1978–79 New York Islanders season

The 1978–79 New York Islanders season was the seventh season for the franchise in the National Hockey League. The New York Islanders finished first overall by one point over the defending Stanley Cup champions Montreal Canadiens in the regular season standings.^[1]

Offseason

NHL Draft

Main article: 1979 NHL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team

Regular season

Season Standings

Patrick Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
New York Islanders	80	51	15	14	358	214	116
Philadelphia Flyers	80	40	25	15	281	248	95
New York Rangers	80	40	29	11	316	292	91
Atlanta Flames	80	41	31	8	327	280	90

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 12, 1978	2–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	0–0–1
2	L	October 14, 1978	7–10	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	0–1–1
3	W	October 17, 1978	3–1	Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	1–1–1
4	W	October 18, 1978	5–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	2–1–1
5	W	October 21, 1978	5–3	New York Rangers (1978–79)	3–1–1
6	T	October 24, 1978	4–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	3–1–2
7	L	October 27, 1978	5–8	@ Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	3–2–2
8	W	October 28, 1978	5–2	Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	4–2–2
9	W	October 31, 1978	8–5	Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	5–2–2
10	L	November 2, 1978	1–4	@ Boston Bruins (1978–79)	5–3–2
11	W	November 4, 1978	4–1	Washington Capitals (1978–79)	6–3–2
12	W	November 7, 1978	5–2	Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	7–3–2
13	W	November 11, 1978	4–2	Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	8–3–2
14	W	November 12, 1978	5–3	@ New York Rangers (1978–79)	9–3–2
15	T	November 14, 1978	2–2	Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	9–3–3
16	W	November 17, 1978	4–2	@ Washington Capitals (1978–79)	10–3–3
17	W	November 18, 1978	8–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	11–3–3
18	W	November 21, 1978	7–1	@ Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	12–3–3
19	W	November 22, 1978	4–1	@ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	13–3–3
20	W	November 25, 1978	5–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	14–3–3
21	T	November 29, 1978	5–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79)	14–3–4
22	W	December 2, 1978	5–2	@ Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	15–3–4
23	T	December 5, 1978	3–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	15–3–5
24	W	December 7, 1978	7–1	St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	16–3–5
25	W	December 9, 1978	3–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	17–3–5
26	L	December 10, 1978	3–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	17–4–5
27	T	December 12, 1978	5–5	Los Angeles Kings (1978–79)	17–4–6
28	W	December 14, 1978	4–1	Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	18–4–6
29	T	December 16, 1978	2–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	18–4–7
30	W	December 17, 1978	3–0	@ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	19–4–7
31	W	December 21, 1978	5–1	St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	20–4–7
32	W	December 23, 1978	9–4	New York Rangers (1978–79)	21–4–7
33	W	December 26, 1978	5–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	22–4–7
34	W	December 28, 1978	10–4	@ Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	23–4–7
35	W	December 30, 1978	4–2	Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	24–4–7
36	W	January 2, 1979	9–0	Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	25–4–7
37	L	January 4, 1979	2–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	25–5–7
38	W	January 6, 1979	5–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	26–5–7
39	W	January 9, 1979	7–1	Los Angeles Kings (1978–79)	27–5–7
40	T	January 10, 1979	5–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	27–5–8
41	W	January 12, 1979	4–1	@ Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	28–5–8
42	T	January 14, 1979	1–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	28–5–9
43	W	January 16, 1979	6–2	Washington Capitals (1978–79)	29–5–9
44	L	January 17, 1979	3–5	@ New York Rangers (1978–79)	29–6–9
45	W	January 20, 1979	4–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	30–6–9
46	W	January 22, 1979	2–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	31–6–9
47	W	January 25, 1979	4–2	@ Boston Bruins (1978–79)	32–6–9
48	L	January 27, 1979	2–7	New York Rangers (1978–79)	32–7–9
49	L	January 30, 1979	4–5	Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	32–8–9
50	W	February 1, 1979	4–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	33–8–9
51	T	February 3, 1979	4–4	Boston Bruins (1978–79)	33–8–10
52	L	February 4, 1979	4–5	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	33–9–10
53	W	February 13, 1979	6–1	Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	34–9–10
54	L	February 14, 1979	1–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	34–10–10
55	W	February 17, 1979	5–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	35–10–10
56	W	February 19, 1979	8–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79)	36–10–10
57	W	February 22, 1979	6–1	St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	37–10–10
58	W	February 24, 1979	3–1	Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	38–10–10
59	L	February 25, 1979	2–3	@ New York Rangers (1978–79)	38–11–10
60	W	February 27, 1979	7–3	Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	39–11–10
61	L	March 2, 1979	2–3	@ Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	39–12–10
62	W	March 3, 1979	4–2	Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	40–12–10
63	L	March 6, 1979	2–3	Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	40–13–10
64	T	March 7, 1979	5–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	40–13–11
65	W	March 10, 1979	7–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	41–13–11
66	T	March 11, 1979	4–4	@ Boston Bruins (1978–79)	41–13–12
67	W	March 13, 1979	7–2	Boston Bruins (1978–79)	42–13–12
68	W	March 15, 1979	6–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	43–13–12
69	W	March 17, 1979	5–2	New York Rangers (1978–79)	44–13–12
70	W	March 18, 1979	5–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	45–13–12
71	W	March 22, 1979	5–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	46–13–12
72	T	March 24, 1979	3–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	46–13–13
73	T	March 25, 1979	2–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	46–13–14
74	L	March 29, 1979	1–6	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	46–14–14
75	W	March 31, 1979	2–0	Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	47–14–14
76	L	April 1, 1979	4–6	@ Washington Capitals (1978–79)	47–15–14
77	W	April 3, 1979	3–2	Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	48–15–14
78	W	April 5, 1979	3–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	49–15–14
79	W	April 7, 1979	9–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	50–15–14
80	W	April 8, 1979	5–2	@ New York Rangers (1978–79)	51–15–14

