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79-80NYI
1979–80 New York Islanders
Division 2nd Patrick
Conference 2nd Campbell
1979–80 record 39–28–13
Goals for 281
Goals against 247
Team information
General manager Bill Torrey
Coach Al Arbour
Captain Denis Potvin
Alternate captains None
Arena Nassau Coliseum
Team leaders
Goals Mike Bossy (51)
Assists Bryan Trottier (62)
Points Bryan Trottier (104)
Penalty minutes Garry Howatt (219)
Wins Glenn Resch (23)
Goals against average Billy Smith (2.95)

The 1979-80 New York Islanders season was the 8th season for the franchise in the National Hockey League. Despite finishing 2nd in the Patrick Division, the Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals 4 games to 2 to win their first Stanley Cup.

Off-season[]

Draft Picks[]

See also: 1979 NHL Entry Draft
Round Pick Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team
1 17. Duane Sutter (RW) Flag of Canada Canada Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)

Regular Season[]

Before the playoffs, Torrey made the difficult decision to trade longtime and popular veterans Billy Harris and defenseman Dave Lewis to the Los Angeles Kings for second line center Butch Goring. Goring is often called the "final piece of the puzzle": a strong two-way player, his presence on the second line ensured that opponents would no longer be able to focus their defensive efforts on the Isles' first line of Bossy, Trottier and Clark Gillies. Contributions from new teammates, such as wingers Duane Sutter and Anders Kallur and stay-at-home defensemen Gord Lane and Ken Morrow (the latter fresh off a gold medal win at the 1980 Olympics), also figured prominently in the Islanders' playoff success.

Final Standings[]

Patrick Division
  GP W L T GF GA PTS
Philadelphia Flyers 80 48 12 20 327 254 116
New York Islanders 80 39 28 13 281 247 91
New York Rangers 80 38 32 10 308 284 86
Atlanta Flames 80 35 32 13 282 269 83
Washington Capitals 80 27 40 13 261 293 67

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.


Game Log[]

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 L October 11, 1979 2–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 0–1–0
2 L October 13, 1979 2–5 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 0–2–0
3 W October 16, 1979 5–1 Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 1–2–0
4 L October 18, 1979 2–3 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 1–3–0
5 W October 20, 1979 6–1 Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 2–3–0
6 T October 23, 1979 3–3 Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 2–3–1
7 W October 26, 1979 2–1 @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 3–3–1
8 W October 27, 1979 6–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 4–3–1
9 T October 31, 1979 2–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 4–3–2
10 L November 2, 1979 5–7 @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 4–4–2
11 T November 4, 1979 4–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 4–4–3
12 W November 6, 1979 4–1 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 5–4–3
13 L November 9, 1979 2–5 @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 5–5–3
14 L November 10, 1979 2–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 5–6–3
15 W November 13, 1979 10–5 New York Rangers (1979–80) 6–6–3
16 L November 17, 1979 4–5 Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 6–7–3
17 L November 20, 1979 3–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 6–8–3
18 L November 21, 1979 1–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 6–9–3
19 T November 24, 1979 4–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 6–9–4
20 L November 28, 1979 4–7 @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 6–10–4
21 L November 30, 1979 3–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 6–11–4
22 W December 2, 1979 4–0 @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 7–11–4
23 L December 4, 1979 1–5 Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 7–12–4
24 W December 6, 1979 4–3 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 8–12–4
25 W December 7, 1979 6–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 9–12–4
26 L December 9, 1979 4–5 @ New York Rangers (1979–80) 9–13–4
27 W December 11, 1979 4–1 Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 10–13–4
28 T December 12, 1979 3–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 10–13–5
29 T December 15, 1979 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 10–13–6
30 W December 18, 1979 3–2 Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 11–13–6
31 W December 22, 1979 2–1 Washington Capitals (1979–80) 12–13–6
32 L December 23, 1979 0–8 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 12–14–6
33 W December 27, 1979 7–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 13–14–6
34 L December 30, 1979 2–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 13–15–6
35 W January 2, 1980 3–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 14–15–6
36 L January 3, 1980 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 14–16–6
37 W January 5, 1980 3–1 St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 15–16–6
38 W January 8, 1980 3–0 Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 16–16–6
39 L January 9, 1980 2–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 16–17–6
40 W January 12, 1980 5–2 Washington Capitals (1979–80) 17–17–6
41 W January 15, 1980 5–2 Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 18–17–6
42 W January 17, 1980 9–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 19–17–6
43 W January 19, 1980 3–1 Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 20–17–6
44 W January 22, 1980 2–1 Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 21–17–6
45 W January 23, 1980 5–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 22–17–6
46 W January 26, 1980 3–2 Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 23–17–6
47 L January 27, 1980 1–7 @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 23–18–6
48 T January 29, 1980 2–2 Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 23–18–7
49 L January 31, 1980 2–4 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 23–19–7
50 W February 2, 1980 3–2 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 24–19–7
51 L February 3, 1980 3–5 @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 24–20–7
52 W February 7, 1980 4–1 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 25–20–7
53 W February 9, 1980 5–0 Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 26–20–7
54 T February 12, 1980 0–0 Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 26–20–8
55 W February 14, 1980 5–3 @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 27–20–8
56 L February 16, 1980 2–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 27–21–8
57 L February 17, 1980 2–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 27–22–8
58 L February 19, 1980 4–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 27–23–8
59 L February 21, 1980 2–5 Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 27–24–8
60 W February 23, 1980 3–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 28–24–8
61 L February 24, 1980 2–8 @ New York Rangers (1979–80) 28–25–8
62 W February 27, 1980 5–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 29–25–8
63 L March 1, 1980 3–4 Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 29–26–8
64 T March 2, 1980 0–0 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 29–26–9
65 W March 4, 1980 6–4 Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 30–26–9
66 W March 6, 1980 5–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 31–26–9
67 L March 8, 1980 3–5 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 31–27–9
68 L March 9, 1980 1–3 @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 31–28–9
69 W March 11, 1980 4–1 Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 32–28–9
70 W March 15, 1980 6–2 St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 33–28–9
71 W March 16, 1980 6–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 34–28–9
72 W March 18, 1980 6–3 Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 35–28–9
73 T March 22, 1980 4–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 35–28–10
74 T March 23, 1980 1–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 35–28–11
75 W March 25, 1980 5–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 36–28–11
76 T March 28, 1980 2–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 36–28–12
77 W March 30, 1980 9–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 37–28–12
78 T April 1, 1980 1–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 37–28–13
79 W April 4, 1980 7–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 38–28–13
80 W April 5, 1980 2–1 New York Rangers (1979–80) 39–28–13

