Maven's Memories: Isles 1993 Run Ends in Montreal

Hopes were sky-high as they should have been.
It was spring 1993, and the Islanders had just achieved the near-impossible.
They had just disposed of one of the most gifted teams in the National Hockey League, the two-time champion Penguins. This was not supposed to happen; no how!

But it did; and now Al Arbour brainstormed with his aides on the club's charter jet, heading for Round Three and a meeting with the Canadiens.
Arbour was dead-tired; mentally and physically. So were his heroes. A seven-game series culminating with a final game that stretched into overtime will do that to a coach; even a veteran like Radar.
There was little time for sleep because the deciding game in Pitt ended late Friday night and the NHL's TV moguls wanted the new series to begin on Sunday afternoon in Montreal; it would be good for the TV ratings.
Convening with his training staff, Radar learned that Travis Green -- coming on strong -- would be sidelined with an eye ailment . Meanwhile gunners such as Pierre Turgeon, Patrick Flatley and Marty McInnis would be hurting as well.
Meeting with the newshounds, Arbour expressed his displeasure over the compressed scheduling. He was talking facts; whining was not in his repertoire.
"We're not crazy about having to start the new series with just one day rest between Pittsburgh and Montreal," Al explained. "But we'll grin and bear it, hoping for the best."

Arbour's stickhandlers had the determination that Sunday afternoon at The Forum but the legs weren't there. Neither was Turgeon who was benched for precautionary reasons.
Montreal had the energy and the goals. The Isles had neither. The 4-1 result was a reasonable result based on the circumstances. "We'll be better the next time around."
So, they were in the second encounter.
Normally, this would be a vintage come-from-behind-in-the-series game. Rested and re-focused from their Pittsburgh heroics, the Isles came on strong. Turgeon was back in the lineup and in close to mint condition.
"Pierre gave us that extra push," said Arbour, "and that's what I was looking for in the first period."
Lucky Pierre staked the Visitors to a 1-0 lead in the opening frame. Later he'd help push his club ahead 3-2, in the third period, setting up David Volek's goal. But the Habs would not be denied.
Just five minutes and ten seconds away from tying the series, the Isles faltered. Montreal's Paul DiPietro tied the game, setting the table for sudden-death OT.
It was see-saw all the way for six-minutes-and-change in an overtime that normally should have favored the Nassaumen. At 6:19 the Habs Stephan Lebeau -- he had been scoreless in six playoff appearances -- beat Healy!
Not only did the Islanders overtime streak end at eight games but they felt they had played well enough to win. Their immediate hope was a return to friendly Uniondale where the Conference Final would resume.
Fans lined up early for Game Three and carried with them a sense of optimism. That explained why arena box office lines were longer than ever. "Right now," said one man on the line, "we're playing well enough to catch them."
MAVEN'S MEMORIES
WRITTEN COVERAGE
The August Draft of 1979
Maven's Memories: Taking on Montreal in 1993
Isles Fly Past Penguins in 1993
Prelude to Penguins Upset in 1993
Isles Beat Caps in 1993
Maven's Haven
There was considerable weight to that statement. However -- much to the Islanders dismay -- Lady Luck was not paying attention.
Too bad; she should have been. So should the usually reliable referee, Kerry Fraser.
What unfolded over the course of Game Three could best be described as the Islanders "Game of Infamy," where a potential playoff victory was wrenched from their grasp and turned into a stunning defeat.
Or, as one hometown fan lamented, "We were up against a 'Seventh Man' for the Canadiens."
She was alluding to the game's referee, Fraser. A veteran official, Kerry was watching over the match with the score tied, 1-1, and a dozen minutes elapsed in the sudden-death period.
Suddenly, the loyalists roared their disapproval after Montreal's Benoit Brunet did a fork job on young Brad Dalgarno of the Isles. After extracting his hook, Brunet watched Dalgarno hit the ice.
Anger multiplied within the SRO audience when it became evident a millisecond later that Fraser was mummified; no call! Then, a pause and the Zebra told Dalgarno to get up!
Meanwhile, Habs defenseman Mathieu Schneider catapulted Benoit into scoring position along with Guy Carbonneau. Guy's wrist shot beat Healy for the game-clincher.
Except for one egregious sin that remarkably was overlooked by the two linesmen and ref Fraser.
The winning goal developed during a Canadiens line change. Replays clearly revealed that Montreal had eight players on the ice during the botched player movement by coach Jacques Demers.
Once again, Fraser failed to call a "Too Many Men" penalty nor did either linesman signal the infraction. The guilty ones remained guilty without penalty.
A good 15 minutes after the game, the Arbour Volcano still was erupting. The lava-laden words matched the coach's molten anger.
Arbour: "I think it's apparent that there are two sets of rules. There's a rule regarding the Montreal Canadiens and there's a rule regarding everybody else. They had eight guys on the ice, and Brunet tripped Dalgarno."
Then, a pause: "It was very obvious to everybody."
"I still can't believe it," Healy later said, shaking his head. "Eight men. Eight men! And no call?"
But there was no justice to be served. NHL officials do not call for a "Do Over" as kids do in street hockey. What was done, was done. The Islanders -- despite being the better team -- now were down three games to none.
Perhaps, the most ironic, long-term-looking-backward aspect of the tumult and shouting of Game Three came via the culprit, referee Fraser.
Kerry was quoted as follows in Dick Irvin's oral history on officiating, "Tough Calls."
"When Al Arbour spoke to me, or yelled at me, I had a lot of time for him because it would twig in my mind that maybe he had a legitimate complaint."
Of course, Radar did, but it never could reverse the twin blunders; the calls -- Dalgarno first; eight-men-on second -- that never were made.
The reversals pained but did not discourage the Nassaumen nor members of the Isles' alumni. Hours after the game, four-time Cup-winner Clark Gillies phoned Uwe Krupp with a comeback message.
"It's been done before," said Gillies, alluding to the Islanders 1975 four-straight comeback win over Pittsburgh. "You guys can do it!"
For one game, they did.
In Game Four, Arbour's stickhandlers made sure they weren't the first team in franchise history to be swept in a four-game series. And they did it in the grand manner.
Third period goals by Patrick Flatley, David Volek and Benny Hogue enabled the 4-1 triumph. "They played a perfect game," said Habs coach Jacques Demers; and he was right.
But could they duplicate the feat in Game Five at Montreal?

