# 1975–76 New York Islanders season

The 1975–76 New York Islanders season was the fourth season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 51 | 13 | 16 | 348 | 209 | 118 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 42 | 21 | 17 | 297 | 190 | 101 |
| Atlanta Flames | 80 | 35 | 33 | 12 | 262 | 237 | 82 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 29 | 42 | 9 | 262 | 333 | 67 |

### Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Patrick Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Atlanta
—1–1–43–2–11–4–15–7–6
N.Y. Islanders
1–1–4—4–24–29–5–4
N.Y. Rangers
2–3–12–4—1–55–12–1
Philadelphia
4–1–12–45–1—11–6–1
Vs. Smythe Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
CHI
KCS
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Atlanta
2–2–15–04–11–3–13–0–215–6–4
N.Y. Islanders
3–1–12–0–34–14–0–10–3–213–5–7
N.Y. Rangers
2–0–34–14–13–23–1–116–5–4
Philadelphia
2–1–25–03–0–23–1–14–0–117–2–6
Vs. Adams Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CAL
TOR
Total
Atlanta
2–31–2–13–12–28–8–1
N.Y. Islanders
0–2–22–23–13–1–18–6–3
N.Y. Rangers
1–30–2–31–30–42–12–3
Philadelphia
1–2–13–0–14–0–13–0–111–2–4
Vs. Norris Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Atlanta
1–31–30–41–2–14–07–12–1
N.Y. Islanders
3–12–1–11–2–12–1–14–012–5–3
N.Y. Rangers
3–10–40–3–11–32–26–13–1
Philadelphia
2–22–0–22–1–13–0–13–0–112–3–5 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 8, 1975 | 1–1 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | W | October 11, 1975 | 7–0 | Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | T | October 12, 1975 | 3–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 1–0–2 |
| 4 | W | October 14, 1975 | 5–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 2–0–2 |
| 5 | W | October 17, 1975 | 2–0 | @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 3–0–2 |
| 6 | L | October 18, 1975 | 2–5 | Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 3–1–2 |
| 7 | T | October 21, 1975 | 5–5 | Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 3–1–3 |
| 8 | W | October 23, 1975 | 3–0 | Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 4–1–3 |
| 9 | W | October 25, 1975 | 7–1 | New York Rangers (1975–76) | 5–1–3 |
| 10 | T | October 27, 1975 | 4–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 5–1–4 |
| 11 | W | November 1, 1975 | 7–3 | Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 6–1–4 |
| 12 | W | November 4, 1975 | 5–3 | California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 7–1–4 |
| 13 | L | November 5, 1975 | 6–7 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 7–2–4 |
| 14 | W | November 8, 1975 | 4–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 8–2–4 |
| 15 | L | November 12, 1975 | 1–5 | @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 8–3–4 |
| 16 | L | November 13, 1975 | 3–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 8–4–4 |
| 17 | L | November 15, 1975 | 3–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 8–5–4 |
| 18 | L | November 18, 1975 | 1–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 8–6–4 |
| 19 | T | November 20, 1975 | 2–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 8–6–5 |
| 20 | W | November 22, 1975 | 5–2 | Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 9–6–5 |
| 21 | W | November 26, 1975 | 9–1 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 10–6–5 |
| 22 | L | November 27, 1975 | 1–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 10–7–5 |
| 23 | W | November 29, 1975 | 8–2 | St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 11–7–5 |
| 24 | L | November 30, 1975 | 2–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 11–8–5 |
| 25 | W | December 2, 1975 | 4–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 12–8–5 |
| 26 | W | December 4, 1975 | 6–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 13–8–5 |
| 27 | L | December 6, 1975 | 2–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 13–9–5 |
| 28 | W | December 7, 1975 | 3–0 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 14–9–5 |
| 29 | W | December 9, 1975 | 6–0 | Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 15–9–5 |
| 30 | T | December 12, 1975 | 3–3 | @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 15–9–6 |
| 31 | W | December 13, 1975 | 5–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 16–9–6 |
| 32 | W | December 17, 1975 | 3–0 | @ New York Rangers (1975–76) | 17–9–6 |
| 33 | W | December 18, 1975 | 4–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 18–9–6 |
| 34 | W | December 20, 1975 | 7–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 19–9–6 |
| 35 | L | December 21, 1975 | 2–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 19–10–6 |
| 36 | W | December 30, 1975 | 6–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 20–10–6 |
