Maven's Memories: Butch Goring's Wise Words Power 1980 Run

Bring up the name Butch Goring related to the Islanders dynasty and the talk instantly goes back to March 10, 1980 and the famed trade that brought the peripatetic center from Los Angelis to Uniondale.
Inevitably the conversation then points out how "The Missing Piece To The Puzzle" inspired the Isles homestretch run and on to the first of four straight Stanley Cup championships.

What invariably has been ignored over the 42 years since Goring's Nassau debut were a couple of meaningful off-ice episodes that proved to be the difference between winning and losing.
The first took place just six days after he officially became one of the crusading Nassaumen. It was a Sunday after in Chicago, March 16, 1980 and the Islanders were not feeling too good.
Doug Gould, who, at the time, was the popular Islanders beat man for the New York Post was there at the time.
"Actually," wrote Gould, "the guys practically crept into Chicago Stadium that day. It was a building where they suffered humiliations."
Darkness had descended on The Windy City and once Al Arbour's skaters had dropped belongings in the dressing room, a group of players headed to the Stadium's grandstands to unwind.
Goring was among them and -- although nobody could have known it at the time -- Butch's words would prove to provide a turning point moment in franchise history.

"Three months earlier," Doug Gould remembered, "that Islanders had suffered their worst defeat in history in Chicago Stadium. The Blackhawks had beaten them 8-0."
Butch was aware that his new teammates had suffered at the arena that then was known as "The Madhouse On Madison Street."
Goring sat next to his pal, goalie Bill Smith, who had been Butch's teammate when both played for Los Angeles. They soon were joined by several other teammates who wanted to listen in.
It was then that Goring got his brainstorm. He knew that the Stadium had become the Isles bugaboo and, instinctively, he realized that his new comrades needed a large dose of a veteran's wisdom.
Doug Gould: "Butch casually began to give his new teammates a lecture on how to beat the Hawks. He talked about Chicago players who didn't like to hit, players who always used the same offensive moves, goaltenders who could be beaten with shots that stayed high."
The players realized they were getting sound advice from a wise warrior. Butch later told Gould that his message was a blend from the mind and his heart.
MAVEN'S MEMORIES
WRITTEN COVERAGE
Garry Howatt: Toy Tiger
King Kvasha
How 50-in-50 was Born
Trottier Wins Hart Trophy
Behind the Scenes with Bryan Trottier
Stan's Fans: Jake April
Terrific Pierre Turgeon
Mike Bossy, My Son and a Third Cup
Maven's Haven
"Talking to the guys and trying to help them was a natural thing for me to do," Butch explained. "I considered myself a bit of a leader, so I tried to give my own input. I figured -- based on my own experience and my age -- that I knew what I was talking about."
This fact of hockey was confirmed a few hours later. Radar's once-slumping skaters went out and gave the home team a dose of Hockey101 to the tune of 6-1 Islanders!
With each game of the fateful Homestretch 1980, the Isles came up roses. Exactly two weeks after the winning Chicago encounter -- on the road again -- they had beaten the Nordiques, 9-6, in Quebec City.
Their unbeaten streak -- it would extend to a dozen games -- was in full swing and the next stop would be Montreal. Normally, the two-hour bus ride would be a deadly bore; but there was something different about this ride -- more like an old-time vaudeville show.
The Post's Gould remembered it well and wrote: "Butch and Clark Gillies stood up in front of the bus and began a comedy routine that kept everyone howling with laughter for the entire trip.
"Even the usually somber Al Arbour found himself wrapped up in the hilarity. Goring had done it again. He brought together a team that had broken under pressure in previous seasons.
"Now the canny veteran -- the man who knew the NHL and how to handle its demands -- had them relaxed and happy and coming together."
They came together all right -- four Stanley's worth and the never-to-be-broken record of 19 consecutive playoff series victories.
"By that time," Butch concluded, "I had seen a lot of things and had plenty of experience. That got me some respect. So when I had something to say, it was not far off base."
Stretching a point just a little bit, one could say that Goring talked the Islanders into a dynasty!