7th (and 5th) Games in New York Islanders History
by Dominik on Apr 26, 2011 1:05 PM EDT
in Islanders of Yesteryear
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PrintBeginning tonight, there will be three Game 7's (or, uh, Games Seven...or 7th Games...see comments) within 24 hours in the NHL playoffs. It's pretty much hockey heaven. But don't get used to it: As with double-OT games, sometimes you get spoiled by them appearing in bunches, and then next thing you know we go a whole round or two without seeing another series reach Game 7 or multiple overtimes.
While we're on the topic of deprivation though, these occasions always get me thinking back to when the Islanders were actually in the playoffs long enough to reach a Game 7. It's been a while.
The euphoria after a Game 7 victory is a feeling pharmaceutical companies only wish they knew how to bottle and package. Afghan farmers and murderous Columbian soccer fans wish they could harness it for profit. As with many narcotics, it comes with a devastating risk: A loss in Game 7 is, simply, the worst feeling you can have as a hockey fan. It's a stomach flu mixed with a hangover mixed with a death in the family. It's for that reason I look back on Islanders Game 7's with a very cautious nostalgia.
They were the best of times, they were the worst of times -- if you have personal memories of any of these games, do share them in comments...
1975: Expansion Team Announces Its Arrival
Islanders win Game 7 in Pittsburgh, 1-0
Islanders lose Game 7 in Philadelphia, 4-1
In just Year 3 of the franchise, the Islanders storm into the playoffs and take Pennsylvania by surprise. For 35 years this stood as the broadcast graphic "last time a team came back from a 3-0 series deficit to win." The Islanders did it to Pittsburgh, then almost did it again the next round.
We dug up a lot of info and a little bit of video on that year in this post last May.
1978: Heartbreak and Underachievement
Islanders lose at home to Toronto, 2-1 (OT)
This was when 12 teams made the playoffs and a preliminary 8-team, best-of-three round was held to see who would face the division winners who had byes to the second round. Warning: This video may cause pain, bring back nasty memories. (The death blow happens at about the 6:40 mark of the video.)
Lanny McDonald's OT winner in Game 7 was almost as low as it would get for the high-expectation pre-Dynasty Islanders. (Sadly, it would get lower the next year: The Isles fell to the Rangers in six games, giving the Smurfs their chance to be thumped 4-1 in the Cup finals by Montreal.)
1980-84: A Dynasty Without Game 7's
That would be all for a while, as the dominant 1980-84 Islanders were never forced to a Game 7. In fact, in their 19 consecutive playoff series wins they were forced to the brink just twice -- both times in best-of-five preliminary round games, and both times ending with Islanders OT winners to clinch the series and carry the most impressive playoff record in NHL history onward.
Otherwise, generally the dynasty was marked by lots of 4-0 sweeps and 4-1 thumpings.
Game 5 Caveats:
The Islanders did have a winner-take-all scary first-round series with Pittsburgh in 1982. The Penguins pushed the Isles to the maximum five games and, if not for the heroics of John Tonelli tying the game and winning it in OT, there might not have been a dynasty at all. (Video of both goals is at the end of this post.)
A couple of years later, with the Drive for Five still on, the Islanders had another preliminary round Game 5 -- this time with the hated Rangers. Kenny Morrow took care of things in OT:
1985*
Another exception, in the last season in which the NHL played best-of-five opening round series, the Islanders had another winner-take-all Game 5 and got by the Capitals with a 2-1 nailbiter. They were eliminated in the next round by Philadelphia, 4-1. Let's not go there.
1987: Why I Will Always Love Easter
The 1987 playoff year saw two Islanders Game 7's, one that ended with heroics currently featured on NHL "History is Made" commercials, the other that ended in ways we don't need to talk about.
The Islanders got past the Capitals in seven games thanks to Pat LaFontaine's quadruple-OT winner in the Game 7 known as the Easter Epic. If Game 7's are torture, Game 7 OT's are -- to steal the Richards-Miller verbal motif of the moment -- mass murder. Unless you win, of course, in which case it's your wedding day and the birth of your firstborn all wrapped in one moment.
