Found a new Islanders video on YouTube.com today. This is from Islanders at Rangers, October 23, 1983. The Isles are trailing 5-2 with less than 5 minutes left in the game. Denis Potvin scores at 15:15 to make it 5-3. Bryan Trottier scores about 12 seconds later and then Bob Bourne about 18 seconds after that. 3 goals, 30 seconds, tie game.
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Unfortunately, it appears the Islanders go on to lose the game 6-5 to the Rangers. I’m not 100% sure about the “fastest 3 goals in history” claim, so if anyone can prove/disprove, please let me know.
Over on YouTube, the Islanders have posted a few more “official” videos. This batch includes the tribute videos for Bossy, Trottier, Gillies, and Arbour. There is also “The Equalizer” video which is a collection of classic Islander moments since 1972. Check them out below.
Mike Bossy #22 Tribute Video
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Bryan Trottier #19 Tribute Video
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Clark Gillies #9 Tribute Video
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Al Arbour Tribute Video
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“The Equalizer”
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Just because the Islanders have been eliminated from the playoffs doesn’t mean we here at IslandersArmy can’t bring up a pleasant memory. For part four in our Back In The Day series, we go back to April 18, 1980, courtesy of the Toronto Globe And Mail. Check out who got thrown in the box for the Bruins at the end of the first period.
Slugfest ends in overtime Islanders triumph in Battle of Boston
18 April 1980
The Globe And Mail
Bob Bourne scored an unassisted goal 1:24 into overtime, lifting New York Islanders to a 5-4 victory over the Bruins that gave them a 2-0 lead in their National Hockey League quarter-finals playoff series last night in a game at Boston marred by on-ice violence.
The Bruins tried to clear the puck out of their own zone, but Bourne stopped it at the blueline and put his fourth goal of the playoffs past Boston goalie Gerry Cheevers.
A total of 254 minutes of penalties were handed out, 128 to the Islanders. That figure set records for penalty minutes by both teams and one team in a Stanley Cup game.
Eight fights erupted in the first period. The tone was set when Clarke Gillies, who scored in overtime to win Wednesday’s first game for the Islanders, and Terry O’Reilly squared off at 2:46.
They battled again seven seconds before the end of the period, and at the end of the period four separate fights broke out as both teams milled anxiously on the ice.
That brawl resulted in the ejection of Duane Sutter, Bob Lorimer, Gord Lane and Garry Howatt, all of New York, and Mike Milbury, Wayne Cashman, Al Secord and Stan Jonathan, all of Boston.
In that period, a total of 248 minutes in penalties were called, 124 against each team, surpassing previous Stanley Cup marks for penalty minutes in a single period by both team and by one team.
Bryan Trottier gave New York a 1-0 lead at 16:08 of the first period with his fourth playoff goal. He converted a rebound on a shot by Ken Morrow. Rick Smith tied the game at 1:32 of the second period on a 15-foot shot from the left faceoff circle.
[UPDATE] Thanks to YouTube, you can not only read about it, you can watch it! - murph
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As promised, I’ve uploaded some videos to YouTube of the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals Game 4. The Islanders defeated Vancouver 3-1 and won the series 4 games to none. We start it off with all the Islanders goals of the game, including 2 by Conn Smythe winner Mike Bossy.
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Next up we’ve got the end of the game and the beginning of the celebration on the ice.
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Finally we wrap it up with the post-game interviews, Bossy, Trotts, the Sutter brothers, John Pickett, Butch Goring, and Al Arbour.
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Random Islanders and NHL stories from around the web this weekend. How about them J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!?
- With his hot start (15GP / 7G-12A-19P), Alexei Yashin is on pace for over 100 points this season. That would be a career best, and 25 points better than any season with the Islanders. Yashin’s agent Mark Gandler credits Coach Nolan’s use of Alexei on the PK and PP as some of the reasons.
“He needs the proper environment. So far, Ted has definitely provided that. That’s where the cornerstone of the relationship with the coach is. But Ted’s intentions were to do it, and he actually has done it. That’s what the difference is between him and some other coaches.”
- NewYorkIslanders.com talks with Bryan Trottier about his return to Long Island, and his new job as Islanders Executive Director of Player Development.
Q: What’s it like now working with Ted Nolan and Garth Snow?
