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1979–80 New York Islanders season

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1979–80 New York Islanders
Stanley Cup champions
Division2nd Patrick
Conference2nd Campbell
1979–80 record39–28–13
Home record26–9–5
Road record13–19–8
Goals for281
Goals against247
Team information
General managerBill Torrey
CoachAl Arbour
CaptainDenis Potvin
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaNassau Coliseum
Team leaders
GoalsMike Bossy (51)
AssistsBryan Trottier (62)
PointsBryan Trottier (104)
Penalty minutesGarry Howatt (219)
WinsChico Resch (23)
Goals against averageBilly Smith (2.95)

The 1979–80 New York Islanders season was the eighth season in the franchise's history. During the season, the Islanders dropped below the 100-point mark for the first time in five years, earning only 91 points.

Before the playoffs, Torrey made the difficult decision to trade longtime and popular veterans Billy Harris and defenseman Dave Lewis to the Los Angeles Kings for second line center Butch Goring. Goring is often called the "final piece of the puzzle": a strong two-way player, his presence on the second line ensured that opponents would no longer be able to focus their defensive efforts on the Isles' first line of Bossy, Trottier and Clark Gillies. Contributions from new teammates, such as wingers Duane Sutter and Anders Kallur and stay-at-home defensemen Gord Lane and Ken Morrow (the latter fresh off a gold medal win at the 1980 Olympics), also figured prominently in the Islanders' playoff success.

Offseason

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Clark Gillies resigns the team captaincy and is replaced by defenseman Denis Potvin.

Regular season

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Season standings

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Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Philadelphia Flyers 80 48 12 20 327 254 116
New York Islanders 80 39 28 13 281 247 91
New York Rangers 80 38 32 10 308 284 86
Atlanta Flames 80 35 32 13 282 269 83
Washington Capitals 80 27 40 13 261 293 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.

League standings[2]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – Philadelphia Flyers PTK 80 48 12 20 327 254 116
2 y – Buffalo Sabres ADM 80 47 17 16 318 201 110
3 x – Montreal Canadiens NRS 80 47 20 13 328 240 107
4 Boston Bruins ADM 80 46 21 13 310 234 105
5 New York Islanders PTK 80 39 28 13 281 247 91
6 Minnesota North Stars ADM 80 36 28 16 311 253 88
7 x – Chicago Black Hawks SMY 80 34 27 19 241 250 87
8 New York Rangers PTK 80 38 32 10 308 284 86
9 Atlanta Flames PTK 80 35 32 13 282 269 83
10 St. Louis Blues SMY 80 34 34 12 266 278 80
11 Toronto Maple Leafs ADM 80 35 40 5 304 327 75
12 Los Angeles Kings NRS 80 30 36 14 290 313 74
13 Pittsburgh Penguins NRS 80 30 37 13 251 303 73
14 Hartford Whalers NRS 80 27 34 19 303 312 73
15 Vancouver Canucks SMY 80 27 37 16 256 281 70
16 Edmonton Oilers SMY 80 28 39 13 301 322 69
17 Washington Capitals PTK 80 27 40 13 261 293 67
18 Detroit Red Wings NRS 80 26 43 11 268 306 63
19 Quebec Nordiques ADM 80 25 44 11 248 313 61
20 Winnipeg Jets SMY 80 20 49 11 214 314 51
21 Colorado Rockies SMY 80 19 48 13 234 308 51

Divisions: ADM – Adams, NRS – Norris, PTK – Patrick, SMY – Smythe

bold – The top 16 teams in the league qualified for the playoffs, regardless of division or conference.
x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and conference and division)

Record vs. opponents

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Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

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Vs. Wales Conference


Playoffs

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After easily disposing of the Los Angeles Kings and the Boston Bruins in the first two rounds, the Isles faced the Buffalo Sabres in the semi-finals, who had finished second overall in the NHL standings. The Isles won the first two games in Buffalo, including a 3–2 victory in Game 2 on Bob Nystrom's goal in double overtime. They went on to win the series in six games and reach the finals for the first time in franchise history, where they would face the NHL's regular season champions, the Philadelphia Flyers, who had gone undefeated for 35 straight games (25–0–10) during the regular season. In Game 1 in Philadelphia, the Isles won 4–3 on Denis Potvin's power-play goal in overtime. Leading the series 3–2, they went home to Long Island for Game 6. In that game, Bob Nystrom continued his overtime heroics, scoring at 7:11 of the extra frame, on assists by John Tonelli and Lorne Henning, to bring Long Island its first Stanley Cup. It was the Isles' sixth overtime victory of the playoffs. Bryan Trottier won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. Torrey's strategy of building through the draft turned out very well; nearly all of the major contributors on the 1980 champions were home-grown Islanders or had spent most of their NHL careers in the Islanders organization. The Islanders would become the first NHL team to win a Stanley Cup with Europeans (Stefan Persson, Anders Kallur, Bob Nystrom) on its roster.[4]

