UNIONDALE, NY — The chants started coming shortly after Miroslav Satan scored his second goal to put the Islander ahead. After outlasting a late Pittsburgh rush, the roars came to crescendo. First, the refrain of “740” engulfed the sold-out Nassau Coliseum. Then simply screams of “Arbour, Arbour” followed.

Finally, a standing ovation greeted Hall of Fame coach Al Arbour, who was escorted to center ice following the Isles 3-2 victory over Pittsburgh that marked his 740th career regular season victory with the Isles. The win necessitated a new banner, as the old 739 pennant was taken down from the rafters and replaced by a new one commemorating his 1,500 game as coach of the organization—the most by any individual with one NHL franchise.

Past great players like Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier were on hand to celebrate with the man who guided the franchise to four Stanley Cup championships and five final appearances. The current team lined up next to Arbour for a photo session with the 1,500 before it was lifted next to Bill Torrey’s ensign.

“I’m very touched and I was very surprised at the end. I didn’t know they were going to have that banner raised,” Arbour said. “All the fans staying to the very end—that touched me quite a bit.”

Orange-and-blue confetti littered the ice when the ceremony was completed, with much of the original crowd of 16,234 remaining to witness the event. The 75-year-old Arbour was the star off the attention in the postgame as well, accidentally referring to general manager Garth Snow as Hank (the country singer) while making self-deprecating jokes about his return.

But soon jokes gave way to heartfelt emotion, with Nolan and Arbour praising each other after the historic win. Only Scotty Bowman owns more career victories in league history. Arbour actually played under Bowman in 1967-68 with the Blues, going all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. The two crossed paths again last night when Bowman dropped the ceremonial first puck along with Torrey, who hired Arbour.

“I’d like to thank the organization for asking me to do this, and especially the players who worked so hard,” Arbour said. “It feels very good, but I didn’t do that much. The players and Ted Nolan did the whole thing.”

The players said Arbour’s presence inspired them. Nolan pursued the idea in the summer, stressing that embracing the club’s glorious past is important to strengthen connections to the fan base.

“It was a lot of fun to play for him,” captain Bill Guerin said. “It gives us a good sense of pride for this organization with such a rich tradition”

Wearing a dark sports jacket with blue shirt and red tie, Arbour walked to the bench to a cheer when he was introduced in the pregame. Nolan, a top assistant for night, said his temporary replacement was hesitant at first but became more comfortable.

“When Al mentioned he didn’t know all the names of the players, the players certainly knew who he was,” Nolan said. “They were like kids on Christmas morning, seeing him on the bench this morning. This guy’s done so much for Long Island and for hockey in general. To have him, it’s like a living legend right with you. It was a great honor.

“Al was real nervous at the beginning, and rightfully so. We kind of said, ‘this line is up next.’ He knew the order. We could just barely hear him, but towards the last minutes of the third period, you could certainly hear him.”

Much has changed since Arbour previously manned the Islanders bench in his last season, when he led the 1993-94 team to a 36-36-12 record. Two-line passes became a thing of the past. Video replay, smaller creases, shootouts, four-on-four overtimes, restricted zones and ice girls are just part of the new NHL landscape.

But regardless of the era, winning games counts the most, and only one coach in league history has been more successful than Arbour, who won 781 regular season games in 22 seasons split between the Isles and St. Louis Blues. Make it 782 now.

A banner bearing his name and No. 739 has hung from the rafters for over a decade before the new accomplishment was celebrated. Miniature 1,500 miniature banners on the concrete near the exits, even if Arbour’s attention was on the new style of the NHL.

“The game at bench level, it’s very quick,” he said. “They are very big players who can all skate very well. That’s what amazed me the most: the size of the players and the speed of the players. We use to have a lot of grabbing and holding and I think we slowed every down to our pace. Eventually, they’re going to get it right. It opens the game up. I like that.”

Arbour, born in Sudbury, Ont., said returning to an arena once known as Fort Neverlose was a rewarding homecoming.

“This is really my second home,” he said. “I’ve been in Long Island for 27 years, and I’ve liked every bit of it. The fans were always good, even when we had bad days. They were always behind us. I’d like to thank them for coming out to the game tonight. They were very vocal.”

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