The Islanders were founded in 1972 during the 1972–73 season, and won their first of four consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 1980. The team has since lost the Conference Finals in 1993 to eventual Stanley Cup champions Montreal Canadiens. Since then, the Islanders only qualified for the playoffs once between 1994 and 2001. The Islanders have never won the Presidents' Trophy, although they led the NHL in regular-season points in three seasons before the league began awarding the trophy; they won the Stanley Cup in two out of the three seasons. The Islanders last qualified for the playoffs in 2007; their most recent playoff series victory was in 1993. They last reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1984, their fifth consecutive appearance and first finals loss. As of 2009 The Islanders are the last North American team to win four consecutive league championships.
c Despite finishing the 1987-88 regular season with the most points in the Patrick Division, the Islanders did not win the division title because they lost to the New Jersey Devils in the Patrick Division Semifinals.
d The NHL realigned into Eastern and Western conferences prior to the 1993–94 season. New York was placed in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division.[5]
h Before the 2005–06 season, the NHL instituted a penalty shootout for regular season games that remained tied after a five-minute overtime period, which prevented ties.[8]