1979–80 New York Islanders season

The 1979–80 New York Islanders season was the eighth season in the franchise's history. During the season, the Islanders dropped below the 100-point mark for the first time in five years, earning only 91 points.

1979–80 New York Islanders
Stanley Cup champions
Division	2nd Patrick
Conference	2nd Campbell
1979–80 record	39–28–13
Home record	26–9–5
Road record	13–19–8
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	Chico Resch (23)
Goals against average	Billy Smith (2.95)
← 1978–79 1980–81 →

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.

Offseason

Clark Gillies resigns the team captaincy and is replaced by defenseman Denis Potvin.

Regular season

Season 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

^[1]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

League standings^[2]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Philadelphia Flyers	PTK	80	48	12	20	327	254	116
2	y – Buffalo Sabres	ADM	80	47	17	16	318	201	110
3	x – Montreal Canadiens	NRS	80	47	20	13	328	240	107
4	Boston Bruins	ADM	80	46	21	13	310	234	105
5	New York Islanders	PTK	80	39	28	13	281	247	91
6	Minnesota North Stars	ADM	80	36	28	16	311	253	88
7	x – Chicago Black Hawks	SMY	80	34	27	19	241	250	87
8	New York Rangers	PTK	80	38	32	10	308	284	86
9	Atlanta Flames	PTK	80	35	32	13	282	269	83
10	St. Louis Blues	SMY	80	34	34	12	266	278	80
11	Toronto Maple Leafs	ADM	80	35	40	5	304	327	75
12	Los Angeles Kings	NRS	80	30	36	14	290	313	74
13	Pittsburgh Penguins	NRS	80	30	37	13	251	303	73
14	Hartford Whalers	NRS	80	27	34	19	303	312	73
15	Vancouver Canucks	SMY	80	27	37	16	256	281	70
16	Edmonton Oilers	SMY	80	28	39	13	301	322	69
17	Washington Capitals	PTK	80	27	40	13	261	293	67
18	Detroit Red Wings	NRS	80	26	43	11	268	306	63
19	Quebec Nordiques	ADM	80	25	44	11	248	313	61
20	Winnipeg Jets	SMY	80	20	49	11	214	314	51
21	Colorado Rockies	SMY	80	19	48	13	234	308	51

Divisions: ADM – Adams, NRS – Norris, PTK – Patrick, SMY – Smythe

bold – The top 16 teams in the league qualified for the playoffs, regardless of division or conference.
x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and conference and division)

Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Patrick Division 1979–80 NHL records[3] Team ATL NYI NYR PHI WSH Total Atlanta — 1–3 3–0–1 2–2 3–0–1 9−5−2 N.Y. Islanders 3–1 — 2–2 2–2 2–2 9−7−0 N.Y. Rangers 0–3–1 2–2 — 1–2–1 2–2 5−9−2 Philadelphia 2–2 2–2 2–1–1 — 2–0–2 8−5−3 Washington 0–3–1 2–2 2–2 0–2–2 — 4−9−3 Vs. Smythe Division 1979–80 NHL records Team CHI COL EDM STL VAN WIN Total Atlanta 0−2−2 4−0 2−1−1 3−1 2−2 4−0 15−6−3 N.Y. Islanders 2−1−1 3−1 1−2−1 3−1 1−2−1 2−0−2 12−7−5 N.Y. Rangers 1−2−1 1−1−2 3−1 4−0 4−0 2−2 15−6−3 Philadelphia 2–0–2 2–1–1 3–0−1 2−0−2 3−1 4−0 16−2−6 Washington 2−2 1−1−2 1−3 2−2 3−1 3−0−1 12−9−3 Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Adams Division 1979–80 NHL records Team BOS BUF MIN QUE TOR Total Atlanta 0–4 0–3–1 1–1–2 3–0–1 1–3 5–11–4 N.Y. Islanders 1–3 1–2–1 0–2–2 4–0 3–1 9–8–3 N.Y. Rangers 2–2 1–2–1 1–2–1 2–1–1 2–2 8–9–3 Philadelphia 1–1–2 3–0–1 3–1 3–0–1 1–1–2 11–3–6 Washington 1–2–1 0–4 0–3–1 1–1–2 1–3 3–13–4 Vs. Norris Division 1979–80 NHL records Team DET HFD LAK MTL PIT Total Atlanta 2–1–1 1–3 2–1–1 0–3–1 1–2–1 6–10–4 N.Y. Islanders 1–3 3–1 2–1–1 3–0–1 0–1–3 9–6–5 N.Y. Rangers 3–1 2–1–1 3–1 0–3–1 2–2 10–8–2 Philadelphia 3–0–1 2–0–2 4–0 1–2–1 3–0–1 13–2–5 Washington 1–2–1 2–1–1 3–1 1–2–1 1–3 8–9–3