Schedule and results

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Regular season

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1979–80 regular season[5]
October: 4–3–2 (home: 3–1–1; road: 1–2–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
1 L October 11, 1979 2–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 0–1–0 Recap
2 L October 13, 1979 2–5 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 0–2–0 Recap
3 W October 16, 1979 5–1 Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 1–2–0 Recap
4 L October 18, 1979 2–3 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 1–3–0 Recap
5 W October 20, 1979 6–1 Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 2–3–0 Recap
6 T October 23, 1979 3–3 Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 2–3–1 Recap
7 W October 26, 1979 2–1 @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 3–3–1 Recap
8 W October 27, 1979 6–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 4–3–1 Recap
9 T October 31, 1979 2–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 4–3–2 Recap
November: 2–8–2 (home: 2–2–0; road: 0–5–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
10 L November 2, 1979 5–7 @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 4–4–2 Recap
11 T November 4, 1979 4–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 4–4–3 Recap
12 W November 6, 1979 4–1 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 5–4–3 Recap
13 L November 9, 1979 2–5 @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 5–5–3 Recap
14 L November 10, 1979 2–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 5–6–3 Recap
15 W November 13, 1979 10–5 New York Rangers (1979–80) 6–6–3 Recap
16 L November 17, 1979 4–5 Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 6–7–3 Recap
17 L November 20, 1979 3–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 6–8–3 Recap
18 L November 21, 1979 1–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 6–9–3 Recap
19 T November 24, 1979 4–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 6–9–4 Recap
20 L November 28, 1979 4–7 @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 6–10–4 Recap
21 L November 30, 1979 3–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 6–11–4 Recap
December: 7–4–2 (home: 4–1–1; road: 3–3–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
22 W December 2, 1979 4–0 @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 7–11–4 Recap
23 L December 4, 1979 1–5 Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 7–12–4 Recap
24 W December 6, 1979 4–3 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 8–12–4 Recap
25 W December 8, 1979 6–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 9–12–4 Recap
26 L December 9, 1979 4–5 @ New York Rangers (1979–80) 9–13–4 Recap
27 W December 11, 1979 4–1 Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 10–13–4 Recap
28 T December 12, 1979 3–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 10–13–5 Recap
29 T December 15, 1979 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 10–13–6 Recap
30 W December 18, 1979 3–2 Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 11–13–6 Recap
31 W December 22, 1979 2–1 Washington Capitals (1979–80) 12–13–6 Recap
32 L December 23, 1979 0–8 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 12–14–6 Recap
33 W December 27, 1979 7–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 13–14–6 Recap
34 L December 30, 1979 2–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 13–15–6 Recap
January: 10–4–1 (home: 8–2–1; road: 2–2–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
35 W January 2, 1980 3–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 14–15–6 Recap
36 L January 3, 1980 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 14–16–6 Recap
37 W January 5, 1980 3–1 St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 15–16–6 Recap
38 W January 8, 1980 3–0 Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 16–16–6 Recap
39 L January 9, 1980 2–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 16–17–6 Recap
40 W January 12, 1980 5–2 Washington Capitals (1979–80) 17–17–6 Recap
41 W January 15, 1980 5–2 Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 18–17–6 Recap
42 W January 17, 1980 9–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 19–17–6 Recap
43 W January 19, 1980 3–1 Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 20–17–6 Recap
44 W January 22, 1980 2–1 Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 21–17–6 Recap
45 W January 23, 1980 5–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 22–17–6 Recap
46 W January 26, 1980 3–2 Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 23–17–6 Recap
47 L January 27, 1980 1–7 @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 23–18–6 Recap
48 T January 29, 1980 2–2 Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 23–18–7 Recap
49 L January 31, 1980 2–4 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 23–19–7 Recap
February: 6–6–1 (home: 3–2–1; road: 3–4–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
50 W February 2, 1980 3–2 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 24–19–7 Recap
51 L February 3, 1980 3–5 @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 24–20–7 Recap
52 W February 7, 1980 4–1 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 25–20–7 Recap
53 W February 9, 1980 5–0 Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 26–20–7 Recap
54 T February 12, 1980 0–0 Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 26–20–8 Recap
55 W February 14, 1980 5–3 @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 27–20–8 Recap
56 L February 16, 1980 2–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 27–21–8 Recap
57 L February 17, 1980 2–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 27–22–8 Recap
58 L February 19, 1980 4–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 27–23–8 Recap
59 L February 21, 1980 2–5 Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 27–24–8 Recap
60 W February 23, 1980 3–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 28–24–8 Recap
61 L February 24, 1980 2–8 @ New York Rangers (1979–80) 28–25–8 Recap
62 W February 27, 1980 5–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 29–25–8 Recap
March: 8–3–4 (home: 5–1–1; road: 3–2–3)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
63 L March 1, 1980 3–4 Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 29–26–8 Recap
64 T March 2, 1980 0–0 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 29–26–9 Recap
65 W March 4, 1980 6–4 Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 30–26–9 Recap
66 W March 6, 1980 5–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 31–26–9 Recap
67 L March 8, 1980 3–5 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 31–27–9 Recap
68 L March 9, 1980 1–3 @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 31–28–9 Recap
69 W March 11, 1980 4–1 Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 32–28–9 Recap
70 W March 15, 1980 6–2 St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 33–28–9 Recap
71 W March 16, 1980 6–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 34–28–9 Recap
72 W March 18, 1980 6–3 Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 35–28–9 Recap
73 T March 22, 1980 4–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 35–28–10 Recap
74 T March 23, 1980 1–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 35–28–11 Recap
75 W March 25, 1980 5–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 36–28–11 Recap
76 T March 28, 1980 2–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 36–28–12 Recap
77 W March 30, 1980 9–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 37–28–12 Recap
April: 2–0–1 (home: 1–0–0; road: 1–0–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
78 T April 1, 1980 1–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 37–28–13 Recap
79 W April 4, 1980 7–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 38–28–13 Recap
80 W April 5, 1980 2–1 New York Rangers (1979–80) 39–28–13 Recap