The Islanders went toe to toe with the Flyers in the next round, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to force Game 7 in Philly. The Flyers won that one 5-1, the most lopsided game of the series.
1993: What a Year, What a Year
The Islanders got past the Capitals in six games -- D. Hunter is a gutless coward -- but had to face the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions without Pierre Turgeon. No matter. It took seven games, but the apprentice bested the master*: Al Arbour's boys got past Scotty Bowman's millionaires thanks to Ray Ferraro and Dave Volek, among many heroes.
*This is when I always relay the story that when Arbour was considering the Islanders job the first time around, Bowman -- who'd coached him in St. Louis -- told him, "You take that job you'll be losing for 10 years." Turns out 10 years later Arbour was winning his fourth consecutive Cup and Bowman was learning in Buffalo that being coach and GM is harder than it looks.
I love you, Dave Volek:
1994-2001
Huh. Strange. Apparently our data is missing from this period. That's weird.
2002: The Return
The Islanders returned to the playoffs with a thunderous, bloody bang, going seven games in a brutal series with the then-quite-brutal Maple Leafs. Casualties abounded. Darcy Tucker took Michael Peca out with a dirty hit. Gary Roberts (who somehow became some sort of hero in later years) knocked Kenny Jonsson out with a check from behind. Shayne Corson and Tucker were both exposed for what they were, which is only a few levels above Hunter. Shawn Bates scored on Curtis Joseph on a penalty shot where the roof nearly blew off the Coliseum.
The Isles lost a tough Game 7 in Toronto, 4-2. (The Leafs would beat Ottawa in seven games in the next round, then fall to the Hurricanes in the Conference Finals.) It's been eight seasons and nine years since that series. The Isles would return to the playoffs three more times over the following four seasons, but never last as long as a seventh game.
It's about time that changed.
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Hmm, like brothers-in-law?
To me “Games 7” (or really “Games seven”) sounds too icky. Well, it’s sports, so if it’s wrong, I’m making up my own grammar rules! (But thanks.)
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
Olde English?
I feel like that would sound like.
Dost thou team sustainest thyselves beyondest the games 7? Stayeth tuned for sterling oratory fromst JR and his contenporary, Jonesy.
"Gervais...he looks danger in the fist with his face!" JPinVA
Website: Lighthousehockey.com Twitter: @KeithLHHockey
by Keith Quinn on Apr 26, 2011 1:31 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
Also
It’s Surgeons General and Courts Martial as well for plurals.
I learned that from the West Wing!
"Playin hurt, baby that don't faze me. I don't got time for pain. The only pain I've got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is!"
"You can't come in my kitchen, kick my dog, and take a box full of ballpoints! Your ass must be crazy!"
Also, passers by and attorney's general.
I would stick with Game 7s, though there is a valid argument to going with Games 7: 7, in this instance, would be an adjective – and the adjective doesn’t get “pluralized.” You say “red hats” not “reds hat.” What kind of hat? A red hat. What kind of game? A game 7.
Hmmmm, I’m intrigued. This is an interesting debate, and I, for one, will think long and hard on it.
Oh, I follow that argument
I’ve just always seen a “Game 7” as its own entity, a holy institution and false sports construction that traditional English rules cannot tear asunder.
The final kicker for me is the “s” sound at both the end of “Games” and the beginning of “Seven.”
I follow English/AP convention by my day job, but in the new world of sports blogitude, convention shall take a backseat to my own version of clarity and convenience. (e.g. Does “power play” really need to be two separate words? It’s a fake thing. They’re lucky I don’t just say “PP” on every reference.)
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
well
When you talk about two different games, say 1 and 2 of a series one normally says “Games 1 and 2”.
"Playin hurt, baby that don't faze me. I don't got time for pain. The only pain I've got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is!"
"You can't come in my kitchen, kick my dog, and take a box full of ballpoints! Your ass must be crazy!"
