Maven's Memories: Isles Learn From Loss To Habs

Ask any hockey historian and he -- or she -- will tell you that the Montreal Canadiens of the late 1970s ranked among the top NHL teams of all-time.
"I wanted to pattern my Islanders after that Montreal team," said Bill Torrey, majordomo of the Nassaumen. "The Habs had become the team to beat."
When Bow Tie Bill's up-and-coming Islanders faced the Habs after the 1975-76 regular season, Les Canadiens already had blitzed the league with a scary 58-11-11 mark, good for 127 points.

Not that the Islanders had to run for cover. They had finished a respectable second in the Patrick Division. With 42 wins, 21 losses and 17 ties, Al Arbour's troupe emerged confident following series wins over Vancouver and Buffalo.
To a man, the Habs were impressed by the Isles as well. Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden -- respected for his candor -- cautioned his teammates.
"People keep saying, 'Look at what the Islanders have accomplished in four years,'" Dryden asserted. "But the truth is they've become almost as good as they are in the past 18 months. They'll be as good or better in the years to come."

The Isles were almost as good as the future Champs in Game One of the semi-final series which opened at Montreal's Forum on April 27, 1976. Close-but-no-cigar was the theme as the Habs edged New York, 3-2.
"Before the series started," goalie Glenn (Chico) Resch remembered, "everybody was saying how great the Canadiens were and how they were going they were going to wipe us out. Well, we gave them a good run in the opener."
Ditto in Game Two, only this time the margin was 4-3 for the home club. If the Islanders were unhappy with the result -- and they were, to be sure -- Montreal press savants emerged from the two games terribly impressed by the visitors.
Writing in the Montreal Gazette, columnist Tim Burke put this header on his story: ISLANDERS HAVE A BRIGHT FUTURE.
Fair enough, but when the club returned to its home in Uniondale on May 1st, the game was a virtual carbon copy of the pair played in Montreal; another one-goal defeat; this time, 3-2.
Down three games to none, the Nassaumen launched a hoped for second miracle playoff comeback after taking Game Four at the Coliseum, 5-2, but the Champs-in-waiting were not to be denied and clinched the series at The Forum, 5-2 again.
Defeated but undaunted, the up-and-coming Isles came away from the series having learned lessons from a team that eventually would win four consecutive Cups.
"Nothing for us to be ashamed of when you think about it," reflected Denis Potvin. "They had Guy Lafleur, Jacques Lemaire and Ken Dryden, among other stars. On top of that, the Canadiens had smarts; and we learned a lot from them."
One valuable lesson was that an entire playoff series sometimes can turn on one play in the first game. In this case, the incident came down to a face-off result in the Islanders end.
The score was tied, 2-2, late in the third period with only six minutes remaining.

All things considered, the visitors were just one quick goal away from an opening game upset. But the Habs had a play in mind and it worked to perfection, thanks to the orchestrator, Lemaire who had been taught the play by his predecessor, the immortal Jean Beliveau.
Jacques won the face-off and -- according to plan -- backhanded the puck to Yvon (The Roadrunner) Cournoyer who took off like a bolt from the blue along with his linemate Yvon Lambert.
As Lambert moved in front of the net, acting as a screen, The Roadrunner found the back of the net and that was that for the Isles.
"They went on to win The Cup and we were out," said Captain Ed Westfall, "but they knew we'd be back at 'em again."
For that to happen, Bill Torrey had to return to his drawing board and consider some roster changes. His farm system was churning out prospects and one of them was a fleet Western Canadian who had impressed in previous auditions but had been demoted for more seasoning.
Bob Bourne, a tall, gangly left wing, owned Mercury-type wheels and sometimes seemed too fast for his own good. A few trips to the Fort Worth farm club had honed his game to sharpness and in 1976-77 he gained a permanent spot in the lineup.
The 6-3, 202 pounder also brought a fighting spirit to the rink and better radar on his scoring stick. He finished the 1976-77 season with 16 goals and 19 assists, solidifying his position in the lineup. Plus, his rink-length dashes endlessly thrilled the home crowd.
Both the defense -- anchored by the Brothers Potvin, Denis and Jean -- and the Bill Smith-Glenn Resch goaltending tandem provided a solid containment contingent with gratifying results.
Better than ever in 1976-77, the team finished with a franchise record 47 wins and only 21 losses to go with 12 ties. Second in the Patrick Division -- six points behind Philadelphia -- the Isles entered the playoffs with maximum confidence.
"We knew we were better than ever before," said Resch. "It was there in the stats and on the ice. Confidence was high.'
The confidence was reinforced in early post-season games. For starters, Arbour's stickhandlers wiped out Chicago in a best-of-three series, two games to none. Next up were the Sabres who quickly were routed in four straight matches.