Well before the match there were ominous signs and one involved defenseman Vlad Malakhov. It wasn't a major issue, but it wasn't minor either.
At this point in the series, the Isles needed every able-bodied player it could obtain. And the big Russian defenseman was one of them.
Playing to form, Vlad was one of the NHL's most competent blue liners. A superior skater and shooter, Malakhov had become a presence on the team. But now he was sidelined by what seemed a mystery ailment.
Would he or won't he be available for the critical upcoming match? Reporters questioned him as he sat on a couch in the team's Montreal hotel lobby. Vlad looked morose and sounded unsure of what he was going to do.
One could only guess what his return would have meant to a team desperately in need of a motivational boost. But, Malakhov did not dress and that was that for the Islanders hoped-for surge.
The most likely blue-liner who played the -- offense-defense -- game like Malakhov was ex-Olympian Jeff Norton. Alas, he was not up to the task. The Montrealers jumped all over the Islanders' defense from the opening face-off.
The home club took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission and made it 5-1 after two periods. There wasn't a drop left in the Visitors tank and this was reflected in the 5-2 ousting score.
There were no sounds of recrimination nor what-might-have-beens in the Islanders dressing room. Just disappointment and reflection on how the team had given all it had; under adverse circumstances.
"Everything I asked, they gave," concluded Arbour. "So many guys gave so much. It's been a shot in the arm for the players and the franchise -- and Long Island."
But there already had been a changing of the guard; and it would prove more significant than any happening since Bill Torrey had been put in charge back in 1972. Bow Tie Bill was pushed upstairs, losing decision-making control.
This now was Don Maloney's team to craft and the ex-Ranger had plenty with which to work. From Glenn Healy's robust goaltending on out, the nifty nucleus appeared to be in place for an exciting encore to the 1993 spring offensive.
As Maloney began painting the franchise's future, fans wondered what the new picture would be like.
It would not be pretty.
LISTS: FOUR REASONS FOR THE BUILD-UP TO A MONTREAL LETDOWN:
1. FOLLOWING THE MIRACLE:Defeating defending champion Pittsburgh left the Islanders as joyously high as a team could get. Developing an encore performance against Montreal would be a motivational challenge. It failed
2. UNFORGIVING SCHEDULE:The NHL's decision to schedule the Montreal series opener only two days after the Penguins tourney ended gave the Isles no time to re-group. It proved a back-breaker.
3. CONTROVERSIAL GAME 3 CALL:Referee Kerry Fraser's refusal to call either the tripping penalty against Montreal or the too-many-men-on-the-ice infraction led to the Habs overtime-winning goal.
4. HOT HABS:Under coach Jacques Demers, the Canadiens were ready, willing and -- in the end -- able to defeat the Islanders. One must give credit where credit is due! In the end, the better team won!