Playoffs

After easily disposing of the Los Angeles Kings and the Boston Bruins in the first two rounds, the Isles faced the Buffalo Sabres in the semi-finals, 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. 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. The Islanders would become the first NHL team to win a Stanley Cup with Europeans (Stefan Persson, Anders Kallur, Bob Nystrom) on its roster.^[4]

Schedule and results

Regular season

1979–80 regular season[5]
October: 4–3–2 (home: 3–1–1; road: 1–2–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 October 11, 1979 2–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 0–1–0 L 2 October 13, 1979 2–5 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 0–2–0 L 3 October 16, 1979 5–1 Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 1–2–0 W 4 October 18, 1979 2–3 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 1–3–0 L 5 October 20, 1979 6–1 Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 2–3–0 W 6 October 23, 1979 3–3 Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 2–3–1 T 7 October 26, 1979 2–1 @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 3–3–1 W 8 October 27, 1979 6–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 4–3–1 W 9 October 31, 1979 2–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 4–3–2 T
November: 2–8–2 (home: 2–2–0; road: 0–5–2) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 10 November 2, 1979 5–7 @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 4–4–2 L 11 November 4, 1979 4–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 4–4–3 T 12 November 6, 1979 4–1 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 5–4–3 W 13 November 9, 1979 2–5 @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 5–5–3 L 14 November 10, 1979 2–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 5–6–3 L 15 November 13, 1979 10–5 New York Rangers (1979–80) 6–6–3 W 16 November 17, 1979 4–5 Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 6–7–3 L 17 November 20, 1979 3–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 6–8–3 L 18 November 21, 1979 1–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 6–9–3 L 19 November 24, 1979 4–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 6–9–4 T 20 November 28, 1979 4–7 @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 6–10–4 L 21 November 30, 1979 3–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 6–11–4 L
December: 7–4–2 (home: 4–1–1; road: 3–3–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 22 December 2, 1979 4–0 @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 7–11–4 W 23 December 4, 1979 1–5 Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 7–12–4 L 24 December 6, 1979 4–3 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 8–12–4 W 25 December 8, 1979 6–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 9–12–4 W 26 December 9, 1979 4–5 @ New York Rangers (1979–80) 9–13–4 L 27 December 11, 1979 4–1 Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 10–13–4 W 28 December 12, 1979 3–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 10–13–5 T 29 December 15, 1979 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 10–13–6 T 30 December 18, 1979 3–2 Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 11–13–6 W 31 December 22, 1979 2–1 Washington Capitals (1979–80) 12–13–6 W 32 December 23, 1979 0–8 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 12–14–6 L 33 December 27, 1979 7–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 13–14–6 W 34 December 30, 1979 2–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 13–15–6 L
January: 10–4–1 (home: 8–2–1; road: 2–2–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 35 January 2, 1980 3–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 14–15–6 W 36 January 3, 1980 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 14–16–6 L 37 January 5, 1980 3–1 St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 15–16–6 W 38 January 8, 1980 3–0 Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 16–16–6 W 39 January 9, 1980 2–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 16–17–6 L 40 January 12, 1980 5–2 Washington Capitals (1979–80) 17–17–6 W 41 January 15, 1980 5–2 Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 18–17–6 W 42 January 17, 1980 9–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 19–17–6 W 43 January 19, 1980 3–1 Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 20–17–6 W 44 January 22, 1980 2–1 Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 21–17–6 W 45 January 23, 1980 5–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 22–17–6 W 46 January 26, 1980 3–2 Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 23–17–6 W 47 January 27, 1980 1–7 @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 23–18–6 L 48 January 29, 1980 2–2 Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 23–18–7 T 49 January 31, 1980 2–4 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 23–19–7 L
