Maven's Memories: A Miracle Finish in 1990

Al Arbour had not visited The Fountain of Youth during the summer of 1989, but when Radar showed up at the club's September training camp, he had the look of a college freshman with all the enthusiasm that goes with it.
"I feel real good," the revitalized mentor enthused, "and I'm glad to have Lorne (Henning) back in our fold."

After Henning had spent the previous two years in Minnesota coaching his children's teams, the former Isles center -- like his boss -- was chock full of vim, vigor and vitality.
Meanwhile, the major domo, himself, Bill Torrey, was equally revved up and wasted little time signing Arbour to a new two-year pact.
"For my money," chortled Bow Tie Bill, "Radar can coach for as many years after that as he'd like."
No doubt Torrey had an asterisk in the back of his head which could have been something like, "But I really want to see how my favorite coach does this time around."
In the meantime, Bow Tie Bill had work to do and that started with moves to bolster Radar's sextet; no small task at that point in time.
MAVEN'S MEMORIES
WRITTEN COVERAGE
Pat Flatley: Chairman of the Boards
Brent Sutter: Anonymous Star
Appreciating John Tonelli
Appreciating Butch Goring
Maven's Haven
For starters, all remnants of Torrey's original dynasty nucleus had gone the way of retirement with the exception of Bryan Trottier. Meanwhile, Bill Smith remained as goalie coach for the youthful Mark Fitzpatrick and Jeff Hackett.
"Much as I had high hopes for Fitz and Hack," Torrey explained, "I felt we needed more support in goal. When I learned that Glenn Healy had become a free agent, he was my man."
Acting fast, if not furiously, the bossman also landed Healy's Los Angeles King teammate defenseman Doug Crossman as well as 11-year-veteran Rangers forward Don (Was It A High Stick In 1984?) Maloney.
Not that Dave Maloney's kid brother was intensely hated as a Blueshirt but his late third period goal that tied Game Five in the '84 playoffs still rankled Nassau folks who insisted that Don bunted the puck home with an illegal high stick.
And guess what? As soon as he put on an Islander uniform -- and promptly was quizzed by the media -- Donny came clean and allowed that, yes, the goal was scored off a high stick! Shouldn't have been counted. (Now he tells us!)
Once the 1989-90 season began Arbour could have been forgiven had he ordered a year's supply of aspirin while reconsidering his decision to keep coaching.
The reason? After 26 games, Radar's club had a distinctly unimpressive 5-18-3 record. That mark was enough for Bow Tie Bill to recall his "Hapless Islanders" first two seasons (1972-73, 1973-74). Prescription, please!
"Gotta do something," Bill told Al, and Radar seconded the motion.
The GM's first order of business was to rid his roster of the Finn, Mikko Makela, whose favorite animal must have been a bear because, as one press box wag put it, "Makela likes to go into hibernation in the winter."
Torrey found a taker in Kings General Manager Rogie Vachon who offered the Isles a Mutt and Jeff combo of tiny center Hubie McDonagh and extra-large ice cop Ken Baumgartner for Makela.
The Isles didn't get lightning in a bottle; just something better; like a windfall of Ws. After 22 more games the club went from Mr. Hyde to Dr. Jekyll -- or sublime to ridiculous, if you will -- on the strength of an 18-3-1 sprint.
"We won nine in a row," chuckled Pat LaFontaine, "which was sort of miraculous when you think about how we started the season."
Patty was part of the solution, having enjoyed a team-record 11-game scoring streak. Then there was green goalie Fitzpatrick who won eight in succession including a trio of shutouts. An added fillip was Trottier's 500th NHL goal.

