# 1990–91 New York Islanders season

The 1990–91 New York Islanders season was the 19th season for the franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Islanders missed the playoffs for the first time since 1989 despite qualifying the previous year in the 1989–90 season.

## Regular season

The Islanders finished the regular-season last in scoring (223 goals for), tied the Quebec Nordiques for fewest power-play goals scored (51) and had the fewest power-play opportunities (317).

### Final standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 41 | 33 | 6 | 342 | 305 | 88 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 297 | 265 | 85 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 37 | 36 | 7 | 258 | 258 | 81 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 32 | 33 | 15 | 272 | 264 | 79 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 33 | 37 | 10 | 252 | 267 | 76 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 25 | 45 | 10 | 223 | 290 | 60 |
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.
Wales Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | ADM | 80 | 44 | 24 | 12 | 299 | 264 | 100 |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | ADM | 80 | 39 | 30 | 11 | 273 | 249 | 89 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | PTK | 80 | 41 | 33 | 6 | 342 | 305 | 88 |
| 4 | New York Rangers | PTK | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 297 | 265 | 85 |
| 5 | Washington Capitals | PTK | 80 | 37 | 36 | 7 | 258 | 258 | 81 |
| 6 | Buffalo Sabres | ADM | 80 | 31 | 30 | 19 | 292 | 278 | 81 |
| 7 | New Jersey Devils | PTK | 80 | 32 | 33 | 15 | 272 | 264 | 79 |
| 8 | Philadelphia Flyers | PTK | 80 | 33 | 37 | 10 | 252 | 267 | 76 |
| 9 | Hartford Whalers | ADM | 80 | 31 | 38 | 11 | 238 | 276 | 73 |
| 10 | New York Islanders | PTK | 80 | 25 | 45 | 10 | 223 | 290 | 60 |
| 11 | Quebec Nordiques | ADM | 80 | 16 | 50 | 14 | 236 | 354 | 46 |
Divisions: PTK – Patrick, ADM – Adams
bold – Qualified for playoffs

