# 1984–85 New York Islanders season

The 1984–85 New York Islanders season was the 13th season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.

## Offseason
### NHL Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club Team |
| 1 | 20 | Duncan MacPherson | Defense | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) |
| 2 | 41 | Bruce Melanson | Right wing | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 3 | 62 | Jeff Norton | Defense | Cushing Academy (USHS-MA) |
| 4 | 70 | Doug Wieck | Left wing | Mayo High School (USHS-MN) |
| 4 | 83 | Ari Haanpaa | Right wing | Ilves (Finland) |
| 5 | 104 | Mike Murray | Center | London Knights (OHL) |
| 6 | 125 | Jim Wilharm | Defense | Minnetonka High School (USHS-MN) |
| 7 | 146 | Kelly Murphy | Defense | Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL) |
| 8 | 167 | Franco DeSantis | Defense | Verdun Juniors (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 187 | Tom Warden | Defense | North Bay Centennials (OHL) |
| 10 | 208 | David Volek | Right wing | HC Slavia Praha (Czechoslovakia) |
| 11 | 228 | Russ Becker | Defense | Virginia High School (USHS-MN) |
| 12 | 249 | Allister Brown | Defense | University of New Hampshire (ECAC) |

## Regular season
### Season standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 53 | 20 | 7 | 348 | 241 | 113 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 46 | 25 | 9 | 322 | 240 | 101 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 40 | 34 | 6 | 345 | 312 | 86 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 26 | 44 | 10 | 295 | 345 | 62 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 22 | 48 | 10 | 264 | 346 | 54 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 24 | 51 | 5 | 276 | 385 | 53 |
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.

### Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Patrick Division
1984–85 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
New Jersey
—3−2−22−52−55−22−4−114−18−3
N.Y. Islanders
2−3−2—4−33−3−15−23−417−15−3
N.Y. Rangers
5−23−4—0−74−32−514−21−0
Philadelphia
5−23−3−17−0—5−25−1−125−8−2
Pittsburgh
2−52−53−42–5—0−6−19−25−1
Washington
4−2−14−35−21–5−16−0–1—20−13−2
Vs. Adams Division
1984–85 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
New Jersey
0−30−30−31−1−11−1−12−11−2
N.Y. Islanders
1−22−11−1−11−20−35−9−1
N.Y. Rangers
0−1−21−1−10−1−20−2−11−22−7−6
Philadelphia
2−11−1−12−0−11−21−1−17−5−3
Pittsburgh
1−20−2−11−21−20−33−11−1
Washington
2−11−21−21−1−12−17−7−1
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1984–85 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
New Jersey
0−31−1−11−1−10−2−13−05−7−3
N.Y. Islanders
3−02−11−1−13−02−111−3−1
N.Y. Rangers
0−31−21−22−0−12−0−16−7−2
Philadelphia
2−12−0−13−03−02−112−2−1
Pittsburgh
1−21−1−11−21−22−16−8−1
Washington
3−02−12−0−12−0−12−0−111−1−3
Vs. Smythe Division
1984–85 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
New Jersey
0−2−11−20−30−30−2−11−12−2
N.Y. Islanders
1−20−2−12−12−12−17−7−1
N.Y. Rangers
0−2−11−1−11−22−10−34−9−2
Philadelphia
2−13−01−1−13−00−39−5−1
Pittsburgh
2−0−11−1−10−32−11−26−7−2
Washington
2−10−1−22−13−01−28−5−2 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 12, 1984 | 2–7 | @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | W | October 13, 1984 | 7–6 OT | Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | W | October 16, 1984 | 6–4 | New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | W | October 17, 1984 | 6–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | W | October 20, 1984 | 8–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) | 4–1–0 |
| 6 | L | October 21, 1984 | 5–6 | @ New York Rangers (1984–85) | 4–2–0 |
| 7 | W | October 23, 1984 | 6–5 | Vancouver Canucks (1984–85) | 5–2–0 |
| 8 | L | October 27, 1984 | 3–8 | Boston Bruins (1984–85) | 5–3–0 |
| 9 | W | October 30, 1984 | 7–3 | New York Rangers (1984–85) | 6–3–0 |
| 10 | L | November 1, 1984 | 5–6 OT | @ Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) | 6–4–0 |
| 11 | L | November 3, 1984 | 4–5 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) | 6–5–0 |
| 12 | L | November 4, 1984 | 2–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1984–85) | 6–6–0 |
| 13 | W | November 6, 1984 | 6–3 | St. Louis Blues (1984–85) | 7–6–0 |
| 14 | L | November 9, 1984 | 4–5 OT | @ New York Rangers (1984–85) | 7–7–0 |
| 15 | W | November 10, 1984 | 5–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 8–7–0 |
| 16 | W | November 15, 1984 | 6–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) | 9–7–0 |
| 17 | W | November 17, 1984 | 10–4 | New York Rangers (1984–85) | 10–7–0 |
| 18 | T | November 18, 1984 | 3–3 OT | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 10–7–1 |
| 19 | W | November 20, 1984 | 5–3 | Washington Capitals (1984–85) | 11–7–1 |
| 20 | W | November 23, 1984 | 5–1 | @ Washington Capitals (1984–85) | 12–7–1 |
| 21 | W | November 24, 1984 | 6–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) | 13–7–1 |
| 22 | L | November 28, 1984 | 2–5 | @ Calgary Flames (1984–85) | 13–8–1 |
| 23 | W | November 30, 1984 | 5–2 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) | 14–8–1 |
| 24 | W | December 3, 1984 | 5–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1984–85) | 15–8–1 |
| 25 | L | December 5, 1984 | 4–6 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) | 15–9–1 |
| 26 | L | December 8, 1984 | 3–4 OT | Hartford Whalers (1984–85) | 15–10–1 |
| 27 | L | December 11, 1984 | 5–7 | New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 15–11–1 |
| 28 | L | December 12, 1984 | 3–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 15–12–1 |
| 29 | W | December 15, 1984 | 6–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 16–12–1 |
| 30 | W | December 18, 1984 | 7–4 | Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) | 17–12–1 |
| 31 | W | December 21, 1984 | 1–0 | @ Hartford Whalers (1984–85) | 18–12–1 |
| 32 | W | December 22, 1984 | 5–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 19–12–1 |
| 33 | L | December 26, 1984 | 5–6 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 19–13–1 |
| 34 | L | December 27, 1984 | 4–5 OT | Washington Capitals (1984–85) | 19–14–1 |
| 35 | W | December 29, 1984 | 5–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1984–85) | 20–14–1 |
| 36 | L | December 31, 1984 | 3–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) | 20–15–1 |
| 37 | W | January 2, 1985 | 7–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) | 21–15–1 |
| 38 | L | January 5, 1985 | 3–7 | Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) | 21–16–1 |
| 39 | W | January 8, 1985 | 3–1 | Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) | 22–16–1 |
| 40 | W | January 10, 1985 | 3–2 | @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 23–16–1 |
| 41 | W | January 12, 1985 | 5–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 24–16–1 |
| 42 | W | January 13, 1985 | 6–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) | 25–16–1 |
| 43 | L | January 15, 1985 | 5–6 OT | @ Vancouver Canucks (1984–85) | 25–17–1 |
| 44 | T | January 16, 1985 | 3–3 OT | @ Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) | 25–17–2 |
| 45 | L | January 19, 1985 | 5–6 OT | @ Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) | 25–18–2 |
| 46 | L | January 22, 1985 | 4–5 | Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) | 25–19–2 |
| 47 | W | January 24, 1985 | 4–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) | 26–19–2 |
| 48 | L | January 26, 1985 | 1–5 | Washington Capitals (1984–85) | 26–20–2 |
| 49 | L | January 27, 1985 | 2–5 | @ Washington Capitals (1984–85) | 26–21–2 |
| 50 | T | January 29, 1985 | 4–4 OT | Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) | 26–21–3 |
| 51 | L | February 1, 1985 | 2–3 | @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 26–22–3 |
| 52 | W | February 2, 1985 | 4–0 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 27–22–3 |
| 53 | W | February 5, 1985 | 7–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 28–22–3 |
| 54 | W | February 7, 1985 | 7–5 | New York Rangers (1984–85) | 29–22–3 |
| 55 | W | February 9, 1985 | 4–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 30–22–3 |
| 56 | T | February 16, 1985 | 4–4 OT | Hartford Whalers (1984–85) | 30–22–4 |
| 57 | L | February 17, 1985 | 3–9 | @ New York Rangers (1984–85) | 30–23–4 |
| 58 | W | February 19, 1985 | 8–4 | Calgary Flames (1984–85) | 31–23–4 |
| 59 | L | February 21, 1985 | 2–3 | Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) | 31–24–4 |
| 60 | W | February 23, 1985 | 7–1 | Boston Bruins (1984–85) | 32–24–4 |
| 61 | L | February 24, 1985 | 3–4 OT | @ Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) | 32–25–4 |
| 62 | L | February 27, 1985 | 1–3 | @ Calgary Flames (1984–85) | 32–26–4 |
| 63 | L | March 2, 1985 | 2–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) | 32–27–4 |
| 64 | W | March 3, 1985 | 3–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) | 33–27–4 |
| 65 | L | March 5, 1985 | 4–5 OT | Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 33–28–4 |
| 66 | T | March 7, 1985 | 4–4 OT | @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 33–28–5 |
| 67 | W | March 9, 1985 | 4–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) | 34–28–5 |
| 68 | W | March 12, 1985 | 6–5 | @ St. Louis Blues (1984–85) | 35–28–5 |
| 69 | W | March 13, 1985 | 4–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) | 36–28–5 |
| 70 | W | March 16, 1985 | 6–4 | Washington Capitals (1984–85) | 37–28–5 |
| 71 | L | March 17, 1985 | 3–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 37–29–5 |
| 72 | W | March 19, 1985 | 3–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) | 38–29–5 |
| 73 | L | March 21, 1985 | 1–5 | Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) | 38–30–5 |
| 74 | W | March 24, 1985 | 5–2 | @ New York Rangers (1984–85) | 39–30–5 |
| 75 | L | March 26, 1985 | 5–7 | Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) | 39–31–5 |
| 76 | L | March 28, 1985 | 2–4 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) | 39–32–5 |
| 77 | L | March 30, 1985 | 3–4 | @ Washington Capitals (1984–85) | 39–33–5 |
| 78 | W | April 2, 1985 | 4–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 40–33–5 |
| 79 | L | April 4, 1985 | 0–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 40–34–5 |
| 80 | T | April 6, 1985 | 5–5 OT | New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 40–34–6 |

