1978–79 New York Islanders season

1978–79 New York Islanders
1978–79 New York Islanders
Campbell Conference champions
Patrick Division champions
Division	1st Patrick
Conference	1st Campbell
1978–79 record	51–15–14
Home record	31–3–6
Road record	20–12–8
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)
	← 1977–78 1979–80 →

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

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

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Patrick Division

1978–79 NHL records
Team	ATL	NYI	NYR	PHI	Total
Atlanta	—	2–6	4–3–1	4–4	10–13–1
N.Y. Islanders	6–2	—	5–3	5–1–2	16–6–2
N.Y. Rangers	3–4–1	3–5	—	2–3–3	8–12–4
Philadelphia	4–4	1–5–2	3–2–3	—	8–11–5

Vs. Smythe Division

1978–79 NHL records
Team	CHI	COL	STL	VAN	Total
Atlanta	2–1–2	4–0	4–1	2–2	12–4–2
N.Y. Islanders	3–2	4–0–1	3–0–2	4–0	14–2–3
N.Y. Rangers	4–0	4–1	3–2	4–0	15–3–0
Philadelphia	1–3	3–0–1	4–1	2–1–1	10–5–2

Vs. Adams Division

1978–79 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	MIN	TOR	Total
Atlanta	1–3	2–2–1	1–2–1	4–1	8–8–2
N.Y. Islanders	2–1–2	1–2–1	3–1	3–1	9–5–3
N.Y. Rangers	2–3	2–1–1	1–2–1	2–2–1	7–8–3
Philadelphia	3–1–1	3–0–2	2–2	2–2–1	10–5–4

Vs. Norris Division

1978–79 NHL records^[2]
Team	DET	LAK	MTL	PIT	WSH	Total
Atlanta	3–0–1	2–2	1–3	3–0–1	2–1–1	11–6–3
N.Y. Islanders	3–0–1	2–0–2	3–1	1–0–3	3–1	12–2–6
N.Y. Rangers	1–1–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–1–2	10–6–4
Philadelphia	2–0–2	4–0	0–3–1	3–1	3–0–1	12–4–4

Schedule and results

1978–79 regular season^[3]

October

Game	Result	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

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
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

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
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

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
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

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
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

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
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

April

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
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

Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1979 Stanley Cup playoffs^[3]

Quarterfinals vs. (8) Chicago Black Hawks – Islanders win 4–0

Game	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

Semifinals vs. (4) New York Rangers – Rangers win 4–2

Game	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

Legend: Win Loss

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

^[4]

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^[5]

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
^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "1978-79 New York Islanders Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
^ "1978-79 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.181, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5

[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.

[Gamelog-3] "1978-79 New York Islanders Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 24, 2025.

[4] "1978-79 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2009.

[5] National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.181, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e 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 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

v t e New York Islanders
Founded in 1972 Based in Elmont, New York
Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks expansion draft Seasons Current season
History	Records Award winners Retired numbers Broadcasters
Personnel	Owner(s) New York Islanders Hockey Club, L.P. (Jon Ledecky, governor) General manager Vacant Head coach Patrick Roy Team captain Anders Lee Current roster
Arenas	Nassau Coliseum Barclays Center UBS Arena
Rivalries	New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Washington Capitals
Affiliates	AHL Bridgeport Islanders ECHL Worcester Railers
Media	TV MSG Network MSG Sportsnet Radio WEPN-FM WRHU 88.7 FM
Culture and lore	The Trio Grande Easter Epic Sparky the Dragon Penguins–Islanders brawl The Lighthouse Project Hockey Night Live! John Spano 2014 Stadium Series 2024 Stadium Series
Category Commons

v t e 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 Waiver draft The Game Challenge Cup Playoffs Stanley Cup Finals