1979–80 New York Islanders season

The 1979-80 New York Islanders season was the 8th season for the franchise in the National Hockey League. Despite finishing 2nd in the Patrick Division, the Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals 4 games to 2 to win their first Stanley Cup.
==Off-season==
===Draft Picks===
Round	Pick	Player 	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1 	17. 	Duane Sutter (RW)	 	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
==Regular Season==
Before the playoffs, Torrey made the difficult decision to trade longtime and popular veterans Billy Harris and defenseman Dave Lewis to the Los Angeles Kings for second line center Butch Goring. Goring is often called the "final piece of the puzzle": a strong two-way player, his presence on the second line ensured that opponents would no longer be able to focus their defensive efforts on the Isles' first line of Bossy, Trottier and Clark Gillies. Contributions from new teammates, such as wingers Duane Sutter and Anders Kallur and stay-at-home defensemen Gord Lane and Ken Morrow (the latter fresh off a gold medal win at the 1980 Olympics), also figured prominently in the Islanders' playoff success. 
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
No.	R	Date 	Score	Opponent 	Record
1 	L	October 11, 1979 	2–5 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 	0–1–0
2 	L	October 13, 1979 	2–5 	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 	0–2–0
3 	W	October 16, 1979 	5–1 	Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 	1–2–0
4 	L	October 18, 1979 	2–3 	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 	1–3–0
5 	W	October 20, 1979 	6–1 	Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 	2–3–0
6 	T	October 23, 1979 	3–3 	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 	2–3–1
7 	W	October 26, 1979 	2–1 	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 	3–3–1
8 	W	October 27, 1979 	6–4 	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 	4–3–1
9 	T	October 31, 1979 	2–2 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 	4–3–2
10 	L	November 2, 1979 	5–7 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 	4–4–2
11 	T	November 4, 1979 	4–4 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 	4–4–3
12 	W	November 6, 1979 	4–1 	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 	5–4–3
13 	L	November 9, 1979 	2–5 	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 	5–5–3
14 	L	November 10, 1979	2–5 	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 	5–6–3
15 	W	November 13, 1979	10–5 	New York Rangers (1979–80) 	6–6–3
16 	L	November 17, 1979	4–5 	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 	6–7–3
17 	L	November 20, 1979	3–6 	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 	6–8–3
18 	L	November 21, 1979	1–3 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	6–9–3
19 	T	November 24, 1979	4–4 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 	6–9–4
20 	L	November 28, 1979	4–7 	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 	6–10–4
21 	L	November 30, 1979	3–5 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 	6–11–4
22 	W	December 2, 1979 	4–0 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 	7–11–4
23 	L	December 4, 1979 	1–5 	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 	7–12–4
24 	W	December 6, 1979 	4–3 	Boston Bruins (1979–80) 	8–12–4
25 	W	December 7, 1979 	6–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 	9–12–4
26 	L	December 9, 1979 	4–5 	@ New York Rangers (1979–80) 	9–13–4
27 	W	December 11, 1979	4–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 	10–13–4
28 	T	December 12, 1979	3–3 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 	10–13–5
29 	T	December 15, 1979	3–3 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 	10–13–6
30 	W	December 18, 1979	3–2 	Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 	11–13–6
31 	W	December 22, 1979	2–1 	Washington Capitals (1979–80) 	12–13–6
32 	L	December 23, 1979	0–8 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 	12–14–6
33 	W	December 27, 1979	7–3 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 	13–14–6
34 	L	December 30, 1979	2–4 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 	13–15–6
35 	W	January 2, 1980 	3–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 	14–15–6
36 	L	January 3, 1980 	3–4 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 	14–16–6
37 	W	January 5, 1980 	3–1 	St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 	15–16–6
38 	W	January 8, 1980 	3–0 	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 	16–16–6
39 	L	January 9, 1980 	2–3 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 	16–17–6
40 	W	January 12, 1980 	5–2 	Washington Capitals (1979–80) 	17–17–6
41 	W	January 15, 1980 	5–2 	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 	18–17–6
