# 1974–75 New York Islanders season

The 1974–75 New York Islanders season was the third season for the franchise in the National Hockey League. During the regular season, the Islanders finished in third place in the Patrick Division with a 33–25–22 record and qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in the franchise's history. In the first round of the playoffs, New York defeated the New York Rangers in three games to advance to the Quarter-finals, where the team defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games, after they had lost the first three. The team almost repeated the feat in the next round, but lost in the semi-finals to the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games. In doing so, they set a record for most consecutive games won when facing elimination with eight.

## Regular season
### Season standings

Patrick Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 51 | 18 | 11 | 293 | 181 | +112 | 113 |
| 2 | New York Rangers | 80 | 37 | 29 | 14 | 319 | 276 | +43 | 88 |
| 3 | New York Islanders | 80 | 33 | 25 | 22 | 264 | 221 | +43 | 88 |
| 4 | Atlanta Flames | 80 | 34 | 31 | 15 | 243 | 233 | +10 | 83 |

### Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Patrick Division
1974–75 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Atlanta
—2–1–33–32–3–17–7–4
N.Y. Islanders
1–2–3—2–3–11–3–24–8–6
N.Y. Rangers
3–33–2–1—2–3–18–8–2
Philadelphia
3–2–13–1–23–2–1—9–5–4
Vs. Smythe Division
1974–75 NHL records
Team
CHI
KCS
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Atlanta
2–34–0–13–1–12–31–2–212–9–4
N.Y. Islanders
1–1–34–14–0–12–2–11–2–212–6–7
N.Y. Rangers
3–1–14–0–14–13–1–13–217–5–3
Philadelphia
4–14–0–14–13–24–119–5–1
Vs. Adams Division
1974–75 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CAL
TOR
Total
Atlanta
0–4–12–1–12–23–17–8–2
N.Y. Islanders
2–20–2–22–1–12–2–16–7–4
N.Y. Rangers
1–31–42–0–21–2–15–9–3
Philadelphia
1–2–13–0–13–23–0–110–4–3
Vs. Norris Division
1974–75 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Atlanta
2–22–1–10–3–11–1–23–0–18–7–5
N.Y. Islanders
2–21–0–32–0–22–24–011–4–5
N.Y. Rangers
2–1–11–1–20–2–22–22–1–17–7–6
Philadelphia
2–1–12–1–12–1–13–14–013–4–3 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 9, 1974 | 5–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | W | October 12, 1974 | 6–2 | Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | W | October 15, 1974 | 6–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) | 2–0–1 |
| 4 | L | October 19, 1974 | 2–4 | New York Rangers (1974–75) | 2–1–1 |
| 5 | W | October 20, 1974 | 5–0 | @ Washington Capitals (1974–75) | 3–1–1 |
| 6 | W | October 22, 1974 | 2–1 | Atlanta Flames (1974–75) | 4–1–1 |
| 7 | W | October 26, 1974 | 4–0 | Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) | 5–1–1 |
| 8 | W | October 28, 1974 | 10–1 | California Golden Seals (1974–75) | 6–1–1 |
| 9 | T | October 30, 1974 | 1–1 | @ New York Rangers (1974–75) | 6–1–2 |
| 10 | W | November 2, 1974 | 3–2 | Boston Bruins (1974–75) | 7–1–2 |
| 11 | L | November 3, 1974 | 1–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) | 7–2–2 |
| 12 | T | November 5, 1974 | 4–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) | 7–2–3 |
| 13 | L | November 6, 1974 | 1–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1974–75) | 7–3–3 |
| 14 | L | November 9, 1974 | 2–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1974–75) | 7–4–3 |
| 15 | L | November 13, 1974 | 2–8 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) | 7–5–3 |
| 16 | L | November 15, 1974 | 2–4 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) | 7–6–3 |
| 17 | L | November 16, 1974 | 3–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) | 7–7–3 |
| 18 | W | November 19, 1974 | 4–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) | 8–7–3 |
| 19 | T | November 20, 1974 | 4–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) | 8–7–4 |
| 20 | W | November 22, 1974 | 6–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) | 9–7–4 |
| 21 | T | November 23, 1974 | 3–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) | 9–7–5 |
| 22 | T | November 27, 1974 | 3–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) | 9–7–6 |
| 23 | T | November 29, 1974 | 3–3 | @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) | 9–7–7 |
| 24 | L | November 30, 1974 | 0–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) | 9–8–7 |
| 25 | T | December 5, 1974 | 3–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) | 9–8–8 |
| 26 | W | December 7, 1974 | 4–1 | Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) | 10–8–8 |
| 27 | L | December 8, 1974 | 2–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) | 10–9–8 |
| 28 | W | December 10, 1974 | 3–2 | St. Louis Blues (1974–75) | 11–9–8 |
