The 1990 Rock ‘Em Sock ‘EM Islanders

By Stan Fischler

The summer of 1988 found the Islanders -- both the franchise and players -- at a crossroads.

It was a time of uncertainty and melodrama, with much of the latter available for Nassau fans.

On July 25, 1988, David Volek, an Islanders draft pick, fled his native Czechoslovakia with his girlfriend lugging only his hockey stick and one valise full of clothes.

Before Czech police could nab him, the high-scoring right wing and three-time member of the Czech National Team (and his girlfriend) eventually were able to make their way to Long Island where Volek signed a contract and was given uniform number 25.

That bit of business done, GM Bill Torrey then addressed contract challenges. Seven key players were entering the option year of their pacts. "Produce or else," was Torrey’s theme.

As the 1988-89 season unfolded, the general manager's dissatisfaction turned to downright anger.

Dark humor pervaded among the press corps. One journalist called the Isles "A helicopter team -- no wings!”

Still strong at center with Bryan Trottier, Pat LaFontaine, Brent Sutter and Bob Bassen, the club had little scoring elsewhere.

And if that wasn't enough to send coach Terry Simpson seeking more aspirin, on October 24, 1988 superstar right wing Mike Bossy officially announced his retirement. Debilitating back ailments had derailed his brilliant career.

Next, Torrey traded Bassen and Steve Konroyd to Chicago. In return the Blackhawks sent a pair of defensemen, Marc Bergevin and Gary Nylund, to the Island. As for coach Simpson, his tenure had run out.

On the night of December 6, 1988, the Isles were beaten, 4-3, by Boston. Torrey grabbed the phone and called his best friend, who happened also to be his best coach, Al Arbour.

"Radar, I need your help. I need you to take over the team.”

Al turned to his wife, Claire, who had been with him since his playing days and knew that coaching still was in his blood. Once his wife gave him the green light, Arbour answered the S.O.S.

"I felt that I owed it to Bill and the team for all he's done for me," Radar explained. “But I'm still in shock."

Arbour must have suffered second and third thoughts about his decision to un-retire. The team almost finished with the NHL's worst record except for one fatal mistake.

After being clobbered by the Rangers all year, the Isles beat the Blueshirts 6-4 at the Garden in the season's last game. But it was a pyrrhic victory. By winning, the Nassaumen moved ahead of Quebec in the draft. As a result, the Nordiques wound up plucking future Hall of Famer Mats Sundin. Next up the Isles selected Dave Chyzowski who would score a career total of 15 goals and not much else.

Meanwhile, once the 1989-90 season was underway it was evident that Arbour had regained his old-time intensity. After a nasty end-of-October game in Uniondale, the Isles coach jumped on the ice and challenged Rangers bench boss Roger Neilson to a fist fight. Had linesman Ray Scapinello not grabbed Neilson while Pat Dapuzzo bear-hugged Arbour, coaching blood certainly would have been spilled.

"Roger's a front-runner," snapped Arbour.

In a sense he was right. The Blueshirts (11-4-3) occupied first place while the Nassaumen (4-12-3) looked up from the cellar. Torrey disliked that look and consummated another deal. He moved former 36-goal man Mikko Makela to the Kings for a pair of depth players who some critics called “inconsequential."

The new Islanders were smallish center Hubie McDonough and 6-1, 205-pound ice cop Ken Baumgartner. Over a period of two-and-a-half months The Ken and Hubie Show moved from small print to headlines.

The turnabout began on December 9, 1989 at the Coliseum where the invading Rangers found their hosts transformed from patsies to pot-stirrers. One journalist reported, "The checking was fierce -- and clean. The defense was stout, the skating crisp, the passing tight and the goaltending superb.”

In baseball, they'd call it a "Pitchers Battle" as the respective goalies, John Vanbiesbrouck and Mark Fitzpatrick, concluded their masterpiece with a 0-0 decision. More important, the Isles bandwagon was swinging into high gear.

Over the games following that “inconsequential McDonough-Baumgartner deal,” the revived Islanders went 23-6-2 and temporarily moved into the paramount position. But -- lo and behold -- the Rangers rallied and by March 2,1990 the Manhattanites had regained a first-place beachhead, just 2.5 games up on Radar's third-place team which appeared to be running out of gas.

Like a punch-drunk fighter determined not to be TKO’d, the Islanders neared the finish line still with an outside chance to make the playoffs. The passion play would close on March 31, 1990 with a curious equation: To gain a postseason berth, the Isles had to beat the Flyers at the Coliseum. After that they had to rely on Buffalo to defeat Pittsburgh in the Igloo. Sure enough, Arbour's troops beat Philadelphia, 6-2, after which the Sabres edged the Penguins on an overtime Uwe Krupp slapshot.

Alive and playoff-bound, the Isles now would face their hated rivals in “The Expressway Series, Part VII,” and there would be no love lost on or off the ice. Rangers coach Roger Neilson got the anger meter going when he warned, “It’s going to be a physical series.” He wasn’t kidding either.

In Game One at The Garden, the Rangers targeted Pat LaFontaine from the opening face-off and right into the third period when the home club nursed a 2-1 lead. With less than two minutes remaining, LaFontaine chased down a pass at the top of the Rangers’ zone. Rangers defenseman James Patrick elbowed the Isles’ ace in the head while almost simultaneously Blueshirts enforcer Chris Nilan supplied the one-two punch.

Unconscious for almost a minute, LaFontaine eventually was hospitalized but not before a group of Rangers fans assaulted the ambulance. Before the final buzzer sounded, Arbour dispatched five of his toughies who beat up a few Blueshirts. The Rangers extracted their revenge with a 5-2 win in Game Two but the Isles were not dead. The series moved to Uniondale where the home club won it, 2-1, on Brent Sutter’s goal in double-overtime.

Alas, there was no further playoff joy in Uniondale. The Rangers emphatically won Game Four, 6-1 and then wrapped up the series 6-5 at the Garden.

All things considered, the rock ‘em, sock ‘em Islanders made several statements, not the least of which included 175 penalty minutes over five games and a shots-on-goal edge, 167-150. But they were outscored 22-13 and out-concussed, 2-0.

Still, the Faithful appreciated the club’s ability to turn their season around after the seemingly innocuous Baumgartner-McDonough trade; not to mention that hairbreadth end to the regular season, capped by Uwe Krupp’s gift goal that catapulted the Isles into the playoffs.

And if a further ironic twist was on the menu, it was the fact that the very same Krupp eventually became an admirable member of the New York Islanders!