Much like the team that did this surprise run 27 years ago, the current Islanders, who are number 6 in the east, exceeded expectations, knocking off Washington Capitals number 3 in the first round and number 6. 1 Seed Flyers in the second round after beating the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.
The Islanders will play Monday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS) at Rogers Place in Edmonton, the hub for the conference finals and Stanley, the first game of the Eastern Conference finals against the second largest Tampa Bay Lightning Cup final.
“I actually have a feeling that they will win the trophy,” said Rich Pilon, 1992-93 defender for the team. “It’s not necessarily the best players who win championships, it’s the best team.”
The islanders did not win the cup in 1993, but their run was still memorable after finishing third in the Patrick Division. Center Pierre Turgeon, New York’s top scorer with 132 points (58 goals, 74 assists) in the regular season, had a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series against the Capitals in the regular season. Dale Hunter celebrated in The third phase of Game 6 at Nassau Coliseum scored a goal that gave them a 5-1 lead.
Video: The New York Islanders eliminate the Flyers
Turgeon had a shoulder separated from the hit. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman suspended Hunter for the first 21 games of the 1993–94 season, the longest in league history.
“In the Colosseum, the dressing rooms were about 60 meters apart,” said goalkeeper Glenn Healy, who started all 18 playoff games for the islanders in 1993. “We tried to get into that locker room to get revenge and didn’t quite get there; New York’s best got in the way.”
The islanders advanced in the playoffs but they would do so without their best player.
After Turgeon was eliminated, the islanders faced a seemingly impossible task in the second round. They competed against two-time Stanley Cup defending champions Pittsburgh Penguins, led by the Hockey Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman and four players who were later inducted – strikers Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis and Joe Mullen as well as defender Larry Murphy (a fifth, striker Jaromir Jagr, will join them soon enough. They won the Presidents’ Trophy with 119 points, highlighted by a 17-game winning streak with an NHL record).
“The Pittsburgh team was overworked,” said center Ray Ferraro. “That was a team. How, holy crap. If you looked at the two teams side by side on the whiteboard, you’d laugh. You’d say, ‘You mean the team on the left is going to beat this team on that right?’ There weren’t any people who picked our team to beat Pittsburgh and when someone did they’d be out for lunch. ”
Al Arbor, the Islanders’ Hall of Fame coach, did not have a star-studded lineup. But he had experienced front runners in goal, with Healy and up front with strikers Patrick Flatley, Steve Thomas and Ferraro. His defense was mostly young, sparked by newbies Darius Kasparaitis (19 years old) and Vladimir Malakhov (24).
How could the islanders possibly defeat the penguins who were pursuing their third straight Stanley Cup championship? Arbor challenged his players before Game 1.
“He asked us individually, starting with Pat Flatley, ‘Can you tie a layer against Mario Lemieux? You don’t have to score, just tie the layer,'” Healy said. “And then the next guy … the exercise continued.”
“The hair was on the back of my neck. It was amazing,” said Pilon. “When he gave his pre-game speech, you were almost foaming at your mouth. It was amazing the way he was able to motivate you and focus. It was something you could feel and be a part of.”
The Islanders were 3-2 behind in the best-of-7 series, but Thomas scored two goals and two assists in a 7-5 win in Game 6 at the Nassau Coliseum.
“I remember we didn’t have any flights back to Pittsburgh for Game 7. They booked them on the day we had to leave,” said Ferraro. “We’ve all flown commercially. We’re all in middle seats and stuff. It’s a short flight, but it’s still.”
David Volek, a striker who scored eight goals in 56 games in the regular season and failed to score in the playoffs, gave New York a 2-1 lead in Game 7 at 6:10 a.m. in the third half. Striker Benoit Hogue made it 3-1 less than three minutes later, and the Islanders appeared to be on their way to the conference finals, especially after Lemieux and New York defender Uwe Krupp accidentally scored a 4:05 penalty.
“I remember sitting on the bench and saying, ‘What an incredible deal.’ Not that we won’t miss it [Krupp]but oh my god, one of the best players in the history of the game won’t be able to play, “said Ferraro.
But the penguins didn’t leave quietly. Francis made it 3-2 with 3:47 left and striker Rick Tocchet tied it 3-3 with one minute remaining.
“It was like someone was taking your food away when you were really hungry,” said Pilon. “You are like ‘Really?’ It was devastating, but I remember Al saying, “If you could have asked us at the beginning of this series that we were going to work overtime [in Game 7]wouldn’t you have taken it ‘He told us not to be devastated. ”
Healy made three of his 42 saves in overtime, and Volek finished 2v1 with Ferraro at 5:16 p.m. to score what was still the most unlikely playoff series win in Islanders history.
“The owners were keen to trade Volek year-round,” Healy said. “I remember standing with Al and at the bus [we] celebrated a pretty big win. … The owners came and they were all thrilled that we had won and Al just looked at them and said, “What do you think of David? [bleeping] Volek now? ‘This is Al Arbor. ”
The 1993 playoff run ended for the islanders in the final of the Wales Conference, where they lost in five games against eventual cup winners, the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal won Games 2 and 3 in overtime.
“After we lost to Montreal, some of us went on vacation to Ireland together,” said Healy. “As if we didn’t have enough time together for the six weeks of our trip, we decided to take a longer trip. We’re still friends to this day. We talk all the time.”
Under the guidance of trainer Barry Doch, the current islanders have learned to share a similar bond, one that is at the center Jean-Gabriel Pageau earlier this postseason called “a brotherhood”. It’s a big reason they got this 1993 run.
Video: NYI @ PHI, Gm2: Pageau hits home late
“They have so much depth and Barry does such a good job managing this bank and getting everyone Ice Age,” Pilon said. “Everyone feels a part of it and that’s why they play so hard for a man like him and his coaching team. Kudos to them.”
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