February: 6–6–1 (home: 3–2–1; road: 3–4–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 50 February 2, 1980 3–2 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 24–19–7 W 51 February 3, 1980 3–5 @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 24–20–7 L 52 February 7, 1980 4–1 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 25–20–7 W 53 February 9, 1980 5–0 Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 26–20–7 W 54 February 12, 1980 0–0 Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 26–20–8 T 55 February 14, 1980 5–3 @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 27–20–8 W 56 February 16, 1980 2–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 27–21–8 L 57 February 17, 1980 2–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 27–22–8 L 58 February 19, 1980 4–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 27–23–8 L 59 February 21, 1980 2–5 Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 27–24–8 L 60 February 23, 1980 3–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 28–24–8 W 61 February 24, 1980 2–8 @ New York Rangers (1979–80) 28–25–8 L 62 February 27, 1980 5–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 29–25–8 W
March: 8–3–4 (home: 5–1–1; road: 3–2–3) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 63 March 1, 1980 3–4 Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 29–26–8 L 64 March 2, 1980 0–0 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 29–26–9 T 65 March 4, 1980 6–4 Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 30–26–9 W 66 March 6, 1980 5–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 31–26–9 W 67 March 8, 1980 3–5 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 31–27–9 L 68 March 9, 1980 1–3 @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 31–28–9 L 69 March 11, 1980 4–1 Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 32–28–9 W 70 March 15, 1980 6–2 St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 33–28–9 W 71 March 16, 1980 6–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 34–28–9 W 72 March 18, 1980 6–3 Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 35–28–9 W 73 March 22, 1980 4–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 35–28–10 T 74 March 23, 1980 1–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 35–28–11 T 75 March 25, 1980 5–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 36–28–11 W 76 March 28, 1980 2–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 36–28–12 T 77 March 30, 1980 9–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 37–28–12 W
April: 2–0–1 (home: 1–0–0; road: 1–0–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 78 April 1, 1980 1–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 37–28–13 T 79 April 4, 1980 7–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 38–28–13 W 80 April 5, 1980 2–1 New York Rangers (1979–80) 39–28–13 W
Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1980 Stanley Cup playoffs[5]
Preliminary Round vs. (12) Los Angeles Kings – Islanders win 3–1 Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 8, 1980 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 8–1 Smith 13,862 1–0 W 2 April 9, 1980 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 3–6 Resch 14,047 1–1 L 3 April 11, 1980 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 4–3 OT 6:55 Smith 11,690 2–1 W 4 April 12, 1980 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 6–0 Smith 11,089 3–1 W
Quarterfinals vs. (4) Boston Bruins – Islanders win 4–1 Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 16, 1980 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 2–1 OT 1:02 Smith 10,910 1–0 W 2 April 17, 1980 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 5–4 OT 1:24 Smith 13,134 2–0 W 3 April 19, 1980 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 5–3 Smith 14,995 3–0 W 4 April 21, 1980 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 3–4 OT 17:13 Smith 14,995 3–1 L 5 April 22, 1980 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 4–2 Smith 14,673 4–0 W
Semifinals vs. (2) Buffalo Sabres – Islanders win 4–2 Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 29, 1980 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 4–1 Smith 16,433 1–0 W 2 May 1, 1980 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 2–1 2OT 21:20 Smith 16,433 2–0 W 3 May 3, 1980 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 7–4 Smith 14,995 3–0 W 4 May 6, 1980 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 4–7 Smith 14,995 3–1 L 5 May 8, 1980 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 0–2 Resch 16,433 3–2 L 6 May 10, 1980 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 5–2 Smith 14,995 4–2 W
Stanley Cup Finals vs. (1) Philadelphia Flyers – Islanders win 4–2 Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 May 13, 1980 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 4–3 OT 4:07 Smith 17,077 1–0 W 2 May 15, 1980 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 3–8 Smith 17,077 1–1 L 3 May 17, 1980 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 6–2 Smith 14,995 2–1 W 4 May 19, 1980 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 5–2 Smith 14,995 3–1 W 5 May 22, 1980 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 3–6 Smith 17,077 3–2 L 6 May 24, 1980 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 5–4 OT 7:11 Smith 14,995 4–2 W
Legend: W Win L Loss

