John Tonelli John A . Tonelli ( born March 23 , 1957 in Milton , Ontario , Canada ) was a National Hockey League centre . He played with the New York Islanders , the Calgary Flames , and the Los Angeles Kings . He concluded his career playing briefly for the Chicago Blackhawks and the Quebec Nordiques In 1982 and 1985 , Tonelli was a second team All - Star left wing for the Islanders . He played in the Stanley Cup finals in 1980 , 1981 , 1982 , 1983 , and 1984 with the Islanders , winning four championships in the process , and made an additional appearance as runner - up in the Cup finals in 1986 with the Flames . On May 24 , 1980 , Tonelli had the assist on Bob Nystrom ' s overtime Stanley Cup - winning goal against the Philadelphia Flyers , giving the Islanders their first of four straight Cups . In Game 6 at Nassau Coliseum , Lorne Henning stole the puck at center ice , passed to Tonelli , who then criss - crossed with Nystrom , feeding him the puck on Nystrom ' s backhand for the winning goal . It was a play the two had perfected during practice . Tonelli was a gritty forward with a never - say - die attitude for The New York Islanders who won four straight Stanley Cups . Tonelli , who was affectionately dubbed " The Greasy Jet " by his teammates , is remembered for scoring important " clutch goals " in the Islanders ' run of four straight Stanley Cups and five straight finals appearances , particularly during the 1981 - 82 season . During the playoffs that year , the Islanders were five minutes away from being eliminated by a much weaker Pittsburgh Penguin team , trailing 3 - 1 in the deciding game . John Tonelli had an assist on a Mike McEwen goal that closed the champions within one , and tied the game himself with ninety seconds to play . For an encore , it was John Tonelli that scored in overtime to win the game for the Islanders , thus extending their long reign as Stanley Cup champions . Tonelli also scored the winning goal in a February 20 , 1982 game against the Colorado Rockies , beating former teammate Chico Resch with just 47 seconds to play to allow the Islanders to set an NHL record ( since broken ) with their fifteenth consecutive victory . He was known for being virtually unbeatable in digging out the puck in the corners of the rink ; however , Tonelli also had an excellent shot , was a good passer , and had excellent timing both offensively and defensively . Tonelli was also very versatile . During his eight seasons with the Islanders , coach Al Arbour used Tonelli on the famed " Banana Line " with Wayne Merrick and Bob Nystrom , on the top line with Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy , and later he played flank for Brent Sutter and Patrick Flatley . Although Tonelli played a key role in the four Cup victories the team won from 1980 to 1983 , in some ways his career culminated in the fall of 1984 when he played for Canada in the Canada Cup , an invitation he almost turned down . He not only made the team , he had nine points , including a key assist on Mike Bossy ' s goal in overtime of the semifinal . Canada won the championship and Tonelli was named the tournament ' s best player . He then rejoined the Islanders and had his best season ever , scoring 42 goals and 100 points in 1984 - 1985 before being traded to the Calgary Flames during the 85 - 86 season . The Calgary Flames , with Tonelli ' s experience , reached The Stanley Cup finals for the first time . Tonelli finished his 1028 - game NHL career with 325 goals and 511 assists for 836 points . In Milton , Ontario , John Tonelli Arena is named in his honour