Playoffs

Round 1: (1) New York Islanders vs. (8) Chicago Blackhawks

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Series
1	April 16	Chicago	2 – 6	NY Islanders		1 – 0
2	April 18	Chicago	0 – 1	NY Islanders	OT	2 – 0
3	April 20	NY Islanders	4 – 0	Chicago		3 – 0
4	April 22	NY Islanders	3 – 1	Chicago		4 – 0

New York Islanders Wins Series 4-0

Round 2: (1) New York Islanders vs. (4) New York Rangers

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Series
1	April 26	NY Rangers	4 – 1	NY Islanders		0 – 1
2	April 28	NY Rangers	3 – 4	NY Islanders	OT	1 – 1
3	May 1	NY Islanders	1 – 3	NY Rangers		1 – 2
4	May 3	NY Islanders	3 – 2	NY Rangers	OT	2 – 2
5	May 5	NY Rangers	4 – 3	NY Islanders		2 – 3
6	May 8	NY Islanders	1 – 2	NY Rangers		2 – 4

New York Rangers Wins Series 4-2

Season summary

February 25: During a loss to the Rangers, Ulf Nilsson was injured on a hip check by Denis Potvin. In the years to come, this would serve as the origin to the infamous "Potvin Sucks" chant at Madison Square Garden.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Trottier, BryanBryan Trottier	C	76	47	87	134	50	76	15	0	8
Bossy, MikeMike Bossy	RW	80	69	57	126	25	63	27	0	9
Potvin, DenisDenis Potvin	D	73	31	70	101	58	71	12	3	2
Gillies, ClarkClark Gillies	LW	75	35	56	91	68	57	11	0	5
Persson, StefanStefan Persson	D	78	10	56	66	57	38	6	0	1
Bourne, BobBob Bourne	C	80	30	31	61	48	34	4	1	2
Tonelli, JohnJohn Tonelli	LW	73	17	39	56	44	29	1	0	4
Harris, BillyBilly Harris	RW	80	15	39	54	18	26	0	0	5
Merrick, WayneWayne Merrick	C	75	20	21	41	24	13	2	0	0
Nystrom, BobBob Nystrom	RW	78	19	20	39	113	19	1	0	5
Kaszycki, MikeMike Kaszycki	C	71	16	18	34	37	7	2	0	4
Henning, LorneLorne Henning	C	73	13	20	33	14	17	0	2	2
Howatt, GarryGarry Howatt	LW	75	16	12	28	205	6	0	0	2
Lewis, DaveDave Lewis	D	79	5	18	23	43	43	0	0	0
Lorimer, BobBob Lorimer	D	67	3	18	21	42	27	0	0	0
Westfall, EdEd Westfall	D/RW	55	5	11	16	4	0	0	1	1
Hart, GerryGerry Hart	D	50	2	14	16	78	30	0	0	1
Price, PatPat Price	D	55	3	11	14	50	18	0	0	0
Marshall, BertBert Marshall	D	45	1	8	9	29	9	0	0	0
Hansen, RichieRichie Hansen	C	12	1	6	7	4	9	0	0	0
Resch, GlennGlenn Resch	G	43	0	2	2	6	0	0	0	0
Smith, BillyBilly Smith	G	40	0	2	2	54	0	0	0	0
Hordy, MikeMike Hordy	D	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Marini, HectorHector Marini	RW	1	0	0	0	2	-2	0	0	0
McKendry, AlexAlex McKendry	W	4	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Tambellini, SteveSteve Tambellini	C	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Resch, GlennGlenn Resch	2539	43	26	7	10	106	2.50	2
Smith, BillyBilly Smith	2261	40	25	8	4	108	2.87	1
Team:	4800	80	51	15	14	214	2.67	3