And if anyone questioned the wisdom of signing Glenn Healy, the bagpipe-playing puck-stopper erased all doubts on January 17, 1990. Heals not only blanked the Canucks, 3-0, in Vancouver but did it with 51 saves!
The authors of "Incredible But True" were ready to make an insert on January 19, 1990 when the NHL standings listed the Nassaumen, of all unlikely people, leading the National Hockey League's Patrick Division.
Then, came the All-Star Break which is not what the high command nor the players wanted. "We were hot," noted Brent Sutter, "and that break in the schedule killed our momentum."
Big-time.
From its lofty peak, Arbour's roller-coaster went down-down-down, pushed by a 14-game winless streak and injuries to key forwards, LaFontaine, Patrick Flatley, and Derek King as well as offensive defenseman Jeff Norton.
A playoff berth, which seemed snugly in the bag during January, became the challenge-of-challenges for Arbour. And now the homestretch drive transformed into something exhilarating if not downright pulsating.
With a mere trio of games remaining, the club's record was 29-38-11 yet the Isles still were in position to make the post-season. What was needed from all hands was an E for Effort.
A plus was LaFontaine's contribution to a 5-5 tie at Edmonton where Patty scored his 50th and 51st goals of the season. No question, the tipsy-doodling center was pulling his weight.
A minus was the following game's 5-3 loss in Calgary, which put the team a mere point away from elimination and the next game was at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Trailing the home club going into the third period, Radar's stickhandlers produced five goals en route to an absolutely stunning 6-3 triumph. Still alive, the Isles returned to Uniondale on March 31 to face the Philadelphia Flyers.
The playoff equation for Torrey was simple enough. First, his lads had to dispose of Philly and then they had to hope that the Buffalo Sabres would beat Mario Lemieux and his Penguins at the Igloo in Pitt. That done, Isles in!
Some melodrama, this. Act One drew thunderous applause at the Coliseum as Philly was routed, 6-2. Next came the intermission with the Islanders returning to their dressing room where they parked in front of the lounge tv set.
Meanwhile, the fans remained riveted to their seats ready to watch Sabres-Penguins on the new Coliseum video scoreboard. Buffalo never had so many fans behind them from Long Island.
Act Two began with the Penguins and Sabres exchanging goals until the scene closed with the team's tied and the game moving into a pulsating, nerve-wracking overtime.
As for the final act -- true to a critically-acclaimed Broadway thriller -- it was a nail-biter. But before any fingers could be gnawed to the bone, Buffalo defenseman Uwe Krupp zoomed a slapshot toward Pitt goalie Tom Barrasso.
The puck did an ever-so-slight detour off a Penguin before sailing past the flailing Barrasso and completing its flight with a perfect landing in the twine.

Those of us watching the game in the Isles dressing room, alongside Arbour's army, were stunned to the very core. Yes, the Islanders had made it and when the red light flashed, the individual players reacted variously.
Trottier: "Can you believe this?" (Assorted responses of "No" could be heard.)
Flatley: "I think we had some kind of incredible karma." (No objections to that either.)
Fitzpatrick: "Uwe Krupp just became my best friend in the world." (Why not?)
Coincidentally, the curtain went down on the Islanders histrionic regular season a decade after Uncle Sam's Olympic hockey, club had won Gold at Lake Placid.
The triumphant 1980 Team USA winning cry, "Do you believe in miracles?" still resonated a full 10 years later; right there in Uniondale, New York.
For the Islanders remarkable 1990 regular season finish, the question, "Do you believe in miracles?" was seconded with a resounding YES!
LISTS: FOUR REASONS ENABLING THE ISLANDERS MIRACULOUS HOMESTRETCH FINISH IN 1990:
1. TORREY'S TRADES: Bow Tie Bill unloaded Mikko Makela and received useful Hubie McDonagh and Ken Baumgartner in return. The latter pair inspired the vital early-season comeback.
2. RELIABLE GOALTENDING: Once the GM acquired Glenn Healy, the Isles boasted three competent netminders -- Heals plus Mark Fitzpatrick and Jeff Hackett.
3. THE BEST COACH: During tough stretches, Al Arbour could hark back to his first two challenging seasons behind the bench (1973-74 and 1974-75) and use the strategies that enable the club to play positive hockey 'way back then.
4. HELP FROM AFAR: In the finale, once the Isles disposed of Philadelphia, they still needed a Buffalo win over Pittsburgh to clinch the playoff berth. Uwe Krupp's overtime goal for the Sabres was the gift delightfully accepted!