True
But to me, it’s clear you’re talking about different games within a series though. (“We talking about Game 1, or Game 2?” → “Both. Games 1 and 2.”) Not ever “Boy they were great in Games 7 and 7 … and 7 … and 7 … and 7, too.”)
I realize there’s a convention pushing for Games Seven, I just think it sounds like ass.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
by Dominik on Apr 26, 2011 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
And as the bottom line, I agree with this:
“I realize there’s a convention pushing for Games Seven, I just think it sounds like ass.”
You know what sounds like ass?
Ass
"Playin hurt, baby that don't faze me. I don't got time for pain. The only pain I've got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is!"
"You can't come in my kitchen, kick my dog, and take a box full of ballpoints! Your ass must be crazy!"
Games 7
does indeed sound like ass.
Though I think you need to lose the apostrophe. As you would write 1990s, so you would Game 7s.
I'm always torn about that
As 7’s looks like ass, but 7s almost looks like an old lady’s game notation.
I give up.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
7's
Makes it sound possessive. I never liked that. Or “7 is” which has its own issues. This discussion is somewhat ludicrous though haha
"Playin hurt, baby that don't faze me. I don't got time for pain. The only pain I've got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is!"
"You can't come in my kitchen, kick my dog, and take a box full of ballpoints! Your ass must be crazy!"
We're all about ludicrous
Further, we need to get your mind off tonight’s game.
And yeah: the possessive leads me to problems. I spend much time reminding a woman that it’s ‘90s, not 90’s, and yet here I am creating confusion and discomfort.
I tell myself in this case the apostrophe is short for, “Look, we know this is a digit for a number you’d normally spell out except it’s sports, so just know we’re cutting corners here and go with it.”
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
to quote Frank Zappa
the crux of the biscuit is the apostrophe’
by Jones79 on Apr 26, 2011 9:05 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
but...
what is your conceptual continuity? and just who you jivin’ with that cosmik debris?
by isles in arkansas on Apr 27, 2011 12:03 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
All discussions about grammar
are ludicrous.
That said, 1990’s is wrong and 1990s is right. Not sure that’s fully applicable here, but I feel like it is.
Sevens
You should spell out numbers less than ten, so you wouldn’t have this problem then.
Also, Go Sabres!!! I can’t wait for Philly to lose.
I do, but
“Game X” are a different entity to me. They’re like kings and sequels. It may be the seventh game, but it’s Game 7, baby!
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
And this folks
Is why you say “power play”!
"Playin hurt, baby that don't faze me. I don't got time for pain. The only pain I've got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is!"
"You can't come in my kitchen, kick my dog, and take a box full of ballpoints! Your ass must be crazy!"
If hard thinking
Lasts longer than 4 hours, please contact a doctor
"Playin hurt, baby that don't faze me. I don't got time for pain. The only pain I've got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is!"
"You can't come in my kitchen, kick my dog, and take a box full of ballpoints! Your ass must be crazy!"
Lighthouse Hockey: It's like Viagra, but for you Brain.
by Les Beaver on Apr 26, 2011 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Help
I’m thinking and I can’t give up!
On this specific topic – grammatically, “Games Seven” is correct. It usually helps to turn it around: you would say “the history of seventh games” and not “sevenths game,” which sounds like a Mike Emrick-approved way to say “8 minutes, 34 seconds.”
However, there is a little-known grammatical principle known as “it don’t sound good.” Therefore Game Sevens is perfectly acceptable.
/journomajor
We may be in the box, but you get the penalty.
Lighthouse Hockey - a beacon of greatness on the rocky coast of sports blog mediocrity
Non-hockey scribblings at nightflyblog
Games Seven?
It would be “Games Seven” unless “Gameseven” is really one word then you can say “Gamesevens”. But no apostrophe.
The Easter game 7 (singular) is the one I most remember. I stayed up, got about 45 seconds of sleep and had to go drive to play a softball game. The game was fine but I was so tired I missed my exit on the Turnpike and ended up about an hour away before I realized it.
