Maven's Memories: Round Two on Road to 1981 Stanley Cup

When Mike Bossy spoke, the hockey world listened.
It had to pay attention since Sir Michael had become the most natural scorer since Maurice 'Rocket' Richard.
The Montreal native also was a master of hockey insights and never was bashful about making them public.
So, it was only natural that on the eve of the 1981 second playoff collision between the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Islanders that 'The Bossy Word' was heard.

"The Oilers are young and talented," Bossy opined, "And they just upset the Canadiens; winning three straight in the first round."
The Oilers chief protagonist was Wayne Gretzky, who tied Marcel Dionne for the scoring championship in his first NHL season. (He previously had played for Edmonton in the World Hockey Association.)
Wonderful Wayne may not have realized it at the time, but a remark he offhandedly had made soon after his club de-camped in Uniondale got him in trouble -- while simultaneously doing the Islanders a world of good.
Naturally enthused after his team had knocked off the favored Canadiens, Gretzky met the New York media and then committed his blunder.
MAVEN'S MEMORIES
WRITTEN COVERAGE
First Steps Towards 1981 Cup
From Viking to Uniondale, the Sutter Bros
Bob Bourne's End to End Rush
Mikko Makela: The Flying Finn
Stan's 17 Birthday Memories
Jason Blake Played Big
Shirley Fischler Breaks Gender Barriers
Jim Devellano, The Other Architect
The 2003-04 Season
Mike Bossy's Road to the Islanders
The 2002-03 Homestretch
John Tonelli Five-Goal Game
Maven's Haven
He told the Big Apple press corps that the Habs were "the greatest team in hockey."
Some members of the Met Area Hockey Writers Association couldn't figure The Great One's logic. After all, the Islanders were the defending champions, ready for another challenge. The Canadiens were playing golf.
"Put those Gretzky quotes on the dressing room wall," urged coach Al Arbour. "We'll let those Oilers see who's the 'greatest' and who is not."
Meanwhile Radar and Bow Tie Bill Torrey huddled over a blueprint that would stifle Edmonton's full-scale attacks. After showing it to the players, Denis Potvin said it all made sense.
"We're not going to play them wide open," the captain declared. "We can't let them skate and handle the puck. That's what they like to do."
As it happened, an added member of the Oilers entourage was Peter Gzowski, a highly-respected Canadian author and broadcaster. One reason Gzowski was aboard happened to be a book he was writing.
"The book is all about the Oilers," Gzowski revealed, "And their own quest for the Cup. But I can tell you this, the Edmonton guys are not comfortable with the idea of playing the Islanders."
That was evident as the first game unfolded at the Coliseum. For starters, the Isles had several advantages over their foe and one was a headline in the New York Post: ISLES WANT TO MAKE GRETZKY EAT HIS WORDS.
And, in a sense, they did. New York routed Edmonton, 8-2. To his credit, Wayne met the media after the drubbing and, naturally was asked the, "Who's the best team?" question that he provoked.
Gretzky: "After we beat the Canadiens, I said we beat the best 'organization' in hockey. It's the same as when someone beats the New York Yankees in baseball. I know that all of us guys who grew up in Canada and watched the Canadiens rule the NHL figured that the Habs were the greatest and to beat them was something we dreamed about.
"I'm taking nothing away from the Islanders. They have a good team, but Montreal is the best ever. This year the Islanders were the best team, but it will take a long time to knock the Canadiens off the pedestal."
There were other reasons to dislike the Oilers. Mike Bossy called them "Too young and undisciplined."
In his autobiography, Boss, Mike recalled an incident during which the Edmontonians were singing on their bench.
Bossy: "They went, 'Here we go, Oilers, here we go. Here we go, Oilers, here we go.' It got a bunch of us mad."
Game 2 was much tougher on the Islanders. Glenn Anderson put the Oilers ahead, 1-0, in the first period before the Nassaumen got their counterattack going.
The score was 3-3 at the end of the second period whereupon Radar's skaters stepped hard on the gas pedal. A trio of three-unanswered third-period goals did the job and the final tally read, Islanders 6, Oilers, 3.
Everything was coming up roses for the Isles -- that is, until they skated on to Northlands ice for Game 3. That's when Gretzky's greatness became evident. His hat trick proved the margin of victory, 5-2, for Edmonton.
In many ways, Game 4 was the series-turner. It was tied 4-4 at the end of regulation. Isles back-up, Rollie Melanson -- his only playoff start -- was matching his opposite, Andy Moog in saves but he couldn't allow another red light.
Nor did he. Just short of the OT's five minute mark, Isles solid defender, Ken Morrow, let one go from his station at the blue line. "My shot hit just about everything and everyone between me and the goal," said Kenny.
The Oilers defenseman Kevin Lowe watched it with dismay: "It was not a particularly devastating shot," Lowe remembered, "But somehow it handcuffed Andy Moog and went in!"
Moog: "I thought we had cleared it. So, I relaxed. I didn't see what happened after Morrow got the puck until the Islanders started dancing, and I didn't like that."

The time was 5:41 of the first sudden death period and now, the Islanders held a commanding three games to one series lead. They returned to Uniondale in perfect position to boot Gretzky, Inc to the sidelines.
"One problem," wrote author Barry Wilner of The Associated Press. "The Islanders got lazy and careless."
The result was a hugely disappointing Edmonton 4-3 victory and, suddenly, the pesky Oilers were approaching the driver's seat.
Lowe: "We had put the fear of God into the Islanders. Going back to Edmonton, they knew darn good and well that they had a series on their hands."
Game 6 at Northlands Coliseum had the feel of a Stanley Cup Final even though the teams were battling through the second round. For a period-plus, the home club made a game of it.
Finally, the Islanders broke through for a pair goals, enabling them to carry a two-goal advantage into the third frame.
"It was tough to play them," Potvin concluded. "They were all over the ice."
Mark Messier lifted the locals' hopes with a goal at 5:31 of the third period but, from then on, Bill Smith shut the door, while Duane Sutter widened the gap. Finally, the Oilers were toast.
With 20-20 hindsight, one could explain the Islanders success by going back to their drawing board and "The Gretzky Strategy" that, for the most part, worked.
"We used a zone," Captain Potvin insisted. "We knew that if we gave him enough time and enough targets that he'd blow our doors off. We concentrated on covering his wings and getting to him quickly to get him off the puck."
The 5-2 decision and 4-2 series margin in games may have looked like an easy run for the Isles but beyond the superficial there was reality.
"We felt challenged," Bossy admitted. "Their young talent showed us that they'd be a team to reckon with down the road."
Ah, but the next team to be reckoned with was just down the Long Island Expressway and Queens-Midtown Tunnel in a county called Manhattan.
None other than the New York Rangers stood in the way of a second Islanders march to the Stanley Cup Final!