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Lichtenstein: RIP Al Arbour, The Coach Who Let His Wins Speak Volumes

By Steve Lichtenstein
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In the spring of 1975, my father made a monetary and emotional investment in an undervalued hockey team.

He purchased a pair of New York Islanders playoff ticket strips.

In just their third year of existence, the Islanders shocked the hockey world by ousting the rival Rangers in the first round and then storming back from a 3-0 series deficit to defeat the more talented Penguins in the quarterfinals.  They then nearly repeated the trick against the Flyers before falling to Kate Smith and the hated Broad Street Bullies in Game 7.

Clark Gillies

After tagging along with my father through that incredible run, I was hooked on everything Isles.  I adorned my bedroom walls with posters and newspaper clips.  I stayed up to listen to John Sterling's postgame shows just to hear him scream, "Islander goal! Islander goal!" on each of his replays.

It wasn't easy being an Islanders fan in mostly Rangers country.  The Islanders took a few more years to fully mature, but when they did they became as big a beast as anyone -- not just in NHL history, but in any major professional sport.

In their string of four consecutive Stanley Cup championships before falling to Edmonton in the 1984 Stanley Cup finals, the Islanders won 19 straight playoff series.

To put that in perspective, the NBA's Celtics -- who many maintain had the most prolific dynasty in sports history -- won 18 series in a row.

Not enough credit, in my opinion, for the Isles' success went to their bespectacled coach-- the understated and underrated Al Arbour.

Arbour, who Islanders officials announced on Friday passed away at age 82, coached 1,500 games over 20 different seasons on Long Island, compiling a record of 740-537-223.  He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996.

At the tail end of an accomplished career as a stay-at-home defenseman, Arbour transitioned to coaching while still playing for the Blues.

He later took over what was, to that point, the worst hockey team ever in 1973 on Long Island.  Arbour's impact on the team defense was felt in year one, when the Islanders shaved 100 goals off their total allowed from the prior season.

Arbour was a disciplinarian who insisted that everyone -- be it stars like Mike Bossy or Bryan Trottier or muckers like Bob Nystrom and Gary Howatt -- play within the system.

He maintained a level of calmness behind the bench through any chaos; it was no wonder the Islanders were dynamite late in games and in overtime.

Bill Torrey, the Hall of Fame general manager, deserves the most praise for his wise moves on draft nights and at trade deadlines, but let's not forget that it was up to Arbour to integrate the various pieces.  It was Arbour who found a way to blend veterans with developing young talent.

It started with the trades for Jude Drouin and J.P. Parise in 1975, which spurred the Islanders to and through their first postseason.  More famously, the acquisition of Butch Goring in 1980 did not -- as some predicted -- upset the apple cart, but instead is generally credited with helping the Isles get over the final hump.

Once they did, they weren't going to get knocked off easily.  Pittsburgh thought they had them in 1982, but the Islanders overcame a two-goal deficit in the final five minutes of the deciding Game 5 and won in overtime.

A year later, most pundits picked the high-flying Oilers to end the Isles' reign.   The Islanders swept the Oilers back to Edmonton with as precise a game plan as Arbour ever concocted.

The Rangers had several chances in their 1984 first-round series.  Up 2-1 in the best-of-five series and at home, the Rangers held a 1-0 lead after two periods.  The Isles stormed back for four goals in the third period and then won a classic back-and-forth Game 5 on Ken Morrow's overtime goal.

Age, injury and slim draft pickings eventually caught up to the Isles, but Arbour still managed to be involved in more of the franchise's most memorable moments.

I'll never forget staying up until 2:00 in the morning when Pat LaFontaine's turnaround slap shot beat Washington's Bob Mason to end the Easter Epic in the fourth overtime, giving the Isles a 3-2 win in Game 7 of the 1984 Patrick Division semifinals.

Or the David Volek OT goal that knocked off the defending-champion Penguins of Mario Lemieux/Jaromir Jagr fame in the 1993 Patrick Division Finals.  That was the last time the Islanders won a playoff series.  Arbour would retire a year later after a first-round loss to the Rangers.

But some 13 years later, when everyone had seemingly long forgotten about him, Arbour returned for one last game.  Isles coach Ted Nolan noticed that Arbour had coached 1,499 games on Long Island and invited him to lead the bench so he could make it an even 1,500.

Fittingly, the Isles beat the Penguins, 3-2.

Arbour was a winner who never felt the need to puff out his chest and let the world know he was a winner.  He coached with tough love, but with a deep understanding of what made each of his players tick.

Maybe in today's times of constant gratification, Arbour wouldn't have gotten the chance to survive devastating upset losses to the Maple Leafs and Rangers in, respectively, the 1978 and 1979 playoffs.

Good for Torrey that he stuck with Arbour.  It was also good for Torrey in that another coach could easily have screwed up what became an unprecedented run.

Not to mention what it meant for legions of young Islanders fans like me.  RIP, Coach.

For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Jets and the NHL, follow Steve on Twitter @SteveLichtenst1.

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