42 	W	January 17, 1980 	9–6 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 	19–17–6
43 	W	January 19, 1980 	3–1 	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 	20–17–6
44 	W	January 22, 1980 	2–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 	21–17–6
45 	W	January 23, 1980 	5–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 	22–17–6
46 	W	January 26, 1980 	3–2 	Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 	23–17–6
47 	L	January 27, 1980 	1–7 	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 	23–18–6
48 	T	January 29, 1980 	2–2 	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 	23–18–7
49 	L	January 31, 1980 	2–4 	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 	23–19–7
50 	W	February 2, 1980 	3–2 	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 	24–19–7
51 	L	February 3, 1980 	3–5 	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 	24–20–7
52 	W	February 7, 1980 	4–1 	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 	25–20–7
53 	W	February 9, 1980 	5–0 	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 	26–20–7
54 	T	February 12, 1980	0–0 	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 	26–20–8
55 	W	February 14, 1980	5–3 	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 	27–20–8
56 	L	February 16, 1980	2–3 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 	27–21–8
57 	L	February 17, 1980	2–4 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 	27–22–8
58 	L	February 19, 1980	4–6 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 	27–23–8
59 	L	February 21, 1980	2–5 	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 	27–24–8
60 	W	February 23, 1980	3–2 	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 	28–24–8
61 	L	February 24, 1980	2–8 	@ New York Rangers (1979–80) 	28–25–8
62 	W	February 27, 1980	5–3 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 	29–25–8
63 	L	March 1, 1980 	3–4 	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 	29–26–8
64 	T	March 2, 1980 	0–0 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 	29–26–9
65 	W	March 4, 1980 	6–4 	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 	30–26–9
66 	W	March 6, 1980 	5–2 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 	31–26–9
67 	L	March 8, 1980 	3–5 	Boston Bruins (1979–80) 	31–27–9
68 	L	March 9, 1980 	1–3 	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 	31–28–9
69 	W	March 11, 1980 	4–1 	Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 	32–28–9
70 	W	March 15, 1980 	6–2 	St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 	33–28–9
71 	W	March 16, 1980 	6–1 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 	34–28–9
72 	W	March 18, 1980 	6–3 	Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 	35–28–9
73 	T	March 22, 1980 	4–4 	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 	35–28–10
74 	T	March 23, 1980 	1–1 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 	35–28–11
75 	W	March 25, 1980 	5–2 	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 	36–28–11
76 	T	March 28, 1980 	2–2 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 	36–28–12
77 	W	March 30, 1980 	9–6 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 	37–28–12
78 	T	April 1, 1980 	1–1 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	37–28–13
79 	W	April 4, 1980 	7–3 	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 	38–28–13
80 	W	April 5, 1980 	2–1 	New York Rangers (1979–80) 	39–28–13
==Playoffs==
===New York Islanders 4, Boston Bruins 1===
===New York Islanders 4, Buffalo Sabres 2===
In the semi-finals, the Isles faced the Buffalo Sabres, who had finished second overall in the NHL standings. The Isles won the first two games in Buffalo, including a 3–2 victory in Game 2 on Bob Nystrom's goal in double overtime. They went on to win the series in six games and reach the finals for the first time in franchise history, where they would face the NHL's regular season champions, the Philadelphia Flyers, who had gone undefeated for 35 straight games (25–0–10) during the regular season. 
===New York Islanders 4, Philadelphia Flyers 2===
In Game 1 in Philadelphia, the Isles won 4–3 on Denis Potvin's power-play goal in overtime. Leading the series 3–2, they went home to Long Island for Game 6. In that game, Bob Nystrom continued his overtime heroics, scoring at 7:11 of the extra frame, on assists by John Tonelli and Lorne Henning, to bring Long Island its first Stanley Cup. It was the Isles' sixth overtime victory of the playoffs. Bryan Trottier won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. Torrey's strategy of building through the draft turned out very well; nearly all of the major contributors on the 1980 champions were home-grown Islanders or had spent most of their NHL careers in the Islanders organization.