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Bryan Trottier C 78 42 62 104 68 31 15 0 6 Mike Bossy RW 75 51 41 92 12 28 16 0 8 Clark Gillies LW 73 19 35 54 49 29 7 0 5 Anders Kallur RW 76 22 30 52 16 12 5 4 2 John Tonelli LW 77 14 30 44 49 8 3 0 2 Denis Potvin D 31 8 33 41 44 13 4 0 0 Bob Bourne C 73 15 25 40 52 5 3 0 1 Bob Nystrom RW 67 21 18 39 94 4 2 0 4 Stefan Persson D 73 4 35 39 76 13 2 0 0 Wayne Merrick C 70 13 22 35 16 12 2 0 4 Billy Harris RW 67 15 15 30 37 0 2 1 2 Duane Sutter RW 56 15 9 24 55 5 0 0 1 Dave Lewis D 62 5 16 21 54 10 0 0 0 Garry Howatt LW 77 8 11 19 219 -3 0 0 1 Bob Lorimer D 74 3 16 19 53 32 0 0 1 Dave Langevin D 76 3 13 16 109 11 0 1 0 Gord Lane D 55 2 14 16 152 10 0 0 1 Jean Potvin D 32 2 13 15 26 -12 2 0 0 Steve Tambellini C 45 5 8 13 4 -1 0 0 0 Butch Goring C 12 6 5 11 2 7 0 1 0 Lorne Henning C 39 3 6 9 6 -10 0 0 0 Mike Kaszycki C 16 1 4 5 15 3 0 0 0 Yvon Vautour RW 17 3 1 4 24 -6 0 0 1 Ken Morrow D 18 0 3 3 4 4 0 0 0 Chico Resch G 45 0 3 3 4 0 0 0 0 Billy Smith G 38 1 0 1 39 0 0 0 0 Richard Brodeur G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mike Hordy D 9 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 Randy Johnston D 4 0 0 0 4 -2 0 0 0 Garth MacGuigan C 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 Alex McKendry W 2 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO Chico Resch 2606 45 23 14 6 132 3.04 3 Billy Smith 2114 38 15 14 7 104 2.95 2 Richard 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 Bryan Trottier C 21 12 17 29 16 4 2 2 Mike Bossy RW 16 10 13 23 8 6 0 1 Bob Bourne C 21 10 10 20 10 5 2 1 Butch Goring C 21 7 12 19 2 1 0 0 Denis Potvin D 21 6 13 19 24 4 0 1 Bob Nystrom RW 20 9 9 18 50 0 0 3 John Tonelli LW 21 7 9 16 18 0 0 0 Clark Gillies LW 21 6 10 16 63 1 0 2 Stefan Persson D 21 5 10 15 16 4 0 0 Duane Sutter RW 21 3 7 10 74 0 0 0 Lorne Henning C 21 3 4 7 2 0 3 1 Wayne Merrick C 21 2 4 6 2 0 0 1 Garry Howatt LW 21 3 1 4 84 0 0 1 Alex McKendry W 6 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 Gord Lane D 21 1 3 4 85 0 0 0 Bob Lorimer D 21 1 3 4 41 0 0 1 Ken Morrow D 20 1 2 3 12 0 0 1 Dave Langevin D 21 0 3 3 32 0 0 0 Chico Resch G 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Billy Smith G 20 0 0 0 11 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO Billy Smith 1198 20 15 4 56 2.80 1 Chico Resch 120 4 0 2 9 4.50 0 Team: 1318 21 15 6 65 2.96 1

^[6]

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

• Bryan Trottier, Conn Smythe Trophy

Transactions

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
1	17	Duane Sutter (RW)	Canada	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
2	25	Tomas Jonsson (D)	Sweden	Modo Hockey (Sweden)
2	38	Billy Carroll (C)	Canada	London Knights (OMJHL)
3	59	Roland Melanson (G)	Canada	Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL)
4	80	Tim Lockridge (D)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
5	101	Glen Duncan (LW)	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
6	122	John Gibb (D)	Canada	Bowling Green University (CCHA)