1975–76 New York Islanders season

1975–76 New York Islanders
Division2nd Patrick
ConferenceCampbell
1975–76 record42–21–17
Goals for297
Goals against190
Team information
General managerBill Torrey
CoachAl Arbour
CaptainEd Westfall
Alternate captainsNone
Team leaders
GoalsClark Gillies (34)
AssistsDenis Potvin (67)
PointsDenis Potvin (98)
Penalty minutesGarry Howatt (197)
WinsChico Resch (23)
Goals against averageChico Resch (2.61)

The 1975–76 New York Islanders season was the fourth season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Philadelphia Flyers 80 51 13 16 348 209 118
New York Islanders 80 42 21 17 297 190 101
Atlanta Flames 80 35 33 12 262 237 82
New York Rangers 80 29 42 9 262 333 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.

Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents


Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 T October 8, 1975 1–1 @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) 0–0–1
2 W October 11, 1975 7–0 Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) 1–0–1
3 T October 12, 1975 3–3 @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) 1–0–2
4 W October 14, 1975 5–3 Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) 2–0–2
5 W October 17, 1975 2–0 @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) 3–0–2
6 L October 18, 1975 2–5 Boston Bruins (1975–76) 3–1–2
7 T October 21, 1975 5–5 Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) 3–1–3
8 W October 23, 1975 3–0 Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) 4–1–3
9 W October 25, 1975 7–1 New York Rangers (1975–76) 5–1–3
10 T October 27, 1975 4–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) 5–1–4
11 W November 1, 1975 7–3 Washington Capitals (1975–76) 6–1–4
12 W November 4, 1975 5–3 California Golden Seals (1975–76) 7–1–4
13 L November 5, 1975 6–7 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) 7–2–4
14 W November 8, 1975 4–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) 8–2–4
15 L November 12, 1975 1–5 @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) 8–3–4
16 L November 13, 1975 3–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) 8–4–4
17 L November 15, 1975 3–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) 8–5–4
18 L November 18, 1975 1–3 Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) 8–6–4
19 T November 20, 1975 2–2 @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) 8–6–5
20 W November 22, 1975 5–2 Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) 9–6–5
21 W November 26, 1975 9–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) 10–6–5
22 L November 27, 1975 1–2 Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) 10–7–5
23 W November 29, 1975 8–2 St. Louis Blues (1975–76) 11–7–5
24 L November 30, 1975 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) 11–8–5
25 W December 2, 1975 4–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) 12–8–5
26 W December 4, 1975 6–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) 13–8–5
27 L December 6, 1975 2–4 Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) 13–9–5
28 W December 7, 1975 3–0 @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) 14–9–5
29 W December 9, 1975 6–0 Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) 15–9–5
30 T December 12, 1975 3–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) 15–9–6
31 W December 13, 1975 5–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) 16–9–6
32 W December 17, 1975 3–0 @ New York Rangers (1975–76) 17–9–6
33 W December 18, 1975 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) 18–9–6
34 W December 20, 1975 7–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) 19–9–6
35 L December 21, 1975 2–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) 19–10–6
36 W December 30, 1975 6–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) 20–10–6
37 T January 3, 1976 1–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) 20–10–7
38 L January 4, 1976 3–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) 20–11–7
39 W January 6, 1976 8–1 Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) 21–11–7
40 L January 8, 1976 3–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) 21–12–7
41 W January 13, 1976 1–0 Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) 22–12–7
42 T January 17, 1976 2–2 Atlanta Flames (1975–76) 22–12–8
43 W January 21, 1976 5–2 @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) 23–12–8
44 W January 22, 1976 8–1 Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) 24–12–8
45 W January 24, 1976 5–0 Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) 25–12–8
46 W January 27, 1976 4–3 Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) 26–12–8
47 W January 28, 1976 3–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) 27–12–8
48 T January 31, 1976 2–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) 27–12–9
49 T February 3, 1976 2–2 Atlanta Flames (1975–76) 27–12–10
50 W February 4, 1976 6–5 @ New York Rangers (1975–76) 28–12–10
51 L February 6, 1976 3–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) 28–13–10
52 L February 8, 1976 2–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) 28–14–10
53 L February 10, 1976 2–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) 28–15–10
54 T February 12, 1976 2–2 @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) 28–15–11
55 T February 14, 1976 4–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) 28–15–12
56 W February 15, 1976 3–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) 29–15–12
57 L February 17, 1976 1–3 New York Rangers (1975–76) 29–16–12
58 W February 18, 1976 5–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) 30–16–12
59 L February 21, 1976 1–2 Boston Bruins (1975–76) 30–17–12
60 W February 22, 1976 4–0 @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) 31–17–12
61 W February 24, 1976 7–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) 32–17–12
62 T February 26, 1976 2–2 Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) 32–17–13
63 W February 28, 1976 4–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) 33–17–13
64 W March 2, 1976 2–1 California Golden Seals (1975–76) 34–17–13
65 T March 4, 1976 3–3 Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) 34–17–14
66 W March 6, 1976 6–3 Washington Capitals (1975–76) 35–17–14
67 W March 7, 1976 5–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) 36–17–14
68 W March 9, 1976 4–0 St. Louis Blues (1975–76) 37–17–14
69 T March 13, 1976 2–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) 37–17–15
70 W March 14, 1976 5–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) 38–17–15
71 L March 16, 1976 1–3 Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) 38–18–15
72 W March 20, 1976 4–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) 39–18–15
73 L March 23, 1976 2–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) 39–19–15
74 T March 24, 1976 1–1 @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) 39–19–16
75 W March 26, 1976 3–2 @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) 40–19–16
76 W March 29, 1976 5–1 Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) 41–19–16
77 L March 31, 1976 1–3 @ New York Rangers (1975–76) 41–20–16
78 T April 1, 1976 1–1 Atlanta Flames (1975–76) 41–20–17
79 W April 3, 1976 10–2 New York Rangers (1975–76) 42–20–17
80 L April 4, 1976 2–5 @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) 42–21–17