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

Playoffs

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1980 Stanley Cup playoffs[5]
Preliminary Round vs. (12) Los Angeles Kings – Islanders win 3–1
Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Series Recap
1 April 8, 1980 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 8–1 Smith (W) 13,862 1–0 Recap
2 April 9, 1980 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 3–6 Resch (L) 14,047 1–1 Recap
3 April 11, 1980 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 4–3 OT 6:55 Smith (W) 11,690 2–1 Recap
4 April 12, 1980 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 6–0 Smith (W) 11,089 3–1 Recap
Quarterfinals vs. (4) Boston Bruins – Islanders win 4–1
Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Series Recap
1 April 16, 1980 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 2–1 OT 1:02 Smith (W) 10,910 1–0 Recap
2 April 17, 1980 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 5–4 OT 1:24 Smith (W) 13,134 2–0 Recap
3 April 19, 1980 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 5–3 Smith (W) 14,995 3–0 Recap
4 April 21, 1980 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 3–4 OT 17:13 Smith (L) 14,995 3–1 Recap
5 April 22, 1980 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 4–2 Smith (W) 14,673 4–0 Recap
Semifinals vs. (2) Buffalo Sabres – Islanders win 4–2
Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Series Recap
1 April 29, 1980 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 4–1 Smith (W) 16,433 1–0 Recap
2 May 1, 1980 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 2–1 2OT 21:20 Smith (W) 16,433 2–0 Recap
3 May 3, 1980 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 7–4 Smith (W) 14,995 3–0 Recap
4 May 6, 1980 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 4–7 Smith (L) 14,995 3–1 Recap
5 May 8, 1980 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 0–2 Resch (L) 16,433 3–2 Recap
6 May 10, 1980 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 5–2 Smith (W) 14,995 4–2 Recap
Stanley Cup Finals vs. (1) Philadelphia Flyers – Islanders win 4–2
Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Series Recap
1 May 13, 1980 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 4–3 OT 4:07 Smith (W) 17,077 1–0 Recap
2 May 15, 1980 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 3–8 Smith (L) 17,077 1–1 Recap
3 May 17, 1980 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 6–2 Smith (W) 14,995 2–1 Recap
4 May 19, 1980 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 5–2 Smith (W) 14,995 3–1 Recap
5 May 22, 1980 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 3–6 Smith (L) 17,077 3–2 Recap
6 May 24, 1980 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 5–4 OT 7:11 Smith (W) 14,995 4–2 Recap

Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

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Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Bryan Trottier C 78 42 62 104 68 31 15 0 6
Mike Bossy RW 75 51 41 92 12 28 16 0 8
Clark Gillies LW 73 19 35 54 49 29 7 0 5
Anders Kallur RW 76 22 30 52 16 12 5 4 2
John Tonelli LW 77 14 30 44 49 8 3 0 2
Denis Potvin D 31 8 33 41 44 13 4 0 0
Bob Bourne C 73 15 25 40 52 5 3 0 1
Bob Nystrom RW 67 21 18 39 94 4 2 0 4
Stefan Persson D 73 4 35 39 76 13 2 0 0
Wayne Merrick C 70 13 22 35 16 12 2 0 4
Billy Harris RW 67 15 15 30 37 0 2 1 2
Duane Sutter RW 56 15 9 24 55 5 0 0 1
Dave Lewis D 62 5 16 21 54 10 0 0 0
Garry Howatt LW 77 8 11 19 219 -3 0 0 1
Bob Lorimer D 74 3 16 19 53 32 0 0 1
Dave Langevin D 76 3 13 16 109 11 0 1 0
Gord Lane D 55 2 14 16 152 10 0 0 1
Jean Potvin D 32 2 13 15 26 -12 2 0 0
Steve Tambellini C 45 5 8 13 4 -1 0 0 0
Butch Goring C 12 6 5 11 2 7 0 1 0
Lorne Henning C 39 3 6 9 6 -10 0 0 0
Mike Kaszycki C 16 1 4 5 15 3 0 0 0
Yvon Vautour RW 17 3 1 4 24 -6 0 0 1
Ken Morrow D 18 0 3 3 4 4 0 0 0
Chico Resch G 45 0 3 3 4 0 0 0 0
Billy Smith G 38 1 0 1 39 0 0 0 0
Richard Brodeur G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mike Hordy D 9 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 0
Randy Johnston D 4 0 0 0 4 -2 0 0 0
Garth MacGuigan C 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
Alex McKendry W 2 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Chico Resch 2606 45 23 14 6 132 3.04 3
Billy Smith 2114 38 15 14 7 104 2.95 2
Richard Brodeur 80 2 1 0 0 6 4.50 0
Team: 4800 80 39 28 13 242 3.02 5
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Bryan Trottier C 21 12 17 29 16 4 2 2
Mike Bossy RW 16 10 13 23 8 6 0 1
Bob Bourne C 21 10 10 20 10 5 2 1
Butch Goring C 21 7 12 19 2 1 0 0
Denis Potvin D 21 6 13 19 24 4 0 1
Bob Nystrom RW 20 9 9 18 50 0 0 3
John Tonelli LW 21 7 9 16 18 0 0 0
Clark Gillies LW 21 6 10 16 63 1 0 2
Stefan Persson D 21 5 10 15 16 4 0 0
Duane Sutter RW 21 3 7 10 74 0 0 0
Lorne Henning C 21 3 4 7 2 0 3 1
Wayne Merrick C 21 2 4 6 2 0 0 1
Garry Howatt LW 21 3 1 4 84 0 0 1
Alex McKendry W 6 2 2 4 0 0 0 0
Gord Lane D 21 1 3 4 85 0 0 0
Bob Lorimer D 21 1 3 4 41 0 0 1
Ken Morrow D 20 1 2 3 12 0 0 1
Dave Langevin D 21 0 3 3 32 0 0 0
Chico Resch G 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Billy Smith G 20 0 0 0 11 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Billy Smith 1198 20 15 4 56 2.80 1
Chico Resch 120 4 0 2 9 4.50 0
Team: 1318 21 15 6 65 2.96 1

[6]

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

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Transactions

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Draft picks

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Round Pick Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team
1 17 Duane Sutter (RW)  Canada Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
2 25 Tomas Jonsson (D)  Sweden Modo Hockey (Sweden)
2 38 Billy Carroll (C)  Canada London Knights (OMJHL)
3 59 Roland Melanson (G)  Canada Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL)
4 80 Tim Lockridge (D)  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
5 101 Glen Duncan (LW)  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
6 122 John Gibb (D)  Canada Bowling Green University (CCHA)

References

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  1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. ^ "1979–80 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.
  3. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  4. ^ IIHF Top 100 Hockey Stories of All Time, Szymon Szemberg and Andrew Podnieks, p.74, Fenn Publishing, Bolton, Ontario, Canada, 2008, ISBN 978-1-55168-358-4
  5. ^ a b "1979-80 New York Islanders Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  6. ^ "1979-80 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
[edit]
Preceded by New York Islanders
Stanley Cup Champions

1980
Succeeded by