Frank Becerra Jr./The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORKThere have been a number of major Blueshirt controversies over the years which made for high melodrama. Over the next few months I'll spin tales about the best of them.
Near the top of the list we have "The Case of Don Maloney's High Stick Goal."
The date was April 10, 1984; the scene: Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum; the game: the decisive fifth contest of the Rangers-Islanders playoff.
Experts such as CBS sportscaster Warner Wolf called it "The Greatest Game I Ever Saw." The Maven would not disagree. The action was endless, and with less than a minute left in the third period, the Islanders nursed a 2-1 lead.
But the Rangers were surging and forced Isles goalie Bill Smith to make two outstanding saves. Then, on the third one, the puck orbited in the air close to Rangers forward Don Maloney.
Doing what comes naturally, Maloney swatted the puck out of the air and into the Isles' net.
Naturally, the Isles screamed bloody murder claiming that Maloney's stick was above the legal limit and that the goal should be disallowed.
Unlike in today's hockey, there were no magical electronic mechanisms to determine fair from foul – just one man's vision.
The verdict, handed in by referee Dave Newell, was that it was a fair goal and the score was tied 2-2. "That was pure ecstacy," chirped Maloney. "For 15 minutes while it lasted."
As we all know the game went into overtime and was settled in favor of the defending champs on Ken Morrow's seeing-eye shot that beat a screened goalie Glen Hanlon!
P.S. As long as he remained a Ranger, Maloney maintained that his stick was at a legal height. But when Don became Islanders GM – upon further review, his – Maloney concluded that it was, in fact, a high stick.