| 37 | T | January 3, 1976 | 1–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 20–10–7 |
| 38 | L | January 4, 1976 | 3–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 20–11–7 |
| 39 | W | January 6, 1976 | 8–1 | Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 21–11–7 |
| 40 | L | January 8, 1976 | 3–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 21–12–7 |
| 41 | W | January 13, 1976 | 1–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 22–12–7 |
| 42 | T | January 17, 1976 | 2–2 | Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 22–12–8 |
| 43 | W | January 21, 1976 | 5–2 | @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 23–12–8 |
| 44 | W | January 22, 1976 | 8–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 24–12–8 |
| 45 | W | January 24, 1976 | 5–0 | Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 25–12–8 |
| 46 | W | January 27, 1976 | 4–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 26–12–8 |
| 47 | W | January 28, 1976 | 3–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 27–12–8 |
| 48 | T | January 31, 1976 | 2–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 27–12–9 |
| 49 | T | February 3, 1976 | 2–2 | Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 27–12–10 |
| 50 | W | February 4, 1976 | 6–5 | @ New York Rangers (1975–76) | 28–12–10 |
| 51 | L | February 6, 1976 | 3–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 28–13–10 |
| 52 | L | February 8, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 28–14–10 |
| 53 | L | February 10, 1976 | 2–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 28–15–10 |
| 54 | T | February 12, 1976 | 2–2 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 28–15–11 |
| 55 | T | February 14, 1976 | 4–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 28–15–12 |
| 56 | W | February 15, 1976 | 3–1 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 29–15–12 |
| 57 | L | February 17, 1976 | 1–3 | New York Rangers (1975–76) | 29–16–12 |
| 58 | W | February 18, 1976 | 5–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 30–16–12 |
| 59 | L | February 21, 1976 | 1–2 | Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 30–17–12 |
| 60 | W | February 22, 1976 | 4–0 | @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 31–17–12 |
| 61 | W | February 24, 1976 | 7–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 32–17–12 |
| 62 | T | February 26, 1976 | 2–2 | Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 32–17–13 |
| 63 | W | February 28, 1976 | 4–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 33–17–13 |
| 64 | W | March 2, 1976 | 2–1 | California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 34–17–13 |
| 65 | T | March 4, 1976 | 3–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 34–17–14 |
| 66 | W | March 6, 1976 | 6–3 | Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 35–17–14 |
| 67 | W | March 7, 1976 | 5–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 36–17–14 |
| 68 | W | March 9, 1976 | 4–0 | St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 37–17–14 |
| 69 | T | March 13, 1976 | 2–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 37–17–15 |
| 70 | W | March 14, 1976 | 5–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 38–17–15 |
| 71 | L | March 16, 1976 | 1–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 38–18–15 |
| 72 | W | March 20, 1976 | 4–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 39–18–15 |
| 73 | L | March 23, 1976 | 2–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 39–19–15 |
| 74 | T | March 24, 1976 | 1–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 39–19–16 |
| 75 | W | March 26, 1976 | 3–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 40–19–16 |
| 76 | W | March 29, 1976 | 5–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 41–19–16 |
| 77 | L | March 31, 1976 | 1–3 | @ New York Rangers (1975–76) | 41–20–16 |
| 78 | T | April 1, 1976 | 1–1 | Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 41–20–17 |
| 79 | W | April 3, 1976 | 10–2 | New York Rangers (1975–76) | 42–20–17 |
| 80 | L | April 4, 1976 | 2–5 | @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 42–21–17 |

## Playoffs

The Islanders continued to show growth in the playoffs defeating the Vancouver Canucks in the preliminary round and the favored Buffalo Sabres in 6 games in the second round. The Islanders fell to the vastly superior Montreal Canadiens team that won 58 games that year and only lost one time in the entire playoffs. That one time was in Game 4 of the semi-finals, when they fell to the Islanders 5–2. The playoff run was generally viewed as a success since the Islanders had won 2 playoff series, and lost to the eventual champions. Additionally, the Isles still possessed a young core with players whom were still improving.

