Now that it's 40 years since Islanders defenseman Ken Morrow deposited an open net goal against the Edmonton Oilers, I'm surprised that I never got around to telling a few tales about The Maven and Morrow; even though one of them is embarrassing to me.

There are things I write about and remember. And, then, there are things I don't write about; and many years later, I wonder why.

Now that it's 40 years since New York Islanders defenseman Ken Morrow deposited an open net goal against the Edmonton Oilers, I'm surprised that I never got around to telling a few tales about The Maven and Morrow; even though one of them is embarrassing to me.

Better start off with that one first.

On the day that Ken Morrow made his Islanders debut in 1980, after starring for Team USA in the "Miracle On Ice," I worked the telecast for SportsChannel.

After three periods of watching Ken in action, I turned to my colleague Jiggs McDonald and uttered the deathless prediction: "Morrow will never make it in the NHL."

ERROR!

As we all know, the Michigan native not only made it; he MADE it!

Hey; he not only made it as the quintessential defensive-defenseman -- ask Denis Potvin if you don't believe me -- but he also became one of the NHL's leading clutch-scoring backliners.

And if you don't believe me, ask the New York Rangers.

General manager Bill Torrey, who was prescient enough to thrust Morrow into that maelstrom of the 1979-80 homestretch, would be nodding in agreement from Upstairs.

Let's face it, four decades ago we Islanders folks had a super-keen dislike for Glen Sather's Edmonton sextet and they didn't have too much love for us.

To understand the degree of hate that existed, lemme explain what happened the day before the fateful Game Four on May 17, 1983 at Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum.

NHL President John Ziegler tossed a ceremonial luncheon at the Marriott Hotel for both teams, select fans, and the media. It was a first-class affair that included speeches by the respective bossmen, Torrey and Sather.

Bowtie Bill was in good humor since his underdog lads were merely leading the series three games to zip. The good humor was laced with fine lines and followed with warm support from the sellout crowd.

Next up was Brother Slats from the North Country. Too bad General George Patton of World War II fame was not around to hear it. Sather's soliloquy was hypnotic.

I daresay that I was the bloke in the crowd most hypnotized by the Oil-Cans leader.

I kid you not; by the time he finished out-Pattoning Patton, you'd have thought that Sather's Edmontonians were one puck drop from winning Lord Stanley's pewter.

Put it this way; that was exactly how I felt when I arrived to broadcast Game Four, I was worried sick.

Worried first, that Sather was right; his Visitors would win Game Four; and then go on to capture the next trio of contests and The Cup.

Check the box score for Game Four. In the first period, Bryan Trottier, John Tonelli and Mike Bossy scored for the home team. The Coliseum had turned into Euphoria On Hempstead Turnpike.

Uh-oh, in the second period the three-goal lead turned "dreaded."

Jari Kurri scored in the first minute and Mark Messier scored in the final minute. Egad! What cads!! Now the third period began with our heroes nursing a 3-2 lead. Tenuous-to-the-radical-50.

Midway through the third period my producer told me to head down to the SportsChannel studio and watch the rest of the period on our tv monitor; which I did.

All the time I'm thinking about Sather's speech and picturing either Gretzky or Messier or Glenn Anderson, or any Oiler, tying the game and Edmonton winning it in overtime.

By the time I got to the studio, it still was 3-2 and I was a nervous wreck.

Even worse, two Hockey News pals of mine unexpectedly -- and uninvited -- walked into the studio. Both were Rangers fans and each was rooting for Edmonton.

To myself, I muttered, "This is the rest of the Edmonton curse. We're done."

Alas, we were not done.

The Oilers shot and Billy Smith saved. The Oilers shot some more and Billy Smith saved some more. Meantime, those two Rangers fans are pumping hard for Edmonton's tying goal and I wanted to kick them both in the tuches, right out of the studio.

But there was no time for that nonsense; I was too busy "helping" Smitty stop pucks to bother with the rabble in my studio. Now there were only two minutes left but Sather's speech still was haunting me.

And then it happened,

With a minute and a half remaining, Edmonton's big push was launched and it penetrated deep into Smitty's acreage.

Or, as my grandma Etel Friedman liked to say, "It's uchen vay time."

Translated: An Islanders hero was needed in a very big hurry.

And -- poof! -- just like that, there was gangly Ken Morrow with the puck -- no less -- on his stick and now it's up in the ice.

And now it's making a three-point landing, right smack into the Oilers' net.

I leaped out of my seat -- darn near crowned myself on the studio ceiling -- and by the time my oxfords hit the ground those two Rangers fans had pulled off their disorderly retreat.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLv_rttz32g[/embed]

YES! Kenny Morrow had done it again.

YES! The Islanders had won their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup.

YES! I interviewed Morrow post-game.

"I wasn't much for talking in those days," chuckled Ken on the 40th anniversary of the most delicious goal of my young life.

"But, Stan," my hero concluded, "I did one for you!"

Please don't ask me precisely what my man Morrow said that euphoric night.

Sorry, my head was too far into the clouds to remember.

This much I can recall: "The Sather Curse" went up in smoke the moment when Ken's Cup-winner went into the net!

To this day I call it "The Ken Morros Amen! Goal!