Maven's Memories: Taking on Montreal in 1993

Team of Destiny or Team of Destruction? Which will it be?
In the spring of 1993 the Islanders were a tough team to figure.
They had defeated the nasty Washington Capitals in six opening round playoff games; yet some critics considered that a fluke.

The "fluke" theme was deleted by and large after the Nassaumen stunned the North American hockey scene in Round Two by ousting the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games.
Now what?
Some neutral observers could see coach Al Arbour's sextet as destiny's children. "They're a better (Isles) team than we thought," was the theme circulating among the press.
Glenn Healy's goaltending never was better. The defense -- fortified by solid rookies Darius Kasparaitis and Vladimir Malakhov -- surpassed positive expectations and the offense had baffled the Pens arsenal of stars.
"We fooled a lot of people," said Travis Green, a key component in Al Arbour's youth movement. "This is a well-rounded team. Everyone thought the Penguins would be here; not us!"
The Islanders arrived bleary-eyed in Montreal from Pittsburgh on Saturday. A hasty practice then was arranged.

It wasn't an eleventh-hour warmup for their Sunday afternoon third round playoff against the Canadiens. Nobody had to tell the Nassaumen that they were only four wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final.
Based on developments since the post-season had begun, neither the media nor The Faithful back in the Metropolitan Area had any reason to doubt that another quartet of victories was possible.
One reporter at The Forum was carrying a copy of Saturday's (May 15, 1993) Newsday. The paper's headline crystalized the optimism oozing out of every Islander's pore. Splashed on Page One were three very large words:
IT'S A MIRACLE!
The reference, of course, was to the Islanders sudden-death de-throning of the mighty Penguins on David Volek's overtime goal.
"If we could beat the Champs," wondered Isles defenseman Jeff Norton, "why not the Canadiens?"
The answer would be affirmative if the stickhandlers from Uniondale somehow could clear the bleary eyes that enveloped them when they landed in Habtown.
"I'm not happy that we're rushed into this round," Radar Arbour bluntly asserted, "but we've got no choice but to go out and play."
Events on Sunday afternoon proved negative for the Visitors. The build-up orchestrated in the Penguins lair produced a letdown -- alias 4-1 loss -- in the The Land of the Habs.
"We just didn't have it," said Ray Ferraro.
For a period, the Isles had kept it close, but that's all. One press box wag suggested that Radar's sextet appeared to be skating in mud. They were fortunate to exit the first 20 minutes down by only a single goal.
The Flying Frenchmen kept flying in the second period while the Isles remained in first gear, especially with already-wounded Pierre Turgeon scratched from the lineup for precautionary reasons.
Big Canadiens power forward John LeClair was at the top of his game, scoring once in the second period and again in the third.
By the time Ferraro notched one for the New Yorkers the Habs were ahead, 4-0, en route to the rout.
"We didn't overcome anything," said a dismayed Steve Thomas while removing his jersey, post-game, in the visitors encampment.

Arbour was on the upside of livid. He heatedly pointed out that there were only four teams remaining in the Cup hunt; his being one of them. He wondered out loud whether his skaters understood they had a shot at the silver.
"We can't take this lightly," Coach explained when his decibel count lowered enough to prevent deafness among the media. "We'll never know when we'll be in this position again."
In all fairness to the losers, they hardly had enough time to catch their collective breaths after the upset in Pittsburgh. The result was almost predictable; everyone from Nassau was pleased that Game One was out of the way.
"It'll be a different story next time," Glenn Healy promised.
Heals was right.
Any similarity to the Islanders in Game One and the Isles in their return engagement was purely coincidental.
They came; they saw -- and almost conquered.
For starters, Turgeon returned to the lineup and immediately made a difference. His goal -- the game's first -- gave the lads hope. Matching the Montrealers stride for stride, the Visitors refused to buckle.
MAVEN'S MEMORIES
WRITTEN COVERAGE
Isles Fly Past Penguins in 1993
Prelude to Penguins Upset in 1993
Isles Beat Caps in 1993
1992-93 A Season to Remember
Making News in 1991-92
Maven's Haven
Meanwhile, the hero of Pittsburgh -- David Volek -- continued to sizzle. With the teams tied, 2-2 in the third period, Volek took a feed from Turgeon and the Forum's red light flashed. It was 3-2 for New York.
Could this be it? The heavily-valued road win?
The Canadiens big guns -- Guy Carbonneau, Denis Savard, John LeClair, et. al. -- were being de-aired like a leaky tire. But the Habs did boast depth and one of those depth charges happened to be Paul DiPietro.
With less than six minutes remaining, DiPietro beat Healy. It now was 3-3 and stayed that way through the end of the third period. Next up: overtime.
"Sudden-death periods had been good to us," opined Patrick Flatley. "We were up to eight straight wins in OT."
The first extra session could have gone either way but goalies Healy and Patrick Roy were up for every challenge. A second overtime was in order.
Once again, the bottom of the Canadiens batting order rose to the top. This time it was Stephan Lebeau who bombed Heals with an over-the-shoulder slapper at 6:21 of the second OT and that was that.
The Islanders returned to Uniondale defeated in two straight but not downhearted.
While the opening loss was chalked up to fatigue, Game Two revealed an Isles club that had just about all the ingredients of a winner -- except a win. From Healy to Kasparaitis to Green; they all knew it.
The Islanders returned to Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum not only buoyed by the raucous optimism generated by their fans as well as what they heard from the Faithful.
"We're with you all the way," was the message from Hempstead Turnpike to the Hamptons.
Fans had lined up overnight for third round tickets at the arena box office in lines longer than ever before. One fan who had been waiting in line for the coveted ducats explained:
"This playoff run has started a new generation of younger Islanders fans."
Alas, it also launched a melodramatic run of games that remain firmly etched in the Islanders history books!
LISTS: FOUR ELEMENTS THAT MADE THE CANADIENS MORE DIFFICULT TO BEAT THAN WASHINGTON OR PITTSBURGH.
1. HABS DEPTH: Montreal's lower echelon of offense-men complimented the marquee names such as John LeClair and Guy Carbonneau. For one game at least -- the second at The Forum -- the Isles couldn't contain them.
2. DAUNTLESS DEFENSE:Between Patrick Roy's goaltending and the likes of Mathieu Schneider plus Lyle Odelein on the blue line, the Isles theme song could have been "I Can't Get Started."
3. JACQUES DEMERS: The two-time Adams Award-winning coach was at the peak of his coaching career. His team's performance so far in the playoffs was A-1.
4. GETTING THE BREAKS:Montreal not only had capitalzed on home-ice advantage but also the benefit of rest and rehabilitation that eluded the worn-out Isles.