The Final Score

By Anthony Rieber

A night that was meant for nostalgia and good times turned scary for the Islanders last night when franchise goaltender Rick DiPietro was struck in the right eye by Sidney Crosby's stick in the second period during Al Arbour Night at the Coliseum.

DiPietro did not return to the game, which the Islanders won, 3-2, on a pair of third-period goals by Miroslav Satan. DiPietro was taken to an eye doctor's office for evaluation. Coach Ted Nolan said Crosby's stick made contact with DiPietro's eye. The Islanders did not know the extent of the injury.

"He was walking out on his own and there's no bandage," Nolan said. "So we'll hope for the best."

A postgame ceremony honored the 1,500th Islanders game and 740th win by the 75-year-old Arbour, who signed a one-day contract to "coach" his former team last night. The 10-year-old "Arbour 739" banner in the Coliseum's rafters was replaced by a new one with "Arbour 1500" on it as former stars Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier, among others, looked on with Arbour's family.

But mixed in with the good feelings about Arbour's stint alongside Nolan behind the Islanders' bench was concern for DiPietro, who was inadvertently clocked by Crosby 13:56 into the second period with the Islanders trailing 2-1.

Crosby said his stick was lifted into DiPietro's mask by Islanders defenseman Radek Martinek, and Martinek confirmed this. "I raised Crosby's stick," he said.

Crosby was whistled for a four-minute double-minor.

DiPietro was replaced by Wade Dubielewicz and the backup stopped all seven shots he faced in his first action since Oct. 11. The Islanders (7-4) tied the score 5:30 into the period when Josef Vasicek found a streaking Satan in front for his second of the season.

Crosby, who was booed every time he touched the puck after the high-stick incident, hit a post 18 seconds later. Satan scored the winner with 2:41 left off a rebound of Marc-Andre Bergeron's shot.

Arbour was introduced just before game time as he walked along the sideboards to the Islanders' bench. The crowd of 16,234 waved banners trumpeting his 1,500th game as the listed Islanders coach. They chanted "740" and "Al Arbour" when it was over.

"It was an electric atmosphere," Trent Hunter said. "It was a lot of fun for the guys. We were grateful to get that win for him."

The ceremonial first pucks were dropped by former general manager Bill Torrey, the architect of the Islanders' Stanley Cup champion teams, and Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, a good friend of Arbour's.

"It feels really great," Arbour said afterward, "but I didn't really do that much."

Trailing 2-0, Hunter got the Islanders on the board at 8:20 with his third goal of the season. Hunter and Mike Sillinger played the two-man game up the left boards and Hunter fired one past Marc-Andre Fleury.

The Islanders had a four-minute power play after Crosby nailed DiPietro. DiPietro skated off to get stitches on the cut near his right eye as he was replaced by Dubielewicz; the penalty was originally called a minor but was changed to a double-minor after Nolan - no kidding around now, he is the coach - complained that the offense was worse than a minor because DiPietro was really bleeding.

DiPietro was called back onto the ice so the officials could perform a wound check. When it was shown that he was sufficiently bloody, Crosby was sent off for four minutes instead of two.

But the Islanders' power play, the second-best in the NHL, was unable to capitalize, and they trailed 2-1 after two periods despite outshooting Pittsburgh 28-19.

Notes & quotes: LW Sean Bergenheim (upper body injury) did not play, as expected. C Ben Walter was summoned from Bridgeport and skated 2:59 in his Isles debut.

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By Jim Baumbach

Poor Red Schoendienst.

Red's managerial career with the St. Louis Cardinals ended many years ago at 1,999 games, and the last time I checked the current manager Tony La Russa isn't about to step aside for a day just so Red could reach No. 2000.

Imagine what Red's reaction was on Saturday night if he just so happened to stumble on the Islanders game and saw a man nine years his younger "coaching" the first time in more than a decade just to reach No. 1,500.

What about me?!?!

Let's make sure we're clear here: Al Arbour Night sure seemed to be loads of fun for everyone involved, from the fans to the players to Arbour himself. It sure was neat to see him behind the players on the bench for the first time since 1994, providing what had to be an emotional lift.
And that's what Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum was all about -- emotion -- which is truly great for a team and a sport that desperately needs all the love they can get.

But is it right that Arbour gets the credit for the win? Is it right that he will go down in the NHL official records as having coached one game during the 2007-08 season?

I guess there's no rule against it, and it's not like Arbour was breaking any record. So, granted, this isn't the same as Brett Favre looking as if he intentionally fell down so Michael Strahan can record his record-breaking sack.

But I have a hard time accepting the fact that Arbour gets credit for the game and the win when his presence was completely ceremonial. In baseball there is a rule that limits the number of coaches who are in uniform in the dugout during the game, but I skimmed through the NHL record books and I couldn't find a similar rule. So why not bill it as Arbour coming back for his 1,500th game behind the bench with the Islanders and raise the banner after the game? Make him the honorary coach. Just not the head coach.

There's a difference between "coaching" and coaching, but there is no difference between 1,499 and 1,500 in the record books. NHL spokesman Frank Brown confirmed this morning Arbour "will be credited with the victory," meaning the 75-year-old Islanders legend will officially be listed as having coached one game this season.

Meanwhile, up in Toronto at the Hockey Hall of Fame, Craig Campbell was planning to check Arbour's glass plaque to see if the brief biography makes any specific reference to his victory total as a NHL coach or the total number of games that he spent as the Islanders coach.
He initially said in our telephone conversation that he didn't envision a need to change the plaque, but then realized there may be inaccuracies in the numbers. "We try to be historically accurate, so if it's on there, I would envision we would have to make a change," he said.
Islanders spokesman Chris Botta vehemently defended Arbour's win, saying Arbour prepared for a month by reviewing game tapes, scouting reports and line combinations. "At the game he was at the center of the bench, working, encouraging, calling out some line combinations," Botta said. "He earned the game coached, and the win."

Who knows? Maybe this is going to start a trend in sports.

If only the White Sox saw what the Islanders had planned with Arbour, team officials could have taken the focus off their late-season struggles and boosted their attendance by bringing Carlton Fisk out of retirement to right a wrong in his career. The Hall of Famer played in 2,499 games.
Our love of round numbers in sports is funny. Why stop with Red, Fisk and Arbour? Bring back Mike Hargrove to Baltimore so he can manage game No. 700. Maybe Joe Torre should step aside in Los Angeles so that Dodgers icon Tommy Lasorda can go for win No. 1,600. Ron Darling can come out of the broadcast booth to go for his 100th win as a Met. Or, better yet, go get Vince Coleman so the Mets can insert him as a pinch runner and he can take a chance at that elusive 100th stolen base as a Met.

There was nothing wrong with having an Al Arbour night and putting him behind the bench for the 1,500th time with the Islanders. Everyone there still would have had a blast. But let's stop fooling ourselves. In my record books, I'm crediting Ted Nolan with the win.