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 4, 1990 | 1–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1990–91) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | L | October 6, 1990 | 2–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) | 0–2–0 |
| 3 | W | October 7, 1990 | 4–2 | @ Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) | 1–2–0 |
| 4 | L | October 13, 1990 | 4–6 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 1–3–0 |
| 5 | W | October 16, 1990 | 4–1 | Winnipeg Jets (1990–91) | 2–3–0 |
| 6 | L | October 19, 1990 | 3–4 | @ Washington Capitals (1990–91) | 2–4–0 |
| 7 | L | October 20, 1990 | 1–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1990–91) | 2–5–0 |
| 8 | L | October 23, 1990 | 1–8 | New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 2–6–0 |
| 9 | L | October 24, 1990 | 2–8 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1990–91) | 2–7–0 |
| 10 | W | October 27, 1990 | 5–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 3–7–0 |
| 11 | L | October 28, 1990 | 3–8 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 3–8–0 |
| 12 | L | October 30, 1990 | 1–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1990–91) | 3–9–0 |
| 13 | W | November 2, 1990 | 3–2 | @ New York Rangers (1990–91) | 4–9–0 |
| 14 | L | November 3, 1990 | 2–5 | Washington Capitals (1990–91) | 4–10–0 |
| 15 | W | November 6, 1990 | 4–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) | 5–10–0 |
| 16 | W | November 7, 1990 | 6–3 | @ New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 6–10–0 |
| 17 | W | November 10, 1990 | 5–1 | Calgary Flames (1990–91) | 7–10–0 |
| 18 | W | November 15, 1990 | 4–3 OT | @ Calgary Flames (1990–91) | 8–10–0 |
| 19 | L | November 16, 1990 | 2–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1990–91) | 8–11–0 |
| 20 | L | November 18, 1990 | 1–3 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91) | 8–12–0 |
| 21 | W | November 22, 1990 | 3–1 | Winnipeg Jets (1990–91) | 9–12–0 |
| 22 | T | November 24, 1990 | 2–2 OT | New York Rangers (1990–91) | 9–12–1 |
| 23 | L | November 25, 1990 | 1–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 9–13–1 |
| 24 | L | November 27, 1990 | 1–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 9–14–1 |
| 25 | T | November 30, 1990 | 5–5 OT | @ New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 9–14–2 |
| 26 | L | December 1, 1990 | 1–3 | Washington Capitals (1990–91) | 9–15–2 |
| 27 | L | December 4, 1990 | 2–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1990–91) | 9–16–2 |
| 28 | L | December 6, 1990 | 2–5 | @ Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) | 9–17–2 |
| 29 | W | December 11, 1990 | 3–2 | New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 10–17–2 |
| 30 | T | December 13, 1990 | 2–2 OT | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 10–17–3 |
| 31 | W | December 15, 1990 | 7–2 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1990–91) | 11–17–3 |
| 32 | T | December 18, 1990 | 2–2 OT | Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) | 11–17–4 |
| 33 | W | December 20, 1990 | 4–2 | Hartford Whalers (1990–91) | 12–17–4 |
| 34 | L | December 22, 1990 | 3–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 12–18–4 |
| 35 | W | December 23, 1990 | 4–3 OT | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 13–18–4 |
| 36 | T | December 27, 1990 | 1–1 OT | @ New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 13–18–5 |
| 37 | L | December 29, 1990 | 1–3 | Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) | 13–19–5 |
| 38 | W | December 31, 1990 | 6–3 | Quebec Nordiques (1990–91) | 14–19–5 |
| 39 | L | January 2, 1991 | 4–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1990–91) | 14–20–5 |
| 40 | L | January 3, 1991 | 3–6 | Los Angeles Kings (1990–91) | 14–21–5 |
| 41 | W | January 5, 1991 | 3–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 15–21–5 |
| 42 | L | January 8, 1991 | 0–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) | 15–22–5 |
| 43 | L | January 9, 1991 | 3–4 OT | @ Montreal Canadiens (1990–91) | 15–23–5 |
| 44 | T | January 12, 1991 | 2–2 OT | Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) | 15–23–6 |
| 45 | W | January 13, 1991 | 4–3 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1990–91) | 16–23–6 |
| 46 | L | January 15, 1991 | 4–5 | Boston Bruins (1990–91) | 16–24–6 |
| 47 | L | January 17, 1991 | 1–6 | Edmonton Oilers (1990–91) | 16–25–6 |
| 48 | W | January 22, 1991 | 3–2 | New York Rangers (1990–91) | 17–25–6 |
| 49 | L | January 25, 1991 | 1–8 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91) | 17–26–6 |
| 50 | L | January 27, 1991 | 4–5 OT | @ Washington Capitals (1990–91) | 17–27–6 |
| 51 | W | January 29, 1991 | 8–1 | @ Hartford Whalers (1990–91) | 18–27–6 |
| 52 | L | January 31, 1991 | 3–4 OT | Washington Capitals (1990–91) | 18–28–6 |
| 53 | T | February 2, 1991 | 3–3 OT | Montreal Canadiens (1990–91) | 18–28–7 |
| 54 | T | February 3, 1991 | 1–1 OT | Hartford Whalers (1990–91) | 18–28–8 |
| 55 | L | February 6, 1991 | 2–5 | @ New York Rangers (1990–91) | 18–29–8 |
| 56 | L | February 8, 1991 | 4–8 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) | 18–30–8 |
| 57 | L | February 9, 1991 | 2–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) | 18–31–8 |
| 58 | W | February 12, 1991 | 5–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) | 19–31–8 |
| 59 | L | February 14, 1991 | 2–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 19–32–8 |
| 60 | W | February 16, 1991 | 4–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 20–32–8 |
| 61 | W | February 18, 1991 | 5–4 | @ New York Rangers (1990–91) | 21–32–8 |
| 62 | L | February 21, 1991 | 2–7 | @ St. Louis Blues (1990–91) | 21–33–8 |
| 63 | L | February 23, 1991 | 3–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 21–34–8 |
| 64 | L | February 24, 1991 | 3–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 21–35–8 |
| 65 | T | February 26, 1991 | 1–1 OT | Buffalo Sabres (1990–91) | 21–35–9 |
| 66 | L | February 28, 1991 | 0–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1990–91) | 21–36–9 |
| 67 | L | March 2, 1991 | 2–3 | @ Washington Capitals (1990–91) | 21–37–9 |
| 68 | W | March 5, 1991 | 4–3 | New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 22–37–9 |
| 69 | L | March 7, 1991 | 0–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) | 22–38–9 |
| 70 | W | March 9, 1991 | 6–4 | New York Rangers (1990–91) | 23–38–9 |
| 71 | L | March 10, 1991 | 3–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 23–39–9 |
| 72 | L | March 13, 1991 | 1–2 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91) | 23–40–9 |
| 73 | L | March 14, 1991 | 2–4 | @ Calgary Flames (1990–91) | 23–41–9 |
| 74 | T | March 16, 1991 | 4–4 OT | @ Vancouver Canucks (1990–91) | 23–41–10 |
| 75 | L | March 21, 1991 | 2–6 | Washington Capitals (1990–91) | 23–42–10 |
| 76 | L | March 23, 1991 | 2–3 | St. Louis Blues (1990–91) | 23–43–10 |
| 77 | L | March 24, 1991 | 1–3 | @ New York Rangers (1990–91) | 23–44–10 |
| 78 | L | March 28, 1991 | 0–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1990–91) | 23–45–10 |
| 79 | W | March 30, 1991 | 5–3 | Boston Bruins (1990–91) | 24–45–10 |
| 80 | W | March 31, 1991 | 3–2 | @ New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 25–45–10 |