The other one was the Ed Westfall goal against Pittsburgh. 1-0 Games Seven/Gamesevens are sometimes not worth the stress.
Id go with “7th games” or add a word in to alleviate the awkwardness- like “Game 7 contests”
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Apr 26, 2011 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Games 7?
You so funny.
"We can't get pushed around," Haley said. "What commentators say about us, that's their job. My job is to try and limit as many people who want to take liberties with our guys as possible."
by BobbyNystromOwnsYou on Apr 26, 2011 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions
if you want to be properly edumicated
Just read Puck Daddy
In loving memory;Dad thanks for making us Islanders fans, ACC 1918-2011
1978: Heartbreak and Underachievement
Lanny McDonald’s OT winner in Game 7 on Chico Resh gave me the ultimate “gutted” feeling. No other loss comes close to that one for me.
We are all Islanders, even if we are in Jersey!
It's gutting just to read about
I was gestating. I think I’ve mentioned that I didn’t know Lanny was a villain of sorts until after I admired his red mustache and spherical helmet in Calgary.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
Toronto was the best for me
seeing as i never got the chance to watch the dynasty era isles, for me watching Shawn Bates scoring the penalty shot and the isles forcing a game 7 was the best playoff series i ever saw…i only saw a few more but still…i really wanted to kill the leafs for taking out Kenny Jonsson and Mike Peca…can we blame mad mike for the lapse in isles playoff hockey?
can we blame mad mike for the lapse in isles playoff hockey?
yes
"And Campbell knows that if head-shots are eliminated, fighting must be eliminated too. Since fighting is, by definition, punching people in the head" - Quisp
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
He got the team to the playoffs, but by design the team was never going to be better than slightly better than medicore.
Like the Rangers East. I’d rather sit through a couple of awful years knowing that a solid team is coming that will compete for years to come than decades of meh.
Something that's usually ignored when defending him
Is that there were plenty of teams around the league in just as poor financial shape as the Islanders. Ottawa, Edmonton, Nashville, just to name a few, were all able to ice competitive teams.
That 02 run basically cost us the whole 00s.
"And Campbell knows that if head-shots are eliminated, fighting must be eliminated too. Since fighting is, by definition, punching people in the head" - Quisp
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
I can laugh now
But it’s always fun to go through the playoffs hearing announcers say, “…a first round pick of the New York Islanders” left and right. Oh, so many high Islanders picks in the playoffs playing for other teams.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
its symantics
it still doesnt make up for the fact that he single-handedly ruined this franchise by trading away everyone
Considering he was the chief reason for it? (with an assist from Maloney...)
Yeah. Yeah we can.
Ya ever seen Frans Nielsen’s eyes, Chief? Those…cold…black…lifeless eyes, like a dolls eyes…
by BrassBonanza10 on Apr 26, 2011 11:31 PM EDT up reply actions
They havent won a series in my lifetime
Born in 94 I missed it by 1 year. I cant wait to see the islanders back in the playoffs. In 07 I went to game 4 against the Sabres at the Colliseum. The game where the refs called it a goal when the puck didnt cross the line and every one started throwing stuff on the ice (I havent seen a replay of it.) I have never been anywhere that loud. After every goal, the building was shaking.
same here
growing up in the 90’s was awesome except for the fact that we have never seen the isles win a playoff series
I keep reading about the dynasty and all the history. Its about time we make some new history
by nyidangle17 on Apr 26, 2011 3:11 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
/feels a ’90s music discussion coming in 3…2…1…
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
Sublime!
All I know of Reel Big Fish is that EA Sports chose their “Sell Out” for the home menu page song on one of the FIFA games, and it drove me nuts every time I played.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
Well, I can appreciate that
I just don’t much know them. (I’m fairly stuck in my ways.)
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
Officially old
I watched 1993’s Game Seven at a friend’s house in my then-brand-new home whites. I spilled soda all over the front when Volek scored. The stain never entirely came out, but I don’t care, because of the memories. I was 20.