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Potvin, DenisDenis Potvin	D	10	4	7	11	8	0	0	1
Bossy, MikeMike Bossy	RW	10	6	2	8	2	2	0	1
Tonelli, JohnJohn Tonelli	LW	10	1	6	7	0	0	0	0
Trottier, BryanBryan Trottier	C	10	2	4	6	13	0	0	1
Nystrom, BobBob Nystrom	RW	10	3	2	5	4	0	0	1
Merrick, WayneWayne Merrick	C	10	2	3	5	2	0	0	0
Bourne, BobBob Bourne	C	10	1	3	4	6	0	0	0
Kaszycki, MikeMike Kaszycki	C	10	1	3	4	4	0	0	0
Lorimer, BobBob Lorimer	D	10	1	3	4	15	0	0	0
Persson, StefanStefan Persson	D	10	0	4	4	8	0	0	0
Harris, BillyBilly Harris	RW	10	2	1	3	10	1	0	1
Gillies, ClarkClark Gillies	LW	10	1	2	3	11	0	0	0
Westfall, EdEd Westfall	D/RW	6	1	2	3	0	0	0	0
Henning, LorneLorne Henning	C	10	2	0	2	0	0	1	0
Hart, GerryGerry Hart	D	9	0	2	2	10	0	0	0
Howatt, GarryGarry Howatt	LW	9	0	1	1	18	0	0	0
Price, PatPat Price	D	7	0	1	1	25	0	0	0
Lewis, DaveDave Lewis	D	10	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
Marini, HectorHector Marini	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Resch, GlennGlenn Resch	G	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Smith, BillyBilly Smith	G	5	0	0	0	4	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Smith, BillyBilly Smith	315	5	4	1	10	1.90	1
Resch, GlennGlenn Resch	300	5	2	3	11	2.20	1
Team:	615	10	6	4	21	2.05	2

^[2]

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

December 23/78: Bryan Trottier, Most Points, One Period, 6^[3]

References

Islanders on Hockey Database

↑ The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D’Arcy Jenish, p.234, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0
↑ "1978-79 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
↑ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.181, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5

New York Islanders seasons

1970s	1970–71 . 1971–72 . 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80

1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90

1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00

2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10

2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

New York Islanders

Founded in 1972 Based in New York City, New York

Franchise	Team General managers Head coaches Players Captains Draft picks (Expansion draft) Records Award winners Seasons Current season

Arenas	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Barclays Center Islanders Iceworks (practice facility)

Personnel	Owner Charles Wang General manager Garth Snow Head coach Jack Capuano Team captain John Tavares Current roster

General managers	Torrey Maloney Milbury Smith Snow

Head coaches	Goyette Ingarfield Arbour Simpson Henning Milbury Bowness Stewart Goring Laviolette Stirling Shaw Nolan Gordon Capuano

Affiliates	AHL Bridgeport Sound Tigers ECHL Missouri Mavericks

Retired numbers	5 9 19 22 23 31

Stanley Cup Finals	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984

Rivalries	New York Rangers

Culture and lore	The Trio Grande Easter Epic Penguins–Islanders brawl The Lighthouse Project Hockey Night Live! 2014 NHL Stadium Series

Media	TV MSG MSG Plus Radio WRHU 88.7 FM Broadcasters Howie Rose Butch Goring

1978–79 NHL season

Patrick	Atlanta NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia

Adams	Boston Buffalo Minnesota Toronto

Norris	Detroit Los Angeles Montreal Pittsburgh Washington

Smythe	Chicago Colorado St. Louis Vancouver

See also	Amateur Draft Dispersal Draft The Game Challenge Cup Playoffs Stanley Cup Finals

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