# 1973–74 New York Islanders season

The 1973–74 New York Islanders season was the second season for the New York Islanders franchise in the National Hockey League. During the regular season, the Islanders finished in eighth place in the East Division with a 19–41–18 record and did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second straight year.

## Regular season
### Final standings

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 78 | 52 | 17 | 9 | 349 | 221 | +128 | 113 |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 45 | 24 | 9 | 293 | 240 | +53 | 99 |
| 3 | New York Rangers | 78 | 40 | 24 | 14 | 300 | 251 | +49 | 94 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 35 | 27 | 16 | 274 | 230 | +44 | 86 |
| 5 | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 32 | 34 | 12 | 242 | 250 | −8 | 76 |
| 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 29 | 39 | 10 | 255 | 319 | −64 | 68 |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 24 | 43 | 11 | 224 | 296 | −72 | 59 |
| 8 | New York Islanders | 78 | 19 | 41 | 18 | 182 | 247 | −65 | 56 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 10, 1973 | 1–1 | @ Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | L | October 13, 1973 | 0–6 | Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 0–1–1 |
| 3 | L | October 14, 1973 | 2–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 0–2–1 |
| 4 | T | October 16, 1973 | 4–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 0–2–2 |
| 5 | L | October 20, 1973 | 1–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 0–3–2 |
| 6 | T | October 21, 1973 | 3–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 0–3–3 |
| 7 | T | October 25, 1973 | 1–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 0–3–4 |
| 8 | W | October 27, 1973 | 3–2 | New York Rangers (1973–74) | 1–3–4 |
| 9 | L | October 28, 1973 | 2–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 1–4–4 |
| 10 | T | November 1, 1973 | 2–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 1–4–5 |
| 11 | W | November 3, 1973 | 6–4 | Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 2–4–5 |
| 12 | T | November 7, 1973 | 1–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 2–4–6 |
| 13 | T | November 10, 1973 | 3–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 2–4–7 |
| 14 | L | November 11, 1973 | 2–5 | @ New York Rangers (1973–74) | 2–5–7 |
| 15 | L | November 14, 1973 | 3–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 2–6–7 |
| 16 | L | November 17, 1973 | 0–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 2–7–7 |
| 17 | L | November 20, 1973 | 2–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 2–8–7 |
| 18 | W | November 22, 1973 | 5–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 3–8–7 |
| 19 | L | November 24, 1973 | 4–6 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 3–9–7 |
| 20 | W | November 27, 1973 | 4–2 | Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 4–9–7 |
| 21 | L | December 1, 1973 | 1–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 4–10–7 |
| 22 | L | December 2, 1973 | 3–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 4–11–7 |
| 23 | L | December 4, 1973 | 1–3 | St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 4–12–7 |
| 24 | L | December 6, 1973 | 2–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 4–13–7 |
| 25 | L | December 8, 1973 | 1–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 4–14–7 |
| 26 | W | December 11, 1973 | 6–3 | California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 5–14–7 |
| 27 | L | December 13, 1973 | 2–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 5–15–7 |
| 28 | T | December 15, 1973 | 3–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 5–15–8 |
| 29 | L | December 16, 1973 | 0–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 5–16–8 |
| 30 | T | December 18, 1973 | 2–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 5–16–9 |
| 31 | W | December 22, 1973 | 4–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 6–16–9 |
| 32 | T | December 23, 1973 | 1–1 | Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 6–16–10 |
| 33 | L | December 26, 1973 | 0–1 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 6–17–10 |
| 34 | T | December 28, 1973 | 4–4 | @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 6–17–11 |
| 35 | W | December 29, 1973 | 4–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 7–17–11 |
| 36 | L | January 2, 1974 | 1–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 7–18–11 |
| 37 | W | January 3, 1974 | 3–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 8–18–11 |
| 38 | L | January 5, 1974 | 2–6 | Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 8–19–11 |
| 39 | L | January 8, 1974 | 1–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 8–20–11 |
| 40 | L | January 10, 1974 | 3–8 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 8–21–11 |
| 41 | W | January 12, 1974 | 4–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 9–21–11 |
| 42 | W | January 15, 1974 | 4–3 | Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 10–21–11 |
| 43 | T | January 19, 1974 | 2–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 10–21–12 |
| 44 | W | January 22, 1974 | 4–3 | California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 11–21–12 |
| 45 | L | January 26, 1974 | 0–4 | Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 11–22–12 |
| 46 | W | January 27, 1974 | 4–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 12–22–12 |
| 47 | W | January 31, 1974 | 4–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 13–22–12 |
| 48 | T | February 2, 1974 | 2–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 13–22–13 |
| 49 | L | February 3, 1974 | 2–4 | @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 13–23–13 |
| 50 | W | February 5, 1974 | 6–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 14–23–13 |
| 51 | L | February 6, 1974 | 0–6 | @ New York Rangers (1973–74) | 14–24–13 |
| 52 | L | February 9, 1974 | 2–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 14–25–13 |
| 53 | L | February 12, 1974 | 1–4 | Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 14–26–13 |
| 54 | T | February 14, 1974 | 2–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 14–26–14 |
| 55 | L | February 16, 1974 | 0–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 14–27–14 |
| 56 | W | February 19, 1974 | 5–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 15–27–14 |
| 57 | L | February 24, 1974 | 3–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 15–28–14 |
| 58 | T | February 26, 1974 | 1–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 15–28–15 |
| 59 | L | February 28, 1974 | 4–6 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 15–29–15 |
| 60 | L | March 2, 1974 | 2–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 15–30–15 |
| 61 | L | March 3, 1974 | 3–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 15–31–15 |
| 62 | L | March 5, 1974 | 1–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 15–32–15 |
| 63 | L | March 9, 1974 | 1–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 15–33–15 |
| 64 | L | March 10, 1974 | 2–4 | @ New York Rangers (1973–74) | 15–34–15 |
| 65 | L | March 12, 1974 | 1–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 15–35–15 |
| 66 | L | March 14, 1974 | 1–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 15–36–15 |
| 67 | L | March 16, 1974 | 1–3 | New York Rangers (1973–74) | 15–37–15 |
| 68 | L | March 17, 1974 | 2–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 15–38–15 |
| 69 | W | March 19, 1974 | 5–1 | St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 16–38–15 |
| 70 | T | March 20, 1974 | 1–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 16–38–16 |
| 71 | T | March 23, 1974 | 1–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 16–38–17 |
| 72 | W | March 24, 1974 | 6–4 | @ Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 17–38–17 |
| 73 | T | March 27, 1974 | 2–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 17–38–18 |
| 74 | L | March 28, 1974 | 1–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 17–39–18 |
| 75 | L | March 30, 1974 | 2–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 17–40–18 |
| 76 | W | April 2, 1974 | 3–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 18–40–18 |
| 77 | L | April 4, 1974 | 0–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 18–41–18 |
| 78 | W | April 6, 1974 | 4–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 19–41–18 |

