This Day in Hockey History – April 18, 1987 – Islanders’ Easter Ender

Having begun Game 7 of the Patrick Division semi-finals on April 18, 1987, in the wee hours the next morning, Pat LaFontaine found the New York Islanders’ Easter basket.

The Islanders had just won four consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 1983, when Bill Torrey schemed for the opportunity to draft LaFontaine third overall. That year, thanks to Torrey, two American-born players were chosen in the first three picks.

LaFontaine continued to pave the way for U.S. players, and despite a career cut short (in 1998) from concussions, he still ranks eighth in points (with 1,013) among Americans. He averaged 1.171 points per game throughout the 15 seasons he played, which is the best among U.S.-born players and 15th overall. Torrey summarized, “Pat received a lot of publicity. He was very photogenic. He had a great personality. He was very humble. And he was very exciting to watch play. He was the complete package.”

When the 1986-87 season ended, the Islanders went into the playoffs third in the Patrick Division (with 82 points), close behind the Washington Capitals (with 86 points). The Capitals won three of the first four games in the best-of-seven. It had been 12 years since a team had come from that far behind to take the series, but that team had been the Islanders. LaFontaine later said, “We had some history and we had some championship players in the room. I think they were a great balancing factor of that team that it helped allow us to keep an even head and keep the focus on winning one game at a time, which we did.” The Islanders won the next two games to force a Game 7.

On April 18, the Capital Centre at Landover, Maryland hosted a sellout crowd of 18,130. At least a third of them remained until the bitter end, though to some players it appeared everyone was there for the long haul. LaFontaine remembered seeing fans sleeping as the theme from “The Twilight Zone” played. The fans were asked to wear white and provided with white towels, which must have seemed like flags of surrender as the game stretched on into overtime sessions.

The game’s length can be laid at the feet of two fantastic goaltenders. In the Islanders’ net, Kelly Hrudey only allowed one goal late in the first period (by Mike Gartner) and one goal late in the second (by Grant Martin). Other than that, he made a record 73 saves and prevented the Capitals from scoring for the remaining 90:51. Washington’s coach, Bryan Murray, bemoaned, “We just couldn’t get anything by him.” Afterwards, Hrudey joked with the press, “I thought it was a dream. I never thought I could face 75 shots and let in two goals. I hope you don’t expect me to do that again. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

Over in Washington’s net, Bob Mason was only playing in his fourth ever NHL playoff game. He had played with LaFontaine on Team U.S.A. at the 1984 Olympics. Although Mason did not allow a goal until 11:35 of the second period (by Pat Flatley), he then allowed New York’s famed Bryan Trottier to tie the game with just over five minutes remaining. Mason held off the Islanders for 73 more minutes and 35 more shots until he missed the game-winner.

In an extreme case of the power of three, the final goal was promised, prescribed, and predicted. Before either the second or fourth overtime session, LaFontaine approached Hrudey with a promise. LaFontaine said, “He had worked so hard for us throughout the playoffs that I just had to go to him after the second overtime and tell him somehow, someway we were going to win this thing for him.” According to Hrudey, “The funny thing is, Patty [LaFontaine] came over to me before the last overtime and told me he was going to score the game-winner. You get a guy with that kind of talent and that kind of confidence, and it picks you up. I had no idea what was going on [in the overtimes]. It seemed like a different game.” As the fourth session was about to begin, referee Andy Van Hellemond prescribed that LaFontaine finish the game by joking, “Would you just shoot high glove and get this over with?” Finally, as the fourth overtime progressed, New York’s equipment manager, Jim Pickard, splashed LaFontaine with some water and predicted, “Pop, I think you’re going to get one on this shift.”