## Playoffs

Round 1 (3) New York Islanders vs (2) Washington Capitals
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Series |
| 1 | April 10 | NY Islanders | 3 – 4 | Washington | OT | 0 – 1 |
| 2 | April 11 | NY Islanders | 1 –2 | Washington | 2OT | 0 – 2 |
| 3 | April 13 | Washington | 1 – 2 | NY Islanders | | 1 – 2 |
| 4 | April 14 | Washington | 4 – 6 | NY Islanders | | 2 – 2 |
| 5 | April 16 | NY Islanders | 2 – 1 | Washington | | 3 – 2 |
New York Wins Series 3-2
Round 2 (3) New York Islanders vs (1) Philadelphia Flyers
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Series |
| 1 | April 18 | NY Islanders | 0 – 3 | Philadelphia | 0 – 1 |
| 2 | April 21 | NY Islanders | 2 – 5 | Philadelphia | 0 – 2 |
| 3 | April 23 | Philadelphia | 5 – 3 | NY Islanders | 0 – 3 |
| 4 | April 25 | Philadelphia | 2 – 6 | NY Islanders | 1 – 3 |
| 5 | April 28 | NY Islanders | 0 – 1 | Philadelphia | 1 – 4 |
Philadelphia Wins Series 4-1

## Player statistics

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Mike Bossy | RW | 76 | 58 | 59 | 117 | 38 | 37 | 14 | 4 | 7 |
| Brent Sutter | C | 72 | 42 | 60 | 102 | 51 | 42 | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| John Tonelli | LW | 80 | 42 | 58 | 100 | 95 | 50 | 8 | 1 | 3 |
| Denis Potvin | D | 77 | 17 | 51 | 68 | 96 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Bryan Trottier | C | 68 | 28 | 31 | 59 | 47 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Pat LaFontaine | C | 67 | 19 | 35 | 54 | 32 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Pat Flatley | RW | 78 | 20 | 31 | 51 | 106 | -8 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Tomas Jonsson | D | 69 | 16 | 34 | 50 | 58 | -1 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Duane Sutter | RW | 78 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 174 | -12 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Greg Gilbert | LW | 58 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 36 | -4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Paul Boutilier | D | 78 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 90 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Clark Gillies | LW | 54 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 73 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Stefan Persson | D | 54 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 30 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Bourne | C | 44 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 51 | -8 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Anders Kallur | RW | 51 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 26 | -9 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Gord Dineen | D | 48 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 89 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Langevin | D | 56 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 35 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roger Kortko | C | 27 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 9 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerald Diduck | D | 65 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 80 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord Lane | D | 57 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 83 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Morrow | D | 15 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Butch Goring | C | 29 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | -11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bob Nystrom | RW | 36 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 58 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mats Hallin | LW | 38 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 50 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Scott Howson | C | 8 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan Kerr | RW | 19 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 24 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Henry | LW | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ron Handy | LW | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Leiter | D | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kelly Hrudey | G | 41 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Hamway | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roland Melanson | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | G | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vern Smith | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Kelly Hrudey | 2335 | 41 | 19 | 17 | 3 | 141 | 3.62 | 2 |
| Billy Smith | 2090 | 37 | 18 | 14 | 3 | 133 | 3.82 | 0 |
| Roland Melanson | 425 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 4.94 | 0 |
| Team: | 4850 | 80 | 40 | 34 | 6 | 309 | 3.82 | 2 |
Playoffs :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Mike Bossy | RW | 10 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| John Tonelli | LW | 10 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Trottier | C | 10 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Brent Sutter | C | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | -4 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Denis Potvin | D | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Nystrom | RW | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stefan Persson | D | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tomas Jonsson | D | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat LaFontaine | C | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roger Kortko | C | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anders Kallur | RW | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Bourne | C | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Boutilier | D | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Duane Sutter | RW | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 47 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Flatley | RW | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clark Gillies | LW | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan Kerr | RW | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord Dineen | D | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mats Hallin | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kelly Hrudey | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord Lane | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Langevin | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Morrow | D | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Billy Smith | 342 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 3.33 | 0 |
| Kelly Hrudey | 281 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 1.71 | 0 |
| Team: | 623 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 27 | 2.60 | 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;