Playoffs

The Islanders continued to show growth in the playoffs defeating the Vancouver Canucks in the preliminary round and the favored Buffalo Sabres in 6 games in the second round. The Islanders fell to the vastly superior Montreal Canadiens team that won 58 games that year and only lost one time in the entire playoffs. That one time was in Game 4 of the semi-finals, when they fell to the Islanders 5–2. The playoff run was generally viewed as a success since the Islanders had won 2 playoff series, and lost to the eventual champions. Additionally, the Isles still possessed a young core with players whom were still improving.

Round 1 vs. Vancouver

April 6 Vancouver Canucks 3–5 New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
April 8 New York Islanders 3–1 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum
New York won series 2–0


Round 2 vs. Buffalo

April 11 New York Islanders 3–5 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
April 13 New York Islanders 2–3 OT Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
April 15 Buffalo Sabres 3–5 New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
April 17 Buffalo Sabres 2–4 New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
April 20 New York Islanders 4–3 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
April 22 Buffalo Sabres 2–3 New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
New York won series 4–2


Round 3 vs. Montreal

April 27 New York Islanders 2–3 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum
April 29 New York Islanders 3–4 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum
May 1 Montreal Canadiens 3–2 New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
May 4 Montreal Canadiens 2–5 New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
May 6 New York Islanders 2–5 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum
Montreal won series 4–1


Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Denis Potvin D 78 31 67 98 100 12 18 0 4
Bryan Trottier C 80 32 63 95 21 28 11 1 5
Jean Potvin D 78 17 55 72 74 16 9 1 2
Billy Harris RW 80 32 38 70 54 22 16 0 4
Jude Drouin C 76 21 41 62 58 18 10 0 2
Clark Gillies LW 80 34 27 61 96 20 15 0 6
J.P. Parise LW 80 22 35 57 80 12 5 2 4
Ed Westfall D/RW 80 25 31 56 27 17 6 2 3
Bob Nystrom RW 80 23 25 48 106 24 2 0 4
Garry Howatt LW 80 21 13 34 197 26 0 0 2
Andre St. Laurent C 67 9 17 26 56 14 0 0 2
Gerry Hart D 80 6 18 24 151 35 0 0 0
Dave Lewis D 73 0 19 19 54 29 0 0 0
Lorne Henning C 80 7 10 17 16 6 0 4 0
Billy MacMillan RW 64 9 7 16 10 5 0 0 2
Bert Marshall D 71 0 16 16 72 37 0 0 0
Ralph Stewart C 31 6 7 13 2 3 0 1 1
Bob Bourne C 14 2 3 5 13 −2 0 0 1
Dave Fortier D 59 0 2 2 68 9 0 0 0
Pat Price D 4 0 2 2 2 4 0 0 0
Chico Resch G 44 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Billy Smith G 39 0 1 1 10 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Chico Resch 2546 44 23 11 8 88 2.07 7
Billy Smith 2254 39 19 10 9 98 2.61 3
Team: 4800 80 42 21 17 186 2.33 10
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Denis Potvin D 13 5 14 19 32 2 0 1
Jude Drouin C 13 6 9 15 0 1 0 1
Garry Howatt LW 13 5 5 10 23 0 0 1
J.P. Parise LW 13 4 6 10 10 1 0 0
Bob Nystrom RW 13 3 6 9 30 1 0 0
Bryan Trottier C 13 1 7 8 8 0 0 0
Billy Harris RW 13 5 2 7 10 1 0 0
Billy MacMillan RW 13 4 2 6 8 0 0 2
Clark Gillies LW 13 2 4 6 16 0 0 1
Andre St. Laurent C 13 1 5 6 15 0 0 0
Ed Westfall D/RW 8 2 3 5 0 1 0 0
Gerry Hart D 13 1 3 4 24 0 0 0
Bert Marshall D 13 1 3 4 12 0 0 1
Lorne Henning C 13 2 0 2 2 1 1 0
Ralph Stewart C 6 1 1 2 0 1 0 0
Dave Lewis D 13 0 1 1 44 0 0 0
Jean Potvin D 13 0 1 1 2 0 0 0
Dave Fortier D 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Glenn Resch G 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Billy Smith G 8 0 0 0 11 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Billy Smith 437 8 4 3 21 2.88 0
Chico Resch 357 7 3 3 18 3.03 0
Team: 794 13 7 6 39 2.95 0

[3]

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

Below are the selections of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft:

Pick # Player Position Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team
11 Pat Price Defence  Canada New York Islanders Vancouver Blazers (WHA)
29 Dave Salvian Left Wing  Canada New York Islanders St. Catharines Black Hawks (OMJHL)
47 Joe Fortunato Left Wing  Canada New York Islanders Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
65 Andre Lepage Goaltender  Canada New York Islanders Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL)
83 Denny McLean Left Wing  Canada New York Islanders Calgary Centennials (WCHL)
101 Mike Sleep Right Wing  Canada New York Islanders New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
119 Richie Hansen Centre  United States New York Islanders Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
137 Bob Sunderland Defence  United States New York Islanders Boston University (ECAC)
153 Dan Blair Right Wing  Canada New York Islanders Ottawa 67's (OMJHL)
168 Joey Girardin Defence  Canada New York Islanders Winnipeg Clubs (WCHL)
183 Geoff Green Right Wing  Canada New York Islanders Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
194 Kari Makkonen Right Wing  Finland New York Islanders Pori (Finland)
Reference: "1975 NHL Amateur Draft hockeydraftcentral.com". Retrieved September 12, 2013.

Farm teams

See also

References

  1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "1975-76 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2009.