## Player statistics

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Denis Potvin | D | 77 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 175 | −16 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Billy Harris | RW | 78 | 23 | 27 | 50 | 34 | −11 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Ralph Stewart | C | 67 | 23 | 20 | 43 | 6 | −7 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Ed Westfall | D/RW | 68 | 19 | 23 | 42 | 28 | −5 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Nystrom | RW | 77 | 21 | 20 | 41 | 118 | −17 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Craig Cameron | RW | 78 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 28 | −15 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Jean Potvin | D | 78 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 100 | −26 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Lorne Henning | C | 60 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 6 | −7 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Germain Gagnon | LW | 62 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Spencer | LW | 54 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 65 | −16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garry Howatt | LW | 78 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 204 | −13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Lewis | D | 66 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 58 | −7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Andre St. Laurent | C | 42 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ernie Hicke | LW | 55 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 26 | −19 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Billy MacMillan | RW | 55 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 16 | −6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Hudson | C | 63 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 7 | −6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Hart | D | 70 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 61 | −17 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bert Marshall | D | 69 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 84 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Rombough | C | 12 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Cook | RW | 22 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Miller | C | 19 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Gerry Desjardins | G | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Lefley | D/LW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Marchinko | C | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Neil Nicholson | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glenn Resch | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | G | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vic Teal | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gerry Desjardins | 1945 | 36 | 9 | 17 | 6 | 101 | 3.12 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | 2615 | 46 | 9 | 23 | 12 | 134 | 3.07 | 0 |
| Glenn Resch | 120 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 4680 | 78 | 19 | 41 | 18 | 241 | 3.09 | 0 |
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;

## Draft picks

The 1973 NHL Amateur Draft was held on May 15, 1973, at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal.
| Pick # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | Denis Potvin | Defence | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHA) |
| 33 | Dave Lewis | Defence | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WCHL) |
| 49 | Andre St. Laurent | Centre | Canada | Montreal Junior Canadiens (QMJHL) |
| 65 | Ron Kennedy | Right Wing | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 81 | Keith Smith | Defence | Canada | Brown University (ECAC) |
| 97 | Don Cutts | Goaltender | Canada | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NCAA) |
| 110 | Denis Andersen | Defence | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 113 | Mike Kennedy | Right Wing | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHA) |
| 126 | Denis Desgagnes | Centre | Canada | Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL) |
| 129 | Bob Lorimer | Defence | Canada | Michigan Technological University (NCAA) |