When I hear Darth and Dangle say that they’ve never been alive for an Isles series win, it makes me incredibly sad. BUT – it also gives me a great appreciation for the tremendous teams I got to see growing up, which is something that eludes you when you’re six. Of course we won the Cup! Don’t we always? Well – no. But to see people grow up as loyal Isles fans through the kind of outhouse reject squads we were forced to watch in the aughts makes me proud of the fanbase, as well as the part of it that comes around Lighthouse Hockey. For your sakes, I hope next year this club makes some noise and wins some playoff games. There’s nothing like it.
We may be in the box, but you get the penalty.
Lighthouse Hockey - a beacon of greatness on the rocky coast of sports blog mediocrity
Non-hockey scribblings at nightflyblog
by mikb on Apr 26, 2011 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I went to some great games
as a little kid, that I don’t really remember. But Game 6 of that series was probably the best game I saw in person that I could appreciate. And the last time the Coliseum was LOUD.
So rec'd
And this…
the stain never entirely came out, but I don’t care, because of the memories.We’ve probably had this exchange before, but that’s why I’m a “wear it, don’t frame it” guy.
If the thing gets tears or stains or nicks in it, that just means it was well used and probably filled with “I remember when” moments.
I swear I can still smell the room and the weather from the night Volek scored. That entire month or however long it was, from Turgeon vs. the Caps to the #$%ing Habs is frozen in time.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
first game memories
the fact is that i still remember going to my first game on november 5th 1995 against the flyers…3 years old and screaming like a gremlin for the isles…my dad raised me right
SHOOT THE DAMN PUCK!!!
That's excellent
At that age, I remember turning my dad’s cane upside down and shooting the tennisball against the wall as we watched the playoffs.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
I went to see the Isles play the Jets as my first game in 96
I remember there being a goal in about 3 seconds off the faceoff. Fish stick jerseys and all. I even got one from the game.
Funny I had home whites (my last name) before I ever went to a game. I played hockey in huntington and grew up with dynasty islanders in the area who would always come to our end of the season team dinners to say a few words and sign autographs. First year watching hockey was in 92, so I was lucky enough to remember the 93 run and then 8 miserable years that followed. My whole family moved over from Belgium, so living on the Island and surrounded by the greats, the Islanders were a natural choice. Took heat from all the ranger fans at school, especially 94.
one more interesting little tidbit
When I was about 11, I was on a team with a boy from a very wealthy family that had many connections. We were invited to skate at the rink that used to be near the twin towers with 3 current members of the New Jersey Devils. We all might as well have died and gone to heaven, even if they were devs. It was pretty much like the Mighty Ducks, when they go to the North Stars arena and see Mike Madono. Anyways, the budding hockey fan I was, I did not know players back and front aside from the cards I had. A then very young Bill Geurin was one of the three players. Who knew many years later he would once captain my team.
by ghalbart on Apr 26, 2011 8:45 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Ha, nice
That’s cool. I remember Guerin being interviewed soon after that ’95 Cup win by the Devils, on the ice. He looked so calm (and young, in retrospect).
A few years ago when he won his second Cup with P#$%burgh he mentioned how he took it for granted the first time, thought he’d be back a lot — and it reminded me of that ’95 interview.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
Thanks Dom, nice to see all this history and links to more history all in one screen.
I missed the cups :( Now that that’s outta the way, man what a feeling it was in ’93. They really were continuing that persona of Never Say Dielanders. Kaspy was electric. Chicken Parm was clutch. Pilon scared the sh*t outta opposing players. Thomas was such a sparkplug.
Still couldn’t believe they pulled it off vs. Pittsburgh that year. Still can’t believe they haven’t won a f*cking single series since.
BTW, pardon my need for a history refresher but, during the dynasty years, which of our centers took on the opposition’s top line? Was it Goring or Merrick? Trots himself? Was it Brent Sutter later on in the dynasty?
Tonight’s 2 games are gonna be somethin’, especially Hawks-Nucks. Thanks again.
