1981–82 New York Islanders season

The 1981–82 New York Islanders season was the 10th season in the franchise's history. It involved winning the Stanley Cup.

Offseason

NHL draft

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)121Paul BoutilierSherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)242Gord DineenSault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)357Ron HandySault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)363Neal CoulterToronto Marlboros (OMJHL)484Todd LumbardBrandon Wheat Kings (WHL)594Jacques SylvestreSorel Eperviers (QMJHL)5105Moe LemayOttawa 67's (OMJHL)6126Chuck BrimmerKingston Canadians (OMJHL)7147Teppo VirtaTPS (Finland)8168Bill DowdOttawa 67's (OMJHL)9189Scott MacLellanBurlington Cougars (CBJHL)10210Dave RandersonStratford Cullitons (MWJBHL)

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

Regular season

|1||W||October 7, 1981||4–1 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1981–82) ||1–0–0

|2||T||October 10, 1981||2–2 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1981–82) ||1–0–1

|3||W||October 14, 1981||4–1 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) ||2–0–1

|4||W||October 15, 1981||4–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) ||3–0–1

|5||W||October 17, 1981||5–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1981–82) ||4–0–1

|6||L||October 20, 1981||6–9 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1981–82) ||4–1–1

|7||W||October 23, 1981||4–2 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1981–82) ||5–1–1

|8||W||October 24, 1981||6–4 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1981–82) ||6–1–1

|9||W||October 27, 1981||4–3 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) ||7–1–1

|10||T||October 29, 1981||6–6 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1981–82) ||7–1–2

|11||W||October 31, 1981||2–1 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1981–82) ||8–1–2

|12||T||November 3, 1981||2–2 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1981–82) ||8–1–3

|13||L||November 7, 1981||2–6 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1981–82) ||8–2–3

|14||W||November 10, 1981||5–3 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1981–82) ||9–2–3

|15||W||November 11, 1981||4–3 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82) ||10–2–3

|16||T||November 14, 1981||5–5 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) ||10–2–4

|17||L||November 15, 1981||4–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) ||10–3–4

|18||L||November 17, 1981||2–7 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1981–82) ||10–4–4

|19||W||November 21, 1981||4–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1981–82) ||11–4–4

|20||W||November 22, 1981||7–2 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1981–82) ||12–4–4

|21||W||November 24, 1981||3–1 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1981–82) ||13–4–4

|22||W||November 26, 1981||9–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1981–82) ||14–4–4

|23||L||November 28, 1981||4–5 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1981–82) ||14–5–4

|24||L||November 29, 1981||2–5 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1981–82) ||14–6–4

|25||W||December 5, 1981||8–5 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1981–82) ||15–6–4

|26||L||December 6, 1981||2–5 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1981–82) ||15–7–4

|27||L||December 9, 1981||3–4 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) ||15–8–4

|28||T||December 12, 1981||3–3 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1981–82) ||15–8–5

|29||L||December 13, 1981||3–4 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) ||15–9–5

|30||W||December 15, 1981||10–7 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1981–82) ||16–9–5

|31||W||December 17, 1981||4–1 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1981–82) ||17–9–5

|32||W||December 19, 1981||5–1 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1981–82) ||18–9–5

|33||W||December 20, 1981||5–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1981–82) ||19–9–5

|34||W||December 22, 1981||5–2 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1981–82) ||20–9–5

|35||W||December 26, 1981||4–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) ||21–9–5

|36||L||December 29, 1981||4–5 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1981–82) ||21–10–5

|37||L||December 30, 1981||4–6 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1981–82) ||21–11–5

|38||W||January 2, 1982||5–3 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82) ||22–11–5

|39||W||January 4, 1982||4–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) ||23–11–5

|40||W||January 7, 1982||5–4 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) ||24–11–5

|41||W||January 9, 1982||3–1 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) ||25–11–5

|42||L||January 14, 1982||4–5 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1981–82) ||25–12–5

|43||T||January 17, 1982||2–2 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1981–82) ||25–12–6

|44||L||January 20, 1982||2–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1981–82) ||25–13–6

|45||W||January 21, 1982||6–1 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) ||26–13–6

|46||W||January 23, 1982||6–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1981–82) ||27–13–6

|47||W||January 26, 1982||9–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) ||28–13–6

|48||W||January 27, 1982||6–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) ||29–13–6

|49||W||January 30, 1982||4–2 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1981–82) ||30–13–6

|50||W||February 2, 1982||7–6 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1981–82) ||31–13–6

|51||W||February 4, 1982||5–2 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1981–82) ||32–13–6

|52||W||February 6, 1982||6–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1981–82) ||33–13–6

|53||W||February 7, 1982||7–3 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1981–82) ||34–13–6

|54||W||February 11, 1982||8–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82) ||35–13–6

|55||W||February 13, 1982||8–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) ||36–13–6

|56||W||February 14, 1982||9–1 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1981–82) ||37–13–6

|57||W||February 16, 1982||6–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) ||38–13–6

|58||W||February 18, 1982||7–4 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) ||39–13–6

|59||W||February 20, 1982||3–2 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1981–82) ||40–13–6

|60||L||February 21, 1982||3–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) ||40–14–6

|61||W||February 23, 1982||5–1 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82) ||41–14–6

|62||W||February 25, 1982||4–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) ||42–14–6

|63||T||February 27, 1982||5–5 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1981–82) ||42–14–7