| 29 | W | December 14, 1974 | 3–0 | Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) | 12–9–8 |
| 30 | L | December 15, 1974 | 2–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1974–75) | 12–10–8 |
| 31 | L | December 17, 1974 | 4–8 | @ St. Louis Blues (1974–75) | 12–11–8 |
| 32 | L | December 18, 1974 | 2–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) | 12–12–8 |
| 33 | T | December 21, 1974 | 3–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) | 12–12–9 |
| 34 | W | December 22, 1974 | 5–2 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) | 13–12–9 |
| 35 | L | December 26, 1974 | 1–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1974–75) | 13–13–9 |
| 36 | L | December 28, 1974 | 1–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) | 13–14–9 |
| 37 | W | December 29, 1974 | 7–0 | @ Washington Capitals (1974–75) | 14–14–9 |
| 38 | W | January 2, 1975 | 5–2 | Washington Capitals (1974–75) | 15–14–9 |
| 39 | L | January 4, 1975 | 3–5 | New York Rangers (1974–75) | 15–15–9 |
| 40 | W | January 7, 1975 | 5–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) | 16–15–9 |
| 41 | W | January 9, 1975 | 3–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) | 17–15–9 |
| 42 | T | January 11, 1975 | 2–2 | Atlanta Flames (1974–75) | 17–15–10 |
| 43 | L | January 12, 1975 | 3–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) | 17–16–10 |
| 44 | T | January 14, 1975 | 3–3 | St. Louis Blues (1974–75) | 17–16–11 |
| 45 | W | January 18, 1975 | 5–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) | 18–16–11 |
| 46 | L | January 23, 1975 | 1–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) | 18–17–11 |
| 47 | T | January 25, 1975 | 5–5 | Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) | 18–17–12 |
| 48 | W | January 28, 1975 | 6–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) | 19–17–12 |
| 49 | W | January 29, 1975 | 4–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) | 20–17–12 |
| 50 | W | February 1, 1975 | 4–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) | 21–17–12 |
| 51 | T | February 2, 1975 | 1–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) | 21–17–13 |
| 52 | T | February 6, 1975 | 2–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) | 21–17–14 |
| 53 | W | February 8, 1975 | 5–1 | Washington Capitals (1974–75) | 22–17–14 |
| 54 | L | February 9, 1975 | 1–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1974–75) | 22–18–14 |
| 55 | W | February 11, 1975 | 2–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) | 23–18–14 |
| 56 | W | February 12, 1975 | 4–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) | 24–18–14 |
| 57 | T | February 15, 1975 | 1–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) | 24–18–15 |
| 58 | L | February 16, 1975 | 2–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) | 24–19–15 |
| 59 | L | February 18, 1975 | 2–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) | 24–20–15 |
| 60 | L | February 21, 1975 | 1–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) | 24–21–15 |
| 61 | W | February 22, 1975 | 7–6 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) | 25–21–15 |
| 62 | W | February 25, 1975 | 3–0 | St. Louis Blues (1974–75) | 26–21–15 |
| 63 | W | March 1, 1975 | 6–1 | California Golden Seals (1974–75) | 27–21–15 |
| 64 | T | March 2, 1975 | 3–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) | 27–21–16 |
| 65 | T | March 6, 1975 | 2–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) | 27–21–17 |
| 66 | W | March 8, 1975 | 7–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) | 28–21–17 |
| 67 | L | March 9, 1975 | 2–4 | @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) | 28–22–17 |
| 68 | L | March 11, 1975 | 2–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) | 28–23–17 |
| 69 | L | March 12, 1975 | 3–5 | @ New York Rangers (1974–75) | 28–24–17 |
| 70 | W | March 15, 1975 | 3–1 | Boston Bruins (1974–75) | 29–24–17 |
| 71 | T | March 18, 1975 | 4–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) | 29–24–18 |
| 72 | W | March 19, 1975 | 3–1 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) | 30–24–18 |
| 73 | W | March 22, 1975 | 4–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) | 31–24–18 |
| 74 | T | March 23, 1975 | 3–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) | 31–24–19 |
| 75 | T | March 25, 1975 | 3–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) | 31–24–20 |
| 76 | W | March 29, 1975 | 6–4 | New York Rangers (1974–75) | 32–24–20 |
| 77 | T | March 30, 1975 | 2–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1974–75) | 32–24–21 |
| 78 | T | April 1, 1975 | 2–2 | Atlanta Flames (1974–75) | 32–24–22 |
| 79 | L | April 5, 1975 | 1–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) | 32–25–22 |
| 80 | W | April 6, 1975 | 6–4 | @ New York Rangers (1974–75) | 33–25–22 |

