Billy Smith

William John "Battlin' Billy" Smith (born December 12, 1950, in Perth, Ontario) was a professional goaltender and is best known for winning four Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders and being the first goalie to be credited with a goal.
==Playing Career==
===NHL Beginnings===
He was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 5th round of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft from the Cornwall Royals of the QMJHL. He played two seasons with the Kings' minor league affiliate, the American Hockey League's Springfield Kings, and spent a brief stint with the big-league Kings after winning a Calder Cup for Springfield in 1971.
He was drafted in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft by the New York Islanders; he was the second player picked by the team. After sharing goaltending duties with Gerry Desjardins for two years, he got the starting job all to himself in 1974–75 when Desjardins bolted to the World Hockey Association. That season, he led the Islanders to their first playoff appearance.
===Successful Islander Stints===
For the rest of the decade, he shared time in the Islanders net with Glenn Resch, where they combined to form perhaps the top goaltending duo in the NHL at the time. This changed in the 1980 playoffs, when the Isles rode Smith's goaltending to their first of four consecutive Stanley Cups, firmly establishing Smith as the team's starting goaltender. Resch was dealt to the Colorado Rockies the following season. Smith went on to become a First Team All-Star in 1982, and played in the All Star Game in 1981 and 1982. He won the Vezina Trophy in 1982 and the William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed in 1983 (shared with Roland Melanson). He was chosen to play for Canada in the 1981 Canada Cup, but was unable to play due to an injury sustained in a pre-tournament game.
Smith's regular season success, however, was surpassed by his performances in the Playoffs, as he helped the Islanders win four straight Stanley Cups (1980–83), reach the finals five straight times (1980–84), and win a record 19 consecutive playoff series from 1980–84.
His single most famous game may be his 2–0 victory in the first game of the 1983 Stanley Cup finals against the Edmonton Oilers, shutting out the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, and Jari Kurri. The Islanders went on to sweep the Oilers in 4 games, with Smith allowing the Oilers only 6 goals and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player in the Playoffs. A year later, Smith broke the record for the most Playoff victories: he led all goaltenders in playoff victories in total and in every individual year between 1980 and 1984. Then in 1985, Smith led the Islanders to win 3 straight games after being down 0–2 to the Washington Capitals, the first time such a comeback occurred in the NHL. Smith's playoff success feeds into his reputation as the supreme "money" goalie, the person you would want in net with the season on the line. Teammates and observers have said that Smith seemed able to sense when he needed to be perfect to win and when he could give up five goals and still come away with the victory.
==First NHL goal by a Goaltender==
Smith was also the first NHL goaltender to be credited with scoring a goal. On November 28, 1979, in a game between the Islanders and the Colorado Rockies, the Rockies' goaltender left the ice for an extra skater after a delayed penalty was called on the Islanders. The puck deflected off the chest protector of the Islanders' Smith into the corner. Colorado rookie Rob Ramage picked up the puck and accidentally made a blind pass from the corner boards in the opposing zone to the blue line. Nobody was there to receive the pass, and so the puck sailed all the way down the length of the ice and into the Colorado net. Smith had been the last Islander to touch the puck, and was credited with a goal.
==Retirement==
Smith retired in 1989 as the last original Islander still on the team. After four years as the Islanders' goaltending coach, he followed longtime Islander general manager Bill Torrey to the expansion Florida Panthers in the same role, serving there until 2000.
The Islanders retired his #31 on February 20, 1993. Later that year, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the only goalie inducted in the Hall in the 1990s. In 1998, he was ranked number 80 on List of 100 greatest hockey players by The Hockey News.
==Personality==
Nicknamed "Battlin' Billy" for his fiery temper and unabashed use of the stick or blocker on players crowding his crease, Smith was noted for his displays of feigned injuries that would often lead to penalties against opponents, for whom he carried an undisguised emmity, and always refusing to participate in the traditional handshakes between teams at the end of a playoff series, as to not feel any worse after a loss than he already did (Smith was very passionate about games that put the ranking of their team on the line). A notable incident with Smith occurred in practice where Islanders hall-of-famer Mike Bossy fired a shot at Smith which Smith objected to. Smith charged after Bossy with his stick but was tackled by teammates before Smith took his frustrations out on Bossy.
==Career Statistics==
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Season 	Team 	League 		GP 	W 	L 	T 	MIN 	GA 	SO	GAA 	SV%
1968–69 	Smiths Falls Bears	CJHL 		0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
1969–70 	Cornwall Royals 	QMJHL 		55 	-- 	-- 	-- 	2946 	249 	1 	4.52	.899
1970–71 	Springfield Kings 	AHL 		49 	-- 	-- 	4 	2728 	160 	2 	3.51	--
1971–72 	Springfield Kings 	AHL 		28 	24 	3 	1 	1649 	77 	4 	2.80	.882
1971–72 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		5 	1 	3 	1 	300 	23 	0 	4.60	.884
1972–73 	New York Islanders	NHL 		37 	7 	24 	3 	2122 	147 	3 	4.16	.915
1973–74 	New York Islanders	NHL 		46 	9 	23 	12 	2615 	134 	3 	3.07	.902
1974–75 	New York Islanders	NHL 		58 	21 	18 	17 	3368 	156 	3 	2.78	.911
1975–76 	New York Islanders	NHL 		39 	19 	10 	9 	2254 	98 	3 	2.61	.909
1976–77 	New York Islanders	NHL 		36 	21 	8 	6 	2089 	87 	2 	2.50	--
1977–78 	New York Islanders	NHL 		38 	20 	8 	8 	2154 	85 	2 	2.65	--
1978–79 	New York Islanders	NHL 		40 	25 	8 	4 	2261 	108 	1 	2.87	--
1979–80 	New York Islanders	NHL 		38 	15 	14 	7 	2114 	104 	2 	2.95	--
1980–81 	New York Islanders	NHL 		41 	22 	10 	8 	2363 	129 	2 	3.28	--
1981–82 	New York Islanders	NHL 		46 	32 	9 	4 	2685 	133 	0 	2.97	.900
1982–83 	New York Islanders	NHL 		41 	18 	14 	7 	2340 	112 	1 	2.87	.906
1983–84 	New York Islanders	NHL 		42 	23 	13 	2 	2279 	130 	2 	3.42	.896
1984–85 	New York Islanders	NHL 		37 	18 	14 	3 	2090 	133 	0 	3.82	.879
1985–86 	New York Islanders	NHL 		41 	20 	14 	4 	2308 	143 	1 	3.72	.881
1986–87 	New York Islanders	NHL 		40 	14 	18 	5 	2252 	132 	1 	3.52	.869
1987–88 	New York Islanders	NHL 		38 	17 	14 	5 	2107 	113 	2 	 	.893
1988–89 	New York Islanders	NHL 		17 	3 	11 	0 	730 	54 	0 	3.22	.851
NHL totals	NHL totals 	NHL totals		680	305	233	105	38,431	2,031	22	3.17	.882
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==Gallery==
Bucyk_3_goals-18Jan1973.gif|John Bucyk had a four goal game, January 18, 1973
==External Links==
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Category:Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) alumni
Category:Born in 1950
Category:Canadian ice hockey players
Category:Conn Smythe Trophy winners
Category:Hockey Hall of Fame
Category:Los Angeles Kings players
Category:National Hockey League players with retired numbers
Category:New York Islanders players
Category:Stanley Cup champions
Category:Vezina Trophy winners
Category:NHL All-Stars
Category:Retired in 1989
Category:Springfield Indians players