Date 	Visitors 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
May 13	New York 	4 	Philadelphia	3 	OT
May 15	New York 	3 	Philadelphia	8 	
May 17	Philadelphia	2 	New York 	6 	
May 19	Philadelphia	2 	New York 	5 	OT
May 22	New York 	3 	Philadelphia	6 	
May 24	Philadelphia	4 	New York 	5 	OT
===1980 New York Islanders Stanley Cup Champions===
Gord Lane, Jean Potvin, Bob Lorimer, Denis Potvin, Stefan Persson, Ken Morrow, Dave Langevin, Duane Sutter, Garry Howatt, Clark Gillies, Lorne Henning, Wayne Merrick, Bob Bourne, Steve Tambellini, Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Bob Nystrom, John Tonelli, Anders Kallur, Butch Goring, Alex McKendry, Glenn Resch, Billy Smith, Al Arbour (coach), Bill Torrey (general manager), Ron Waske, Jim Pickard (trainers)
==Player Stats==
Regular Season	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Scoring 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	Pos	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	78	42	62	104	68 	31 	15 	0 	6
 	RW 	75	51	41	92 	12 	28 	16 	0 	8
 	LW 	73	19	35	54 	49 	29 	7 	0 	5
 	RW 	76	22	30	52 	16 	12 	5 	4 	2
 	LW 	77	14	30	44 	49 	8 	3 	0 	2
 	D 	31	8 	33	41 	44 	13 	4 	0 	0
 	C 	73	15	25	40 	52 	5 	3 	0 	1
 	RW 	67	21	18	39 	94 	4 	2 	0 	4
 	D 	73	4 	35	39 	76 	13 	2 	0 	0
 	C 	70	13	22	35 	16 	12 	2 	0 	4
 	RW 	67	15	15	30 	37 	0 	2 	1 	2
 	RW 	56	15	9 	24 	55 	5 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	62	5 	16	21 	54 	10 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	77	8 	11	19 	219	-3 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	74	3 	16	19 	53 	32 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	76	3 	13	16 	109	11 	0 	1 	0
 	D 	55	2 	14	16 	152	10 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	32	2 	13	15 	26 	-12	2 	0 	0
 	C 	45	5 	8 	13 	4 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	12	6 	5 	11 	2 	7 	0 	1 	0
 	C 	39	3 	6 	9 	6 	-10	0 	0 	0
 	C 	16	1 	4 	5 	15 	3 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	17	3 	1 	4 	24 	-6 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	18	0 	3 	3 	4 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	45	0 	3 	3 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	38	1 	0 	1 	39 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	2 	0 	0 	0 	2 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	W 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	4 	0 	0 	0 	4 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	9 	0 	0 	0 	7 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
Playoffs	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Scoring 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	Pos	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	21	12	17	29 	16 	4 	2 	2
 	RW 	16	10	13	23 	8 	6 	0 	1
 	C 	21	10	10	20 	10 	5 	2 	1
 	C 	21	7 	12	19 	2 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	21	6 	13	19 	24 	4 	0 	1
 	RW 	20	9 	9 	18 	50 	0 	0 	3
 	LW 	21	7 	9 	16 	18 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	21	6 	10	16 	63 	1 	0 	2
 	D 	21	5 	10	15 	16 	4 	0 	0
 	RW 	21	3 	7 	10 	74 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	21	3 	4 	7 	2 	0 	3 	1
 	C 	21	2 	4 	6 	2 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	21	3 	1 	4 	84 	0 	0 	1
 	W 	6 	2 	2 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	21	1 	3 	4 	85 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	21	1 	3 	4 	41 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	20	1 	2 	3 	12 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	21	0 	3 	3 	32 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	20	0 	0 	0 	11 	0 	0 	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 
==Awards and Records==
*Conn Smythe Trophy: Bryan Trottier
==Transactions==
==Draft Picks==
==Farm Teams==
==References==
* Islanders on Hockey Database
Category:Stanley Cup championship seasons
Category:New York Islanders seasons
New York Islanders season, 1979–80
New York Islanders season, 1979–80