### Round 1 vs. Vancouver

* New York won series 2–0

### Round 2 vs. Buffalo

* New York won series 4–2

### Round 3 vs. Montreal

* Montreal won series 4–1

## Player statistics

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Denis Potvin | D | 78 | 31 | 67 | 98 | 100 | 12 | 18 | 0 | 4 |
| Bryan Trottier | C | 80 | 32 | 63 | 95 | 21 | 28 | 11 | 1 | 5 |
| Jean Potvin | D | 78 | 17 | 55 | 72 | 74 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| Billy Harris | RW | 80 | 32 | 38 | 70 | 54 | 22 | 16 | 0 | 4 |
| Jude Drouin | C | 76 | 21 | 41 | 62 | 58 | 18 | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Clark Gillies | LW | 80 | 34 | 27 | 61 | 96 | 20 | 15 | 0 | 6 |
| J.P. Parise | LW | 80 | 22 | 35 | 57 | 80 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| Ed Westfall | D/RW | 80 | 25 | 31 | 56 | 27 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| Bob Nystrom | RW | 80 | 23 | 25 | 48 | 106 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Garry Howatt | LW | 80 | 21 | 13 | 34 | 197 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Andre St. Laurent | C | 67 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 56 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Gerry Hart | D | 80 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 151 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Lewis | D | 73 | 0 | 19 | 19 | 54 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lorne Henning | C | 80 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Billy MacMillan | RW | 64 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bert Marshall | D | 71 | 0 | 16 | 16 | 72 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ralph Stewart | C | 31 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bob Bourne | C | 14 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Fortier | D | 59 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 68 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Price | D | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chico Resch | G | 44 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | G | 39 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Chico Resch | 2546 | 44 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 88 | 2.07 | 7 |
| Billy Smith | 2254 | 39 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 98 | 2.61 | 3 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 42 | 21 | 17 | 186 | 2.33 | 10 |
Playoffs :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Denis Potvin | D | 13 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Jude Drouin | C | 13 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Garry Howatt | LW | 13 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J.P. Parise | LW | 13 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Nystrom | RW | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Trottier | C | 13 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Harris | RW | 13 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy MacMillan | RW | 13 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Clark Gillies | LW | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Andre St. Laurent | C | 13 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ed Westfall | D/RW | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Hart | D | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bert Marshall | D | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lorne Henning | C | 13 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ralph Stewart | C | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Lewis | D | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Potvin | D | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Fortier | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glenn Resch | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Billy Smith | 437 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 2.88 | 0 |
| Chico Resch | 357 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 3.03 | 0 |
| Team: | 794 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 39 | 2.95 | 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

Below are the selections of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft:
| Pick # | Player | Position | Nationality | NHL team | College/junior/club team |
| 11 | Pat Price | Defence | Canada | New York Islanders | Vancouver Blazers (WHA) |
| 29 | Dave Salvian | Left Wing | Canada | New York Islanders | St. Catharines Black Hawks (OMJHL) |
| 47 | Joe Fortunato | Left Wing | Canada | New York Islanders | Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL) |
| 65 | Andre Lepage | Goaltender | Canada | New York Islanders | Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL) |
| 83 | Denny McLean | Left Wing | Canada | New York Islanders | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |
| 101 | Mike Sleep | Right Wing | Canada | New York Islanders | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 119 | Richie Hansen | Centre | United States | New York Islanders | Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) |
| 137 | Bob Sunderland | Defence | United States | New York Islanders | Boston University (ECAC) |
| 153 | Dan Blair | Right Wing | Canada | New York Islanders | Ottawa 67's (OMJHL) |
| 168 | Joey Girardin | Defence | Canada | New York Islanders | Winnipeg Clubs (WCHL) |
| 183 | Geoff Green | Right Wing | Canada | New York Islanders | Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) |
| 194 | Kari Makkonen | Right Wing | Finland | New York Islanders | Pori (Finland) |