Red Wings Throwback: Samuelsson’s Tic-Tac-Goal Against Chicago

When the Detroit Red Wings’ Filip Zadina couldn’t convert a pass from Filip Hronek in overtime during Monday’s loss, I flashed back to another another 3-on-1 that absolutely converted. It’s funny because it feels like a lifetime ago: the 2009 Western Conference Final between the Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.

When they couldn’t score a goal last night, I figured it was definitely time for some nostalgia.

That series was very tight (except for a Red Wings blowout in Game 4), and it would signal a changing of the guard. The Red Wings would only win three more playoff series in the next six years while the Blackhawks would win three Stanley Cups in six years.

Though I was emotionally invested as a Detroit fan (living in Chicago no less), it was a great series of hockey to watch–a young and rising Chicago team against the older, polished defending champion Red Wings.

Detroit would need overtime to win Game 2, and it came off the stick of Mikael Samuelsson, who was one of the clutch goal scorers during that run from 2005-2009. The goal stands out to me for a number of reasons: One, Chicago had the momentum in their favor and it literally turned on a dime when Brian Campbell lost his footing and the Wings were off to the races. Two, I ruined the goal for my sister and mom thanks to the old cable tv that was thirty seconds ahead of the HD one. By the time they figured out why I was yelling and screaming, they saw the odd man rush and put two and two together.

Or if your prefer the Doc Emrick version:

Old You Tube clips of past Red Wings glory have kept me going as a fan through these lean years. It reminds me of a time when the Spring not only ushered in warmth after a frigid winter, but the frantic playoff season that saw deep runs for Detroit. My earliest memories of hockey are Steve Yzerman and Gerard Gallant not having enough to beat Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers. I came of age when the Red Wings were rising to power, and even at the time, couldn’t completely appreciate just how incredible it was that every May from 1995 until 1999 had the Red Wings still playing. A decade after, they were still making deep playoff runs.

Memories like these serve as the motivation to gut through this rebuild. It’s been brutal. The Draft Lottery hasn’t been fair. But this type of hockey will return–where instead of complaining about how the kids aren’t getting enough ice time–we’ll be cheering on the younger generation providing new memories.