Playoffs[]

New York Islanders 4, Boston Bruins 1[]

New York Islanders 4, Buffalo Sabres 2[]

In the semi-finals, the Isles faced the Buffalo Sabres, who had finished second overall in the NHL standings. The Isles won the first two games in Buffalo, including a 3–2 victory in Game 2 on Bob Nystrom's goal in double overtime. They went on to win the series in six games and reach the finals for the first time in franchise history, where they would face the NHL's regular season champions, the Philadelphia Flyers, who had gone undefeated for 35 straight games (25–0–10) during the regular season.

New York Islanders 4, Philadelphia Flyers 2[]

In Game 1 in Philadelphia, the Isles won 4–3 on Denis Potvin's power-play goal in overtime. Leading the series 3–2, they went home to Long Island for Game 6. In that game, Bob Nystrom continued his overtime heroics, scoring at 7:11 of the extra frame, on assists by John Tonelli and Lorne Henning, to bring Long Island its first Stanley Cup. It was the Isles' sixth overtime victory of the playoffs. Bryan Trottier won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. Torrey's strategy of building through the draft turned out very well; nearly all of the major contributors on the 1980 champions were home-grown Islanders or had spent most of their NHL careers in the Islanders organization.

Date Visitors Score Home Score Notes
May 13 New York 4 Philadelphia 3 OT
May 15 New York 3 Philadelphia 8
May 17 Philadelphia 2 New York 6
May 19 Philadelphia 2 New York 5 OT
May 22 New York 3 Philadelphia 6
May 24 Philadelphia 4 New York 5 OT

1980 New York Islanders Stanley Cup Champions[]

Gord Lane, Jean Potvin, Bob Lorimer, Denis Potvin, Stefan Persson, Ken Morrow, Dave Langevin, Duane Sutter, Garry Howatt, Clark Gillies, Lorne Henning, Wayne Merrick, Bob Bourne, Steve Tambellini, Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Bob Nystrom, John Tonelli, Anders Kallur, Butch Goring, Alex McKendry, Glenn Resch, Billy Smith, Al Arbour (coach), Bill Torrey (general manager), Ron Waske, Jim Pickard (trainers)

Player Stats[]

