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]

1978–79 New York Islanders
Campbell Conference champions
Patrick Division champions
Division	1st Patrick
Conference	1st Campbell
1978–79 record	51-15-14
Goals for	358
Goals against	214
Team information
General Manager	Bill Torrey
Coach	Al Arbour
Captain	Clark Gillies
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Nassau Coliseum
Team leaders
Goals	Mike Bossy (69)
Assists	Bryan Trottier (87)
Points	Bryan Trottier (134)
Penalty minutes	Garry Howatt (205)
Wins	Chico Resch (26)
Goals against average	Chico Resch (2.50)

Offseason

NHL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	15	Steve Tambellini	Center	Lethbridge Broncos (WCHL)
2	34	Randy Johnston	Defense	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
3	51	Dwayne Lowdermilk	Defense	Seattle Breakers (WCHL)
5	84	Greg Hay	Left Wing	Portland Winterhawks (WCHL)
6	101	Kelly Davis	Defense	Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
7	118	Richard Pepin	Left Wing	Laval National (QMJHL)
8	135	Dave Cameron	Center	University of Prince Edward Island (CIAU)
9	152	Paul Joswiak	Goaltender	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
10	169	Scott Cameron	Defense	University of Notre Dame (WCHA)
11	184	Christer Lowdahl	Center	Orebro (Sweden)
12	199	Gunnar Persson	Defense	Brynas IF Galve (Sweden)

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 Bryan Trottier C 76 47 87 134 50 76 15 0 8 Mike Bossy RW 80 69 57 126 25 63 27 0 9 Denis Potvin D 73 31 70 101 58 71 12 3 2 Clark Gillies LW 75 35 56 91 68 57 11 0 5 Stefan Persson D 78 10 56 66 57 38 6 0 1 Bob Bourne C 80 30 31 61 48 34 4 1 2 John Tonelli LW 73 17 39 56 44 29 1 0 4 Billy Harris RW 80 15 39 54 18 26 0 0 5 Wayne Merrick C 75 20 21 41 24 13 2 0 0 Bob Nystrom RW 78 19 20 39 113 19 1 0 5 Mike Kaszycki C 71 16 18 34 37 7 2 0 4 Lorne Henning C 73 13 20 33 14 17 0 2 2 Garry Howatt LW 75 16 12 28 205 6 0 0 2 Dave Lewis D 79 5 18 23 43 43 0 0 0 Bob Lorimer D 67 3 18 21 42 27 0 0 0 Ed Westfall D/RW 55 5 11 16 4 0 0 1 1 Gerry Hart D 50 2 14 16 78 30 0 0 1 Pat Price D 55 3 11 14 50 18 0 0 0 Bert Marshall D 45 1 8 9 29 9 0 0 0 Richie Hansen C 12 1 6 7 4 9 0 0 0 Chico Resch G 43 0 2 2 6 0 0 0 0 Billy Smith G 40 0 2 2 54 0 0 0 0 Mike Hordy D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hector Marini RW 1 0 0 0 2 -2 0 0 0 Alex McKendry W 4 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 Steve Tambellini C 1 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO Chico Resch 2539 43 26 7 10 106 2.50 2 Billy 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 Denis Potvin D 10 4 7 11 8 0 0 1 Mike Bossy RW 10 6 2 8 2 2 0 1 John Tonelli LW 10 1 6 7 0 0 0 0 Bryan Trottier C 10 2 4 6 13 0 0 1 Bob Nystrom RW 10 3 2 5 4 0 0 1 Wayne Merrick C 10 2 3 5 2 0 0 0 Bob Bourne C 10 1 3 4 6 0 0 0 Mike Kaszycki C 10 1 3 4 4 0 0 0 Bob Lorimer D 10 1 3 4 15 0 0 0 Stefan Persson D 10 0 4 4 8 0 0 0 Billy Harris RW 10 2 1 3 10 1 0 1 Clark Gillies LW 10 1 2 3 11 0 0 0 Ed Westfall D/RW 6 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 Lorne Henning C 10 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 Gerry Hart D 9 0 2 2 10 0 0 0 Garry Howatt LW 9 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 Pat Price D 7 0 1 1 25 0 0 0 Dave Lewis D 10 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 Hector Marini RW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [[Chico Resch {{{last}}}|Chico Resch {{{last}}}]] G 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Billy Smith G 5 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO Billy Smith 315 5 4 1 10 1.90 1 [[Chico Resch {{{last}}}|Chico Resch {{{last}}}]] 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

1. The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.234, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0
2. "1978-79 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
3. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.181, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5