1978–79 New York Islanders season

1978–79 New York Islanders
Campbell Conference champions
Patrick Division champions
Division1st Patrick
Conference1st Campbell
1978–79 record51-15-14
Goals for358
Goals against214
Team information
General managerBill Torrey
CoachAl Arbour
CaptainClark Gillies
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaNassau Coliseum
Team leaders
GoalsMike Bossy (69)
AssistsBryan Trottier (87)
PointsBryan Trottier (134)
Penalty minutesGarry Howatt (205)
WinsChico Resch (26)
Goals against averageChico Resch (2.50)

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
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 Örebro (Sweden)
12 199 Gunnar Persson Defense Brynäs 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

Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents


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

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 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 300 5 2 3 11 2.20 1
Team: 615 10 6 4 21 2.05 2

[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

  • December 23/78: Bryan Trottier, Most Points, One Period, 6[4]

References

  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. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "1978-79 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  4. ^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.181, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5