THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Nov. 3 (From NHL.com)
2007: Hockey Hall of Famer Al Arbour comes out of retirement to coach one last game with the New York Islanders.
At the suggestion of current coach Ted Nolan, Arbour, the coach during their Stanley Cup dynasty in the early 1980s, goes back behind the bench with his old team for one night, giving him an even 1,500 games coached with New York. Miroslav Satanscores twice and the Islanders rally to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 at a sold-out Nassau Coliseum.
After the game, the banner commemorating Arbour’s 739 victories with the Islanders is lowered and replaced by one celebrating his 1,500 games as their coach.
“Just by him being here won the game,” Nolan says. “Al said he didn’t know all the names of the players, but they sure knew him.”
(NHL.com photo)