## Player statistics

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Pat LaFontaine | C | 75 | 41 | 44 | 85 | 42 | -6 | 12 | 2 | 5 |
| David Volek | W | 77 | 22 | 34 | 56 | 57 | -10 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Brent Sutter | C | 75 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 49 | -8 | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| Pat Flatley | RW | 56 | 20 | 25 | 45 | 74 | -2 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Derek King | LW | 66 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 44 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Randy Wood | LW/C | 76 | 24 | 18 | 42 | 45 | -12 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| Ray Ferraro | C | 61 | 19 | 16 | 35 | 52 | -11 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Jeff Norton | D | 44 | 3 | 25 | 28 | 16 | -13 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Bill Berg | LW | 78 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 67 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Nylund | D | 72 | 2 | 21 | 23 | 105 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne McBean | D | 52 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 47 | -21 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Reekie | D | 66 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 96 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Brad Dalgarno | RW | 41 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 24 | -10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Chyzowski | LW | 56 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 61 | -19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hubie McDonough | C | 52 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 10 | -14 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Brad Lauer | LW | 44 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 45 | -6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tom Fitzgerald | RW | 41 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 24 | -9 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Craig Ludwig | D | 75 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 77 | -24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Tucker | C | 20 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Baumgartner | LW | 78 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 282 | -14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Crossman | D | 16 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 12 | -4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mick Vukota | RW | 60 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 238 | -13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rich Pilon | D | 60 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 126 | -12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Maloney | LW | 12 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Parks | C | 20 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dean Chynoweth | D | 25 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 59 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Guay | RW | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glenn Healy | G | 53 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard Kromm | LW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jari Gronstrand | D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shawn Byram | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rob DiMaio | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Finley | D | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Fitzpatrick | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Hackett | G | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan Kerr | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Derek Laxdal | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Lorenz | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Maneluk | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Scissons | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Vaske | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Glenn Healy | 2999 | 53 | 18 | 24 | 9 | 166 | 3.32 | 0 | 1557 | 1391 | .893 |
| Jeff Hackett | 1508 | 30 | 5 | 18 | 1 | 91 | 3.62 | 0 | 741 | 650 | .877 |
| Mark Fitzpatrick | 120 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3.00 | 0 | 60 | 54 | .900 |
| George Maneluk | 140 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 6.43 | 0 | 94 | 79 | .840 |
| Danny Lorenz | 80 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3.75 | 0 | 36 | 31 | .861 |
| Team: | 4847 | 80 | 25 | 45 | 10 | 283 | 3.50 | 0 | 2488 | 2205 | .886 |
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; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Draft picks

New York's draft picks at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft held at the BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 6 | Scott Scissons | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) |
| 2 | 27 | Chris Taylor | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |
| 3 | 48 | Dan Plante | United States | Edina High School (USHS-MN) |
| 4 | 69 | Jeff Nielsen | United States | Grand Rapids High School (USHS-MN) |
| 5 | 90 | Chris Marinucci | United States | Grand Rapids High School (USHS-MN) |
| 6 | 111 | Joni Lehto | Finland | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 7 | 132 | Mike Guilbert | United States | Governor Dummer Academy (USHS-MA) |
| 8 | 153 | Sylvain Fleury | Canada | Longueuil Collège Français (QJHL) |
| 9 | 174 | John Joyce | United States | Avon Old Farms (USHS-CT) |
| 10 | 195 | R. J. Enga | Canada | Culver Military Academy (USHS-IN) |
| 11 | 216 | Martin Lacroix | Canada | St. Lawrence University (ECAC) |
| 12 | 237 | Andrew Shier | United States | Detroit Junior Red Wings (OHL) |
| S | 11 | Brandon Reed | United States | Lake Superior State University (CCHA) |