"Seriously that's the last time you guys f#@%ing won?" -RSH (about beating the Penguins in '93)
I can't wait
Game 7’s Game 7s Games Seven as a neutral are bliss for me. All fun and drama and playing without mistakes, none of the devastating consequences.
On the roles, I honestly don’t know. My understanding of hockey at that time amounted to “Score Bossy, score! Look at Trots, he’s everywhere! Goring has a funny helmet!”
I think Merrick had a role like that in his time, but the old-timers around here should weigh in on that.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
back in myyyyy day
(Sorry.)
My gauzy recollection is that Wayne Merrick, Bob Bourne, Lorne Henning, and Anders Kallur were all very strong in the shadow and shutdown roles for the Isles. You also had Duane Sutter and Garry Howatt acting as pests and hitters. Goring often centered the second line, but they played a lot of two-way hockey and he also killed penalties. After the dynasty years you saw a lot of Patrick Flatley in a defensive role.
We may be in the box, but you get the penalty.
Lighthouse Hockey - a beacon of greatness on the rocky coast of sports blog mediocrity
Non-hockey scribblings at nightflyblog
Anders Kallur!
Wow! forgot all about him! Gritty little guy he was!
Back....
had to take a Campbell and wipe my Bettman.
"You guys are crazy! You must not even watch hockey", what are you Islander fans or something?
That 2002 series was a heartbreaker
"We can't get pushed around," Haley said. "What commentators say about us, that's their job. My job is to try and limit as many people who want to take liberties with our guys as possible."
by BobbyNystromOwnsYou on Apr 26, 2011 3:36 PM EDT reply actions
Off topic, sorry, but weird Botta tweet
Chris Botta
ChrisBottaNHL Chris Botta
Sound Tigers prez Howard Saffan and rest of Charles Wang / #Isles AHL staff taking over mgt of their Bridgeport arena.
2 minutes ago
What’s up with that d’ya think?
"Gervais...he looks danger in the fist with his face!" JPinVA
Website: Lighthousehockey.com Twitter: @KeithLHHockey
I'm going to assume it somehow ties to back to Garth Snow sucking?
Not really sure. Is that what they did last year with the Coliseum as well?
I thought this was old news?
{shrugs} Seemed like Fornabaio would occasionally talk about the arena management changing, related to the naming rights going to that bank, too.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
by Dominik on Apr 26, 2011 4:16 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
My brother
was at the Bates penalty shot game, and he said the same thing, that he felt the roof was going to fall through from the shaking and yelling of the fans. And to watch that video, it gave me chills….I can’t freakin wait until we can rock that place again.
People don’t realize how great an arena it can (key word: CAN) be…..I’d take that “old barn” for a playoff game over almost any other arena in hockey.
Proud to root for the Jets, Mets, and Islanders!!!
Cannot repeat this enough
New buildings are pretty and allow you to get in and out of the can pretty quickly. But they don’t sound the same.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
My mom (also an Islander fan) 73years young also has been to the old barn many times.
Says she loves going to the old barn. She loves the aura of family like cozyness. She also has gone to the old home of the Devils “The Izod” center and still prefers the old barn.
I on the other hand do like the old barn BUT would like the slanders to be in a modern arena.
We are all Islanders, even if we are in Jersey!
by Russel Ginart on Apr 26, 2011 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, a modern arena is inevitable/necessary
It’s just too bad…or at least hopefully people will enjoy — and get to playoff enjoy — the old one before it’s kaput.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
Let's not forget that David Volek broke his stick and skated to the bench...
…where Pierre Turgeon gave him his stick.
And the rest is history.
You only figure 8 once.
Nooooooooo!!!!
I saw that game on TV but don’t recall Volek braking his stick and getting one from Turgeon. I assume Turgeon was on the bench and handed it to David as he skated by?
