'm not saying that he didn't come up huge today- he clearly did. All I am saying is that after about a million threads bashing this guy like he was the worst player in Red Wing history AND then basically blowing him for two goals... well, it seems a little "homerish".

None of this has to do with why you play the season, BTW.

Of course it's homerish. We love the hell out of our team. Yeah, we have a lot of mood swings around here, and yeah, Sammy's the official whipping boy. But coming up big in the Cup Finals, hopefully enroute to actually winning the Cup, does in fact erase anything bad he did all season. That's why these games mean more, and that's what I mean when I say this is why you play the season. To get here.

[eva unit zero 271]

Samuelsson has never bugged me as much as a lot of people on here, if at all. You look at him and expect him to be some genuine, top 6 scoring winger but he simply is not. I view him primarily as a checking line player with some offensive capability. In that role, he is perfect. In fact, the fact that he can step in and play both roles as both a checker and a scorer should he need to says a lot about his versatility and his value to this team.

Samuelsson's offensive numbers, however, suggest that a top-six forward is exactly what he is. Especially given the fact that he is defensively responsible. He may not be an elite scorer, but he is definitely a top-sixer. And one of the reasons I have been saying all season that the Wings had enough offense to win the Cup.

By my count, the Wings have eight legitimate top-sixers. ZDH, Hudler, Filppula, Cleary, Franzen, and Samuelsson.

When Franzen comes back, I expect one of two lineup changes. Either Franzen is placed on the third line, and Drake moves to #4 in Mac's place, or Franzen is placed on the second line, and one of the current inhabitants (likely Cleary, as he has been the least offensively effective player on that line this run and is also the best suited of the three to a checking role) is moved to the third for Drake or the fourth for Mac. Imagine those lines for a second:

ZDH

Hudler/Flip/Cleary

Franzen/Draper/Samuelsson

Drake/Helm/Maltby

Rock on.

[shannyfan1414 0]

Wow!!!!!

I guess he just wanted a bigger stage to show what he can do. He played great and i hope that we will see him play at this level for the rest of the playoffs.

Go Sammny!!!!!

[RedwingFan29 1]

Well, I hereby formally apologize to Mikael. Well done... I'm sorry I doubted you.

Thats ok I think we did the same thing with Lang last year. Anyone remember he was lazy and he sucked? LoLz

[mrhockey2k 2]

I HATE Sammy...as a "Top 6 Forward!" He is not one!

I Love Sammy as a 3rd Liner playing with The Drake and Drapes!

[lomekian 201]

Nice - the next game after I posted about lay off Sammy he's a 3rd line forward playing on the 2nd line which is not his fault, he promptly moves to the 3rd line and his game has been improving incrementally since. Draper and Drake is a good mix for him too.....speed and grit, which are not sammy's strongest points. However, playing like today he can be a 2nd liner.....

[DyingAlive 27]

He really played with a whole lot of want to which is great.

This is what we need from everyone, hustling will produce goals

[The Noodle 39 14]

Haha i knew when he scored those 2 goals for the time being he would be forgiven by the LGW community lol.

[RedWingedKitten 9]

For one million a year Sammy has done more than what is asked.

Thanks for the discount.

[8 Legged RedWing 367]

'at a boy sammy. good work my friend. good work.

[Donaldjr2448 43]

I have been waiting for this threat since the Nashville series. I think sammy has been one of our best players in the playoffs! He is always the last one off the ice during his shift. He makes sure the puck is deep, and even skates around to kill time on the PK. I know that this stuff goes under the radar, but his defensive style is what makes him a great player on the Wings! we all knew that he wasn't a 30+ goal scorer when we got him. I personally think his Defense is great! He also playes with an edge that I like, He is always in the middle of the scrums too. Yeah sure he misses the goal alot, but I will take that because of his defense. I personally think he gets a bad rap on this site,but hey I understand that because we love the hell out of this team, and we all praise them when they deserve it and we ***** when they need it! Today on NHL Network sammy stated that he needed to start scoring, and When he does he is usually streaky!! We'll see!! WAY TO GO SAMMY!!! GO WINGS!!!!

[rick zombo 3,739]

The only thing that kept me from hunting Sammy down and breaking his leg in the last series against Dallas, and in general, was the hope that he'd come up clutch at some like he did last year in Game 6 against The Sharks.

But it really makes sense that he's playing so well with Draper and Drake. Credit Babcock with the line juggling and Hudler for making it easy for him to do so.

[Dabura 12,207]

Sammy was beastly out there after he netted the first one. Unbelievable effort from him tonight -- he did everything except fight. Although he got pretty close once or twice.

I was literally laughing when he scored that second one. So un-Sammy-like in every way.

[Dabura 12,207]

Also:

But it really makes sense that he's playing so well with Draper and Drake. Credit Babcock with the line juggling and Hudler for making it easy for him to do so.

Exactly. As I and many others have always said, he's a checking-line energy guy with a good offensive upside and good defensive awareness. He's exactly where he should be right now line-wise and it's paying off.

Edited May 25, 2008 by Dabura