Regular Season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Trottier, BryanBryan Trottier C 78 42 62 104 68 31 15 0 6
Bossy, MikeMike Bossy RW 75 51 41 92 12 28 16 0 8
Gillies, ClarkClark Gillies LW 73 19 35 54 49 29 7 0 5
Kallur, AndersAnders Kallur RW 76 22 30 52 16 12 5 4 2
Tonelli, JohnJohn Tonelli LW 77 14 30 44 49 8 3 0 2
Potvin, DenisDenis Potvin D 31 8 33 41 44 13 4 0 0
Bourne, BobBob Bourne C 73 15 25 40 52 5 3 0 1
Nystrom, BobBob Nystrom RW 67 21 18 39 94 4 2 0 4
Persson, StefanStefan Persson D 73 4 35 39 76 13 2 0 0
Merrick, WayneWayne Merrick C 70 13 22 35 16 12 2 0 4
Harris, BillyBilly Harris RW 67 15 15 30 37 0 2 1 2
Sutter, DuaneDuane Sutter RW 56 15 9 24 55 5 0 0 1
Lewis, DaveDave Lewis D 62 5 16 21 54 10 0 0 0
Howatt, GarryGarry Howatt LW 77 8 11 19 219 -3 0 0 1
Lorimer, BobBob Lorimer D 74 3 16 19 53 32 0 0 1
Langevin, DaveDave Langevin D 76 3 13 16 109 11 0 1 0
Lane, GordGord Lane D 55 2 14 16 152 10 0 0 1
Potvin, JeanJean Potvin D 32 2 13 15 26 -12 2 0 0
Tambellini, SteveSteve Tambellini C 45 5 8 13 4 -1 0 0 0
Goring, ButchButch Goring C 12 6 5 11 2 7 0 1 0
Henning, LorneLorne Henning C 39 3 6 9 6 -10 0 0 0
Kaszycki, MikeMike Kaszycki C 16 1 4 5 15 3 0 0 0
Vautour, YvonYvon Vautour RW 17 3 1 4 24 -6 0 0 1
Morrow, KenKen Morrow D 18 0 3 3 4 4 0 0 0
Resch, GlennGlenn Resch G 45 0 3 3 4 0 0 0 0
Smith, BillyBilly Smith G 38 1 0 1 39 0 0 0 0
MacGuigan, GarthGarth MacGuigan C 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
McKendry, AlexAlex McKendry W 2 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Johnston, RandyRandy Johnston D 4 0 0 0 4 -2 0 0 0
Hordy, MikeMike Hordy D 9 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 0
Brodeur, RichardRichard Brodeur G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Resch, GlennGlenn Resch 2606 45 23 14 6 132 3.04 3
Smith, BillyBilly Smith 2114 38 15 14 7 104 2.95 2
Brodeur, RichardRichard Brodeur 80 2 1 0 0 6 4.50 0
Team: 4800 80 39 28 13 242 3.02 5
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Trottier, BryanBryan Trottier C 21 12 17 29 16 4 2 2
Bossy, MikeMike Bossy RW 16 10 13 23 8 6 0 1
Bourne, BobBob Bourne C 21 10 10 20 10 5 2 1
Goring, ButchButch Goring C 21 7 12 19 2 1 0 0
Potvin, DenisDenis Potvin D 21 6 13 19 24 4 0 1
Nystrom, BobBob Nystrom RW 20 9 9 18 50 0 0 3
Tonelli, JohnJohn Tonelli LW 21 7 9 16 18 0 0 0
Gillies, ClarkClark Gillies LW 21 6 10 16 63 1 0 2
Persson, StefanStefan Persson D 21 5 10 15 16 4 0 0
Sutter, DuaneDuane Sutter RW 21 3 7 10 74 0 0 0
Henning, LorneLorne Henning C 21 3 4 7 2 0 3 1
Merrick, WayneWayne Merrick C 21 2 4 6 2 0 0 1
Howatt, GarryGarry Howatt LW 21 3 1 4 84 0 0 1
McKendry, AlexAlex McKendry W 6 2 2 4 0 0 0 0
Lane, GordGord Lane D 21 1 3 4 85 0 0 0
Lorimer, BobBob Lorimer D 21 1 3 4 41 0 0 1
Morrow, KenKen Morrow D 20 1 2 3 12 0 0 1
Langevin, DaveDave Langevin D 21 0 3 3 32 0 0 0
Resch, GlennGlenn Resch G 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Smith, BillyBilly Smith G 20 0 0 0 11 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Smith, BillyBilly Smith 1198 20 15 4 56 2.80 1
Resch, GlennGlenn Resch 120 4 0 2 9 4.50 0
Team: 1318 21 15 6 65 2.96 1

[1]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts

Awards and Records[]

Transactions[]

Draft Picks[]

Farm Teams[]

References[]

  1. 1979-80 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com. hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-07-13.
Preceded by
Montreal Canadiens
1979
New York Islanders
Stanley Cup Champions

1980
Succeeded by
New York Islanders
1981
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