All three came to pass. At 8:47 of that fourth overtime session, 30 seconds after Pickard’s prediction, LaFontaine picked up a deflected puck just inside the blue line, spun 180 degrees, and sent a slapshot towards the net. LaFontaine described the play, “I got a screen from Dale Henry and just hit it as hard as I could. . . . [The puck] smacked off the pipe and ricocheted in.” He also said, “I was just shooting the puck hoping it would go in. It ended up going high glove.” Poor Mason admitted, “I never saw it. I heard it hit the pipe and was hoping . . . then I looked back and it was in.” He later summarized, “I was sitting at the goal line. It was a quick shot and I think I was trying to find the puck. I didn’t see it, screen, went through a couple of players, post and in.” The stunned crowd was silent, and Mason dropped to one knee. Referee Van Hellemond gave the puck to LaFontaine, who kept the puck with the time of goal and final score marked on it.

Shortly before 2 am on Easter morning, the “Easter Epic” had finally ended with an Islanders’ 3-2 victory. The game had lasted six hours and eighteen minutes for 60 minutes of regulation and 68:47 of overtime. To put that in perspective, the Boston Marathon winner had finished 56 seconds faster the previous year. It was the longest Game 7 and tenth-longest game in NHL history. At the time, it was the second-longest NHL game to take place in the U.S. 

The goalies naturally felt the length of the game more than their teammates, who could at least sit on the bench between shifts as they at fruit and drank Gatorade. Hrudey said it took a moment before he could believe the game had ended, and his toes curled from dehydration when he finally removed his skates. Mason commented, “My arms were really heavy, and my equipment is so wet. My hips started to ache. I didn’t have trouble concentrating, but I got so dehydrated out there and had a headache.” He thought he lost about 15 pounds, and he definitely felt it the next morning. “It felt like I hit a truck.”

When he made it back to New York, Hrudey joked, “Don’t ask me anything about the first five periods, because I’ve forgotten already.” He later said, “It was such an emotional game and exciting game. You kind of had the feeling that nobody was going to be the goat. I don’t think anybody on the management side of either team was going to be disappointed with their group after playing multiple overtimes.” Of course, the losing team did not feel so great. Mason commented, “The most disappointing thing is that we were up 3-1. We kind of had control of that series. I guess you never control a series until the fat lady sings.” Captain Gartner could not help feeling bitter. “The first time they beat us, I said it was a learning experience. The second time they beat us, I said it was a learning experience. Now, I really don’t see anything else they can teach us. Maybe, they can teach us how to win.”

The Islanders had trouble winning from that point. They had a rough ride just getting to Game 1 of the division finals against the Philadelphia Flyers. Their flight to LaGuardia was rerouted to JFK due to fog. Then they had to wait for their bus to make it to the other airport. They finally arrived back at Nassau Coliseum at 6:30 am. They had to be back there in time for an 8 pm bus to Philadelphia. They played Game 1 on April 20. Again, the Islanders dropped to 3-1 in the series and came back to tie. This time, Game 7 did not go their way.

Still, both LaFontaine and Hrudey felt the “Easter Epic” helped them as players. As Hrudey explained, “Personally, that game and that series changed my reputation to a certain degree. I became a guy who was thought of more as a real big-game goalie and a starter.” LaFontaine said, “I think I was able to then take that experience and those experiences with those players and try to bring your game to the next level. That was definitely a steppingstone, that year, that team and that moment.”

Additional Sources:

• https://www.nhl.com/news/islanders-hero-pat-lafontaine-recalls-easter-epic-game-7/c-288875778?tid=282169076
• Phil Jackman, “Caps will need OT to forget loss,” Baltimore Evening Sun, 20 April 1987, pp. 1C and 5C.
• Mick Heller, “Islanders end Capitals’ long night’s journey into frustration,” Baltimore Sun, 20 April 1987, pp. 1C and 8C.
• Barry Meisel, “Hard dazed night gives new Isles their day in sun,” New York Daily News, 20 April 1987, pp. 36-37.
• Frank Brown, “The Isles’ greatest game” and “Capitals at a loss,” New York Daily News, 20 April 1987, p. 37.
• Brian McFarlane, Brian McFarlane’s History of Hockey (Champaign, Ill.: Sports Publishing Inc., c1997), 214-218.