WHEN it was over, when the Islanders had come storming from two goals down to defeat the Penguins 3-2 last night at the old barn on Long Island that was known a long, long time ago as Fort Neverlose, the Great Al Arbour and his family gathered at center-ice postgame ceremonies marking his 1,500th game behind his team’s bench.
There was Arbour’s beloved wife Claire, and there were his children, and there were his grandchildren mingling with the players who helped the Hall of Fame coach register his 740th victory as the Islanders’ coach.
But wait, there too, were Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy and Clark Gillies -The Trio Grande – and there were Gerry Hart and Jean Potvin, and Richie Hansen and Mike Hordy; Eric Cairns and Steve Webb, and Benoit Hogue, Pat LaFontaine and Eddie Westfall, old No. 18 himself.
There was the architect, Bill Torrey; owner Charles Wang; the GM, Garth Snow; and there was Ted Nolan, the coach with the big heart who had originally reached out to bring Arbour back home.
And when they were all on the ice and in proper position, when the fans rocked the building with chants of “740!” and “Ar-bour,” they posed for the family picture.
The Family of Islanders.
Nights like these don’t happen in pro sports these days. Sentiment is 11th on a franchise’s Top 10 list of to-do’s. But the Islanders pulled it off last night and they pulled it off beautifully. The organization that is sometimes guilty of tripping over shtick as it fights to regain relevance in this market couldn’t have done itself more proud, and neither could the team representing it.
“For me, being an Islander now, this represents what the organization has done, and what we’re capable of doing as we go forward,” said captain Billy Guerin. “We’re all happy to be here, we all want to play here. This is a franchise with such a rich tradition. We all want to do our part in carrying it forward.
“We wanted to win this one really badly. We wanted to win this one for him.”
On this glorious night, however, there was an incident that could have an impact beyond the ceremonial and emotional platform that was established with the victory, for Rick DiPietro suffered a right-eye injury on a second-period unintentional Sidney Crosby high-stick that forced him from the game.
Islander spokesman Chris Botta said the team ophthalmologist confirmed DiPietro did not suffer a severe eye injury. But Botta would not say whether the goalie had any vision problems. DiPietro is listed as day to day and is to be re-evaluated tomorrow.
In the pantheon of NHL coaches, there are Arbour, Scotty Bowman, Toe Blake, Dick Irvin and Punch Imlach. On the Mount Rushmore of New York coaches and managers, there are Arbour, Joe Torre, Red Holzman, Bill Parcells and Casey Stengel. The man is a living, breathing legend who in Bossy, Trottier and Denis Potvin had three of the greatest 20 players in NHL history with egos to match; egos that Arbour managed magnificently.
You know who Arbour was when he coached? He was Torre two decades before Joe was.
Before their home games, the Islanders run a video with each player introducing himself with the tag line, “… and I’m an Islander.”
“I’m Al Arbour,” the four-time Stanley Cup-winning coach said on the video board, “and I’m an Islander.”
He’s Al Arbour, and he is the Islander.