## Playoffs

Round 1 (5) New York Islanders vs. (4) New York Rangers
| Game # | Away | Home | Score |
| 1 | New York Islanders | New York Rangers | 3–2 |
| 2 | New York Rangers | New York Islanders | 8–3 |
| 3 | New York Islanders | New York Rangers | 4–3 (OT) |
New York Islanders Win Series 2–1
Round 2 (5) New York Islanders vs (4) Pittsburgh Penguins
| Game # | Away | Home | Score |
| 1 | New York Islanders | Pittsburgh Penguins | 4–5 |
| 2 | New York Islanders | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1–3 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | New York Islanders | 6–4 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | New York Islanders | 1–3 |
| 5 | New York Islanders | Pittsburgh Penguins | 4–2 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | New York Islanders | 1–4 |
| 7 | New York Islanders | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1–0 |
New York Wins Series 4–3
Round 3 (5) New York Islanders vs (1) Philadelphia Flyers
| Game # | Away | Home | Score |
| 1 | New York Islanders | Philadelphia Flyers | 0–4 |
| 2 | New York Islanders | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–5 (OT) |
| 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | New York Islanders | 1–0 |
| 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | New York Islanders | 3–4 (OT) |
| 5 | New York Islanders | Philadelphia Flyers | 5–1 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Flyers | New York Islanders | 1–2 |
| 7 | New York Islanders | Philadelphia Flyers | 1–4 |
New York Loses Series 4–3

## Player statistics

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Denis Potvin | D | 79 | 21 | 55 | 76 | 105 | 28 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| Billy Harris | RW | 80 | 25 | 37 | 62 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Bob Nystrom | RW | 76 | 27 | 28 | 55 | 122 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Ed Westfall | D/RW | 73 | 22 | 33 | 55 | 28 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Garry Howatt | LW | 77 | 18 | 30 | 48 | 121 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Clark Gillies | LW | 80 | 25 | 22 | 47 | 66 | −4 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Andre St. Laurent | C | 78 | 14 | 27 | 41 | 60 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ralph Stewart | C | 70 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 12 | −9 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Bob Bourne | C | 77 | 16 | 23 | 39 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Jean Potvin | D | 73 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 59 | −3 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| Jude Drouin | C | 40 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| J.P. Parise | LW | 41 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 22 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Bert Marshall | D | 77 | 2 | 28 | 30 | 58 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy MacMillan | RW | 69 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Dave Lewis | D | 78 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 98 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Fortier | D | 65 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 79 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Hart | D | 71 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 143 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Lorne Henning | C | 60 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Doug Rombough | C | 28 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ernie Hicke | LW | 20 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 40 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Cameron | RW | 37 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | −3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Walt Ledingham | LW | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | −3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Miller | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chico Resch | G | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | G | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Billy Smith | 3368 | 58 | 21 | 18 | 17 | 156 | 2.78 | 3 |
| Chico Resch | 1432 | 25 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 59 | 2.47 | 3 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 33 | 25 | 22 | 215 | 2.69 | 6 |
Playoffs :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Jude Drouin | C | 17 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| J.P. Parise | LW | 17 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Ed Westfall | D/RW | 17 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Denis Potvin | D | 17 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 30 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Billy Harris | RW | 17 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Bert Marshall | D | 17 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clark Gillies | LW | 17 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Garry Howatt | LW | 17 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 59 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ralph Stewart | C | 13 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Potvin | D | 15 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Hart | D | 17 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Andre St. Laurent | C | 15 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Nystrom | RW | 17 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Bourne | C | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Fortier | D | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lorne Henning | C | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Lewis | D | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy MacMillan | RW | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chico Resch | G | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Chico Resch | 692 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 25 | 2.17 | 1 |
| Billy Smith | 333 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 23 | 4.14 | 0 |
| Team: | 1025 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 48 | 2.81 | 1 |
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 1974 NHL amateur draft was held via conference call at the NHL office in Montreal. Below are listed the selections of the New York Islanders:
| Pick # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 4 | Clark Gillies | Forward | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |
| 22 | Bryan Trottier | Centre | Canada | Swift Current Broncos (WCHL) |
| 40 | Brad Anderson | Centre | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WCHL) |
| 76 | Carlo Torresan | Defence | Canada | Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL) |
| 94 | Sid Prysunka | Left Wing | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 112 | Dave Langevin | Defence | United States | University of Minnesota Duluth (WCHA) |
| 129 | Dave Inkpen | Defence | Canada | Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) |
| 146 | Jim Foubister | Goaltender | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WCHL) |
| 163 | Bob Ferguson | Centre | Canada | Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) |
| 178 | Murray Fleck | Defence | Canada | Estevan Bruins (SJHL) |
| 192 | Dave Rooke | Defence | Canada | Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) |
| 204 | Neil Smith | Defence | Canada | Brockville Braves (CJHL) |
| 214 | Stefan Persson | Defence | Sweden | Brynäs IF (Sweden) |
| 221 | Dave Otness | Centre | United States | University of Wisconsin (WCHA) |
| 226 | Jim Murray | Defence | Canada | Michigan Technological University (WCHA) |
| 229 | Mike Dibble | Goaltender | United States | University of Wisconsin (WCHA) |
| 232 | Brian Bye | Left Wing | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL) |
| 235 | Martti Jarkko | Centre | Finland | Tappara Tampere (Finland) |
| 238 | Ron Phillips | Defence | Canada | St. Catharines Black Hawks (OMJHL) |