We are all Islanders, even if we are in Jersey!
by Russel Ginart on Apr 27, 2011 12:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Unfortunately I'm only old enough to remember the 2002 heartbreak
… which was especially bad because it came on my birthday. I remember being excitedly optimistic about the my birthday potentially being the day they clinched the series victory and then… well I don’t think any explanation is necessary. But that Bates penalty shot definitely my favorite hockey moment (among those that I have memories of seeing live).
Hopefully during the next couple of years we see some more series where they manage to win more than 1 game (maybe even some where they win 4 games).
78 Isles Leafs
Third Grade…sitting in my basement dumfounded, as my 5th grade older brother shed some tears. My anger towards Gillies on that play took at least a year to fade. Palmateer was outstanding in that series, he was the difference…and the Isles definitely got outmuscled. Jerry Butler nearly killed Bossy with a crosscheck to the neck. Ian Turnbull..Getting angry thinking about this. Though what the following year did to my psyche would give a shrink a field day…Isles power play just deserted them. Trust me boys, if you were there for that series, your hatred for the Rangers goes a little bit higher not to 10, but 11..
Haha, excellent
Sorry to bring out your worst memories, but…well they’re educational for us all.
I’m glad you mentioned Gillies. I always think about that when I watch that clip, but I’ve never heard anyone talk about it.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
I watched the 93 game 7 in my Army barracks at Ft Bragg, NC with another guy who was from LI. We felt like the only hockey fans on the planet. When Volek scored we were screaming so loud, the SGT on duty ordered us to shut up or we’d be put on extra duty. Fast foward to 02 and Bates’ penalty shot. I jumped up and down in complete silence. My 1st child was 3 months old and sleeping. I didn’t dare wake her.
by Icefan71 on Apr 27, 2011 8:50 AM EDT reply actions 4 recs
this is completely awesome
And thank you for your service.
We may be in the box, but you get the penalty.
Lighthouse Hockey - a beacon of greatness on the rocky coast of sports blog mediocrity
Non-hockey scribblings at nightflyblog
AWESOME
Seconded, thank you for your service to this great country!
We are all Islanders, even if we are in Jersey!
by Russel Ginart on Apr 27, 2011 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Beautiful!
Just beautiful, man.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
Rec'd and thanks for serving
"Seriously that's the last time you guys f#@%ing won?" -RSH (about beating the Penguins in '93)
1984 Game 5 vs the Smurfs
I was 13. My brother was 17. We went to the Coliseum with $60 combined, being way too young to understand “scalping” before that night. After spending two hours approaching every scalper in the parking lot, we knew there was no way we were getting tickets. We decided to head back to the car in hopes of making it home by mid-first period, when this really tall guy (6’6" or taller, every adult seemed tall when I was 13) walked up to us and said “you guys want to get into the game?”. A little skeptical, we said “yeah”. He said “give me $50, keep your mouth shut, and follow me”. Hoping this guy wasn’t a serial killer, we did what he said. We followed him to the turnstiles, and went to a door at the right end. We walked through the door right behind him, security looked at us funny, but said nothing. Once through the door, the tall guy turned back to us and simply said “get lost”.
We spent the entire game bouncing from empty seat to empty seat, getting seperated after the first period. The standing spots in between sections were no good on that night, as packs of security were roaming around checking tickets. I caught half the game from the fifth row by the Islanders tunnel, and ended up catching Morrow’s game winner from the 4th row somewhere in the 300’s. The overtime was intense, and the place just exploded when it was over. I managed to get myself in a backround shot of the channel 7 news that night, my homemade “The Drive for Five is Still Alive” sign proudly in hand.
Dom, Thanks for posting the video of that OT. Other than live, I had never seen it before. Brought back a lot of memories of a great night.
by Bryville19 on Apr 27, 2011 1:37 PM EDT reply actions 3 recs
Aw man, this is awesome
Thanks for sharing this!
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
I love these stories
It’s probably time to compile them in a Tales of the Islanders post, similar to the Glossary and “$#!t Butchie Says.”
We may be in the box, but you get the penalty.
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SBNation.com Recent Stories
1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