RELATED: MAVEN'S HAVEN
That was the good news; they had reached the semi-finals once more.
The bad news? They would be confronted by a Canadiens club that finished the regular campaign with an incomprehensible record of 60-8-12.
This was not a mirage. Prior to facing the Islanders, the Habs had wiped out St.Louis in four games and, following the Isles series, Montreal demolished Boston in the four-game Final.
However, in the intervening semi-final round the awe-inspiring Canadiens got a modified comeuppance from the upstart Isles: the Habs actually lost two games!
Down by a pair, Arbour's brigade bounced back for a 5-3 win at the Coliseum before being blanked 4-0 in Uniondale. Now the Habs prepped for the knockout blow at home.
But the Isles showed their gumption beating the Montrealers in Game Five, 4-3, in overtime before being deposited out of the playoffs in the sixth confrontation.
The skaters from Uniondale went down valiantly before the home crowd, 2-1. They were hailed by their fans who knew that the club's constant improvement season after season heralded a Stanley Cup in the future.
Bow Tie Bill Torrey watched the Guy Lafleur-Jacques Lemaire tandem torment his troops and looked toward the June 1977 Draft for offensive reinforcements.
How Torrey found a Lafleur-Lemaire clone remains a mind-boggling event that eventually would turn Arbour's challengers into champions.
That said, a day after his club was eliminated by Montreal, Bow Tie Bill and his trusty sidekick, Jim Devellano, were scouring potential Draft lists in search of the "New" Lafleur.
"You can talk all you want about building with kids," Torrey concluded, "but you'd better have good ones. Scouting is the backbone."
They scouted hard and found a future Hall of Famer -- Mike Bossy.
How they accomplished that feat with the 15th pick in the 1977 Draft is a story in itself.

LISTS: SIX MISSING LINKS NEEDED TO CONVERT THE ISLES INTO CUP-WINNERS
1. OFFENSIVE BALANCE: Bryan Trottier already was a premier center but the Isles lacked a Lafleur-like sniper on wing to put them over the top. (Anyone for Mike Bossy?)
2. ANOTHER STARRY DEFENSEMAN:Like Trottier, Denis Potvin provided All-Star service on the blue line. Potvin was surrounded by workmanlike D-men but another high-quality two-way defenseman was a must. (Anyone for Stefan Persson?)
3. A MEAN STREAK:Bob Nystrom, Garry Howatt, Clark Gillies and Bob Bourne all were capable fighters. Yet none of them possessed a scary-mean streak and Torrey wanted a toughie just like that. (It would take a bit longer than one year.)
4. A EUROPEAN ACE:The successful arrival of Swedish-born-and-developed Borje Salming on the Toronto defense indicated that a treasure trove of top-flight European stars could be made available to the Islanders who previously had none in their lineup. (After Stefan Persson comes Tomas Jonsson.)
5. A WHA QUALITY FORWARD:Although World Hockey Association teams regularly were raiding National Hockey League clubs, the Islanders 1976-77 roster was bereft of superior WHA talents who soon would be available. (Try John Tonelli.)
6. SETTLING ON A NUMBER ONE GOALIE:Bill Smith had seven playoff wins in the spring of 1977 yet his partner, Glenn Resch boasted the second-best goals against average, 2:08 -- after Montreal's Ken Dryden -- in the playoffs. Torrey's conundrum: should he settle on one as his top goalkeeper and trade the other, or maintain the status quo? (The status quo lasted through the first Cup win.)
(NEXT WEEK: A JEWEL IN THE HAYSTACK -- THE FINDING OF MIKE BOSSY)