|64||W||March 1, 1982||9–5 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82) ||43–14–7

|65||W||March 2, 1982||6–3 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1981–82) ||44–14–7

|66||W||March 4, 1982||10–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82) ||45–14–7

|67||W||March 6, 1982||6–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1981–82) ||46–14–7

|68||W||March 9, 1982||6–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1981–82) ||47–14–7

|69||T||March 10, 1982||4–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1981–82) ||47–14–8

|70||L||March 13, 1982||0–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1981–82) ||47–15–8

|71||W||March 17, 1982||5–2 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1981–82) ||48–15–8

|72||T||March 20, 1982||3–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1981–82) ||48–15–9

|73||W||March 21, 1982||3–2 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1981–82) ||49–15–9

|74||W||March 23, 1982||8–1 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1981–82) ||50–15–9

|75||W||March 25, 1982||3–1 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1981–82) ||51–15–9

|76||W||March 27, 1982||5–4 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1981–82) ||52–15–9

|77||W||March 29, 1982||7–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1981–82) ||53–15–9

|78||T||April 1, 1982||3–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) ||53–15–10

|79||W||April 3, 1982||6–3 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) ||54–15–10

|80||L||April 4, 1982||2–7 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) ||54–16–10

Legend:

Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG RW 80 64 83 147 226917010 C 80 50 79 129 887018210 LW 80 35 58 93 5748505 LW 79 38 39 77 7539805 D 60 24 37 61 83381114 C 76 27 26 53 7727522 RW 77 18 35 53 10023400 D 73 10 39 49 5030101 RW 74 22 25 47 10313004 C 43 21 22 43 11428301 D 70 6 37 43 9935302 RW 58 18 22 40 185233 C 68 12 27 39 204103 D 70 9 25 34 5126001 C 67 15 17 32 10-3151 C 72 9 20 29 3212031 D 73 1 20 21 8234000 D 75 1 18 19 5653000 RW 30 4 9 13 533101 D 51 0 13 13 9826000 LW 1 1 0 1 00000 G 46 0 1 1 240000 D 1 0 0 0 00000 RW 1 0 0 0 00000 G 36 0 0 0 140000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LTGAGAA SO 2685 46 32 9 4 133 2.97 0 2115 36 22 7 6 114 3.23 0 Team: 4800 80 54 16 10 247 3.09 0 Playoffs Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG C 19 6 23 29 40202 RW 19 17 10 27 0603 D 19 5 16 21 30300 C 19 9 7 16 36310 LW 19 6 10 16 18101 D 13 1 14 15 9100 LW 19 8 6 14 34403 C 19 6 6 12 6001 C 19 6 5 11 12102 RW 15 5 5 10 32000 RW 19 5 5 10 57002 D 15 3 7 10 18200 C 19 2 6 8 36000 RW 19 1 6 7 8010 D 19 2 4 6 16001 C 19 2 2 4 8020 D 19 0 4 4 61000 D 19 0 4 4 8000 LW 4 1 1 2 2000 D 10 0 2 2 21000 G 3 0 0 0 0000 G 18 0 0 0 6000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LGAGAA SO 1120 18 15 3 47 2.52 1 64 3 0 1 5 4.69 0 Team: 1184 19 15 4 52 2.64 1

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;

Record winning streak From January 21 to February 20, the Islanders set a National Hockey League record by winning 15 consecutive games. Since regular-season overtime did not yet exist, all of these games had to be (and were) won in regulation time. During the streak, the Islanders outscored the opposition 97-35 for a +62 goal differential over the 15 games. The record was surpassed in 1993 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won 17 consecutive games, two of which were in overtime.

Playoffs

Patrick Division semi-finals

Islanders vs. Pittsburgh Penguins The Islanders won the first two games of the best-of-5 series, outscoring Pittsburgh 15–3. The Penguins then came back to even the series with two victories of their own. In Game 5, the Islanders came from behind to win in overtime. The tying and winning goals were both scored by John Tonelli. April 7 Islanders 8, Penguins 1 April 8 Islanders 7, Penguins 2 April 10 Penguins 2, Islanders 1(OT) April 11 Penguins 5, Islanders 2 April 13 Islanders 4, Penguins 3(OT)

Islanders win series, 3 games to 2

Patrick Division Finals

Islanders vs. New York Rangers After losing the opener, their first loss at home since December 29, the Islanders came back to win the next three games and, eventually, the series in six. The key goals were Bryan Trottier's overtime winner of Game 3 and Dave Langevin's in the third period of Game 6 that proved to be the series clincher. April 15 Rangers 5, Islanders 4 April 16 Islanders 7, Rangers 2 April 18 Islanders 4, Rangers 3(OT) April 19 Islanders 5, Rangers 3 April 21 Rangers 4, Islanders 2 April 23 Islanders 5, Rangers 3

Islanders win series, 4 games to 2

Wales Conference Finals

Islanders vs. Quebec Nordiques The Islanders defeated the Nords decisively in the first two games played at the Nassau Coliseum. In Quebec, they won Game 3 in overtime on a goal scored by Wayne Merrick and finished the sweep three days later to advance to the Finals. April 27 Islanders 4, Nordiques 1 April 29 Islanders 5, Nordiques 2 May 1 Islanders 5, Nordiques 4(OT) May 4 Islanders 4, Nordiques 2

Islanders win series, 4 games to 0

Stanley Cup Finals

New York Islanders vs. Vancouver Canucks