1978–79 New York Islanders season

National Hockey League team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1978–79 1978 New York Islanders Campbell 1st Patrick 1st 51–15–14 31–3–6 20–12–8 358 214 Bill Torrey Al Arbour Clark Gillies None Nassau Coliseum Mike Bossy (69) Bryan Trottier (87) Bryan Trottier (134) Garry Howatt (205) Chico Resch (26) Chico Resch (2.50) Yes Yes The 1978–79 New York Islanders season was the seventh season for the franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL). The New York Islanders finished first overall by one point over the defending Stanley Cup champions Montreal Canadiens in the regular season standings.The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.234, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, 978-0-385-66325-0 Offseason NHL draft 1979 NHL draft Round Pick Player Position School/Club team115Steve TambelliniCenterLethbridge Broncos (WCHL)234Randy JohnstonDefensePeterborough Petes (OMJHL)351Dwayne LowdermilkDefenseSeattle Breakers (WCHL)584Greg HayLeft wingPortland Winterhawks (WCHL)6101Kelly DavisDefenseFlin Flon Bombers (WCHL)7118Richard PepinLeft wingLaval National (QMJHL)8135Dave CameronCenterUniversity of Prince Edward Island (CIAU)9152Paul JoswiakGoaltenderUniversity of Minnesota (WCHA)10169Scott CameronDefenseUniversity of Notre Dame (WCHA)11184Christer LowdahlCenterÖrebro (Sweden)12199Gunnar PerssonDefenseBrynäs IF Galve (Sweden) Regular season Season standings NYI Record vs. opponents NYI Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#003087 5px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 5px solid; 1978–79 regular season1978-79 New York Islanders Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NYI/1979_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 24, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||T||October 12, 1978||2–2 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) ||0–0–1 |- |2||L||October 14, 1978||7–10 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) ||0–1–1 |- |3||W||October 17, 1978||3–1 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) ||1–1–1 |- |4||W||October 18, 1978||5–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||2–1–1 |- |5||W||October 21, 1978||5–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1978–79) ||3–1–1 |- |6||T||October 24, 1978||4–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) ||3–1–2 |- |7||L||October 27, 1978||5–8 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) ||3–2–2 |- |8||W||October 28, 1978||5–2 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) ||4–2–2 |- |9||W||October 31, 1978||8–5 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1978–79) ||5–2–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |10||L||November 2, 1978||1–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) ||5–3–2 |- |11||W||November 4, 1978||4–1 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1978–79) ||6–3–2 |- |12||W||November 7, 1978||5–2 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) ||7–3–2 |- |13||W||November 11, 1978||4–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1978–79) ||8–3–2 |- |14||W||November 12, 1978||5–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1978–79) ||9–3–2 |- |15||T||November 14, 1978||2–2 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1978–79) ||9–3–3 |- |16||W||November 17, 1978||4–2 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) ||10–3–3 |- |17||W||November 18, 1978||8–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) ||11–3–3 |- |18||W||November 21, 1978||7–1 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) ||12–3–3 |- |19||W||November 22, 1978||4–1 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) ||13–3–3 |- |20||W||November 25, 1978||5–2 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) ||14–3–3 |- |21||T||November 29, 1978||5–5 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) ||14–3–4 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |22||W||December 2, 1978||5–2 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) ||15–3–4 |- |23||T||December 5, 1978||3–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||15–3–5 |- |24||W||December 7, 1978||7–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1978–79) ||16–3–5 |- |25||W||December 9, 1978||3–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) ||17–3–5 |- |26||L||December 10, 1978||3–4 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) ||17–4–5 |- |27||T||December 12, 1978||5–5 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) ||17–4–6 |- |28||W||December 14, 1978||4–1 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) ||18–4–6 |- |29||T||December 16, 1978||2–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) ||18–4–7 |- |30||W||December 17, 1978||3–0 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) ||19–4–7 |- |31||W||December 21, 1978||5–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1978–79) ||20–4–7 |- |32||W||December 23, 1978||9–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1978–79) ||21–4–7 |- |33||W||December 26, 1978||5–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) ||22–4–7 |- |34||W||December 28, 1978||10–4 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) ||23–4–7 |- |35||W||December 30, 1978||4–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1978–79) ||24–4–7 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |36||W||January 2, 1979||9–0 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) ||25–4–7 |- |37||L||January 4, 1979||2–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) ||25–5–7 |- |38||W||January 6, 1979||5–1 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) ||26–5–7 |- |39||W||January 9, 1979||7–1 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) ||27–5–7 |- |40||T||January 10, 1979||5–5 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) ||27–5–8 |- |41||W||January 12, 1979||4–1 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) ||28–5–8 |- |42||T||January 14, 1979||1–1 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) ||28–5–9 |- |43||W||January 16, 1979||6–2 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1978–79) ||29–5–9 |- |44||L||January 17, 1979||3–5 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1978–79) ||29–6–9 |- |45||W||January 20, 1979||4–2 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) ||30–6–9 |- |46||W||January 22, 1979||2–1 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) ||31–6–9 |- |47||W||January 25, 1979||4–2 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) ||32–6–9 |- |48||L||January 27, 1979||2–7 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1978–79) ||32–7–9 |- |49||L||January 30, 1979||4–5 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) ||32–8–9 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |50||W||February 1, 1979||4–1 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) ||33–8–9 |- |51||T||February 3, 1979||4–4 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1978–79) ||33–8–10 |- |52||L||February 4, 1979||4–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) ||33–9–10 |- |53||W||February 13, 1979||6–1 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1978–79) ||34–9–10 |- |54||L||February 14, 1979||1–2 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) ||34–10–10 |- |55||W||February 17, 1979||5–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) ||35–10–10 |- |56||W||February 19, 1979||8–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) ||36–10–10 |- |57||W||February 22, 1979||6–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1978–79) ||37–10–10 |- |58||W||February 24, 1979||3–1 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) ||38–10–10 |- |59||L||February 25, 1979||2–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1978–79) ||38–11–10 |- |60||W||February 27, 1979||7–3 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) ||39–11–10 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |61||L||March 2, 1979||2–3 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) ||39–12–10 |- |62||W||March 3, 1979||4–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1978–79) ||40–12–10 |- |63||L||March 6, 1979||2–3 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) ||40–13–10 |- |64||T||March 7, 1979||5–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) ||40–13–11 |- |65||W||March 10, 1979||7–1 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) ||41–13–11 |- |66||T||March 11, 1979||4–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) ||41–13–12 |- |67||W||March 13, 1979||7–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1978–79) ||42–13–12 |- |68||W||March 15, 1979||6–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) ||43–13–12 |- |69||W||March 17, 1979||5–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1978–79) ||44–13–12 |- |70||W||March 18, 1979||5–3 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) ||45–13–12 |- |71||W||March 22, 1979||5–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) ||46–13–12 |- |72||T||March 24, 1979||3–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||46–13–13 |- |73||T||March 25, 1979||2–2 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||46–13–14 |- |74||L||March 29, 1979||1–6 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) ||46–14–14 |- |75||W||March 31, 1979||2–0 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) ||47–14–14 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |76||L||April 1, 1979||4–6 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) ||47–15–14 |- |77||W||April 3, 1979||3–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1978–79) ||48–15–14 |- |78||W||April 5, 1979||3–1 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) ||49–15–14 |- |79||W||April 7, 1979||9–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) ||50–15–14 |- |80||W||April 8, 1979||5–2 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1978–79) ||51–15–14 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs background:#fff; border-top:#003087 5px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 5px solid; 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; Quarterfinals vs. (8) Chicago Black Hawks – Islanders win 4–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Series |- | 1 || April 16 || Chicago || 2 – 6 || NY Islanders || || 1 – 0 |- | 2 || April 18 || Chicago || 0 – 1 || NY Islanders || OT || 2 – 0 |- | 3 || April 20 || NY Islanders || 4 – 0 || Chicago || || 3 – 0 |- | 4 || April 22 || NY Islanders || 3 – 1 || Chicago || || 4 – 0 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; Semifinals vs. (4) New York Rangers – Rangers win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Series |- | 1 || April 26 || NY Rangers || 4 – 1 || NY Islanders || || 0 – 1 |- | 2 || April 28 || NY Rangers || 3 – 4 || NY Islanders || OT || 1 – 1 |- | 3 || May 1 || NY Islanders || 1 – 3 || NY Rangers|| || 1 – 2 |- | 4 || May 3 || NY Islanders || 3 – 2 || NY Rangers || OT || 2 – 2 |- | 5 || May 5 || NY Rangers || 4 – 3 || NY Islanders || || 2 – 3 |- | 6 || May 8 || NY Islanders || 1 – 2 || NY Rangers|| || 2 – 4 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Bryan Trottier C 76 47 87 134 50761508 Mike Bossy RW 80 69 57 126 25632709 Denis Potvin D 73 31 70 101 58711232 Clark Gillies LW 75 35 56 91 68571105 Stefan Persson Stefan Persson (ice hockey) D 78 10 56 66 5738601 Bob Bourne C 80 30 31 61 4834412 John Tonelli LW 73 17 39 56 4429104 Billy Harris Billy Harris (ice hockey b. 1952) RW 80 15 39 54 1826005 Wayne Merrick C 75 20 21 41 2413200 Bob Nystrom RW 78 19 20 39 11319105 Mike Kaszycki C 71 16 18 34 377204 Lorne Henning C 73 13 20 33 1417022 Garry Howatt LW 75 16 12 28 2056002 Dave Lewis Dave Lewis (ice hockey) D 79 5 18 23 4343000 Bob Lorimer D 67 3 18 21 4227000 Ed Westfall D/RW 55 5 11 16 40011 Gerry Hart D 50 2 14 16 7830001 Pat Price Pat Price (ice hockey) D 55 3 11 14 5018000 Bert Marshall D 45 1 8 9 299000 Richie Hansen C 12 1 6 7 49000 Chico Resch G 43 0 2 2 60000 Billy Smith Billy Smith (ice hockey) G 40 0 2 2 540000 Mike Hordy D 2 0 0 0 00000 Hector Marini RW 1 0 0 0 2-2000 Alex McKendry W 4 0 0 0 0-1000 Steve Tambellini C 1 0 0 0 0-1000Goaltending Player MIN GPW LTGAGAA SO Chico Resch 2539 43 26 7 10 106 2.50 2 Billy Smith Billy Smith (ice hockey) 2261 40 25 8 4 108 2.87 1 Team: 4800 80 51 15 14 214 2.67 3 Playoffs Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Denis Potvin D 10 4 7 11 8001 Mike Bossy RW 10 6 2 8 2201 John Tonelli LW 10 1 6 7 0000 Bryan Trottier C 10 2 4 6 13001 Bob Nystrom RW 10 3 2 5 4001 Wayne Merrick C 10 2 3 5 2000 Bob Bourne C 10 1 3 4 6000 Mike Kaszycki C 10 1 3 4 4000 Bob Lorimer D 10 1 3 4 15000 Stefan Persson Stefan Persson (ice hockey) D 10 0 4 4 8000 Billy Harris Billy Harris (ice hockey b. 1952) RW 10 2 1 3 10101 Clark Gillies LW 10 1 2 3 11000 Ed Westfall D/RW 6 1 2 3 0000 Lorne Henning C 10 2 0 2 0010 Gerry Hart D 9 0 2 2 10000 Garry Howatt LW 9 0 1 1 18000 Pat Price Pat Price (ice hockey) D 7 0 1 1 25000 Dave Lewis Dave Lewis (ice hockey) D 10 0 0 0 4000 Hector Marini RW 1 0 0 0 0000 Chico Resch G 5 0 0 0 0000 Billy Smith Billy Smith (ice hockey) G 5 0 0 0 4000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LGAGAA SO Billy Smith Billy Smith (ice hockey) 315 5 4 1 10 1.90 1 Chico Resch 300 5 2 3 11 2.20 1 Team: 615 10 6 4 21 2.05 2 hockey-reference.com 2009-07-27 1978-79 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NYI/1979.html 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 December 23/78: Bryan Trottier, Most Points, One Period, 6National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.181, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 0-920445-98-5 References Islanders on Hockey Database 1978-79 Category:1978–79 NHL season by team Category:1978 in sports in New York (state) Category:1979 in sports in New York (state) 1978-79 New York Islanders season 1978-79 New York Islanders season