A: “Ted is a great addition and Garth is a great person to have as GM. There is a lot of enthusiasm and respect among us and I feel a solid bond is developing. So I’m excited for that. They are both honest hard working guys that are organized and structured. I like the confidence they both portray and the attention to detail that makes for a winning atmosphere and attitude. They have a genuine passion for the game and a determination to succeed. I believe they have the players’ respect which breeds discipline and fortitude. They’re good to ask advice and quick to find solutions; so all in all I am really enjoying working with Ted and Garth.
“The whole hockey group is committed and it’s been refreshing to be around them all. Although the season will have its challenges, it’s all about team commitment. We’ve got a lot of fire here and that should turn into wins on the ice. Ted’s fair, but he’s demanding. I think that’s good and the players need to come ready to play. Fans should feel the energy and see the hard work, hustle and grit. It’s going to be a fun time and it’s a good time to be involved.”
- DP and Asham mixed it up a little in practice last week.
That’s when DiPietro rushed Asham, throwing a right hand as if he meant business. Asham, who hammered Devils enforcer Cam Janssen just a week ago, swung back as the two tried to get at each other, but teammates moved in quickly to stop it before any damage was done. The next time Asham set up in front of DiPietro, the goaltender pushed him in the back, but Asham let it go.
- Ex-Islander and now Ranger Darius Kasparaitis has been playing at Hartford, the Rangers minor league affiliate. Kasper must be brought back up to the big club or placed on waivers today.
- Finally, Larry Brooks of the NY Post wonders the same thing I have been wondering. “Why the hell are the home teams choosing to shoot first in the shootouts?” Seriously. I thought this was no-brainer myself, who wouldn’t want last licks in the shootout? Brooks brings the facts to prove us right.
Through Thursday night’s games, home-team coaches actually had chosen to go first in 22 of the 32 shootouts. Their teams had gone 9-13. Home teams going second, meanwhile, were 8-2.
Through Thursday, there had been 76 goals scored on 259 attempts in the season’s 32 shootouts. This means shooters succeed on 29.3 percent of their chances. What this means is that there is a 7-in-10 chance the home team will fail to take the lead on its first attempt and thus heavily weight the numbers in favor of the visitors.
Big Islander Win on The Big Opening Night. Day started off with my flight from Jacksonville delayed by three hours. Still managed to make it to the tailgate by 5:30. By that time the lot was about a third full with plenty of tailgaters, lots of horn-honking and “Let’s Go Islander” chants. Couple beers and a burger later, the IslandersArmy crew headed to our seats in Section 320, about two rows below the obstructed view seats, so we were happy.
Night starts off with Sparky the Dragon descending from the rafters. Sparky is so lame. I’m a Jet fan and it bothers me that the Green Guys play their home games in Giant Stadium. Bothers me a lot. But how much lamer is it that the Islanders have to offer the mascot for the Arena Football League’s New York Dragons some part-time work to moonlight as their own mascot? As far as I know, there were never any Dragons on Long Island. And even if there were, they wouldn’t be skating on the ice cause one false breath and it would all be over. I just can’t stand historical inaccuracies is all. So Sparky is on the ice, joined by two Ice Girls who like they’re going clubbing and minutes later, the PA man says give a warm welcome to Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier. I was so fired up for this going in. I mean it was Bossy and Trots. I still get goosebumps watching highlights of these guys. They spoiled us all. So Bossy and Trots come out in suits. They look smooth. Have to say here that I was disappointed with the crowd. I understand people were still filing in and it was a Saturday so the place was packed with kids, but I would have liked a more vocal reaction. There were some “Bos-sey” chants and that was fun, but overall it was kind of weak.
Onto the game, Bruins were bringing it early and the Isles looked sluggish, playing back on their heals. There was pretty much no hitting at all in the first 10 minutes of the game. Mike Dunham started his second straight game and was easily the best Islander on the ice in the first period, making several nice saves during three consecutive Boston power plays. Glenn Murray managed to sneak one past Dunham at the end of the final power play, on what might have been the Bruins’ 100th shot of the period. We go into the first intermission Islanders down 1-0.
After that it was all good guys - Mike Sillinger got it started off with a goal off of a sweet pass from Satan, putting the puck off the left arm of the keeper and into the net. One of the Army’s favorites - Mighty Jason Blake - got his first of the year with a slap shot with about six minutes left in the period. As usual Blake skated hard all night, sometimes looking a bit out of control, but you have to love the guy’s effort. Blake started off the third period on a power play by putting in his own rebound. Some kid sitting near us threatened Blake that he better get a hat trick. The kid was about 8. The scoring closed when Blake fed a perfect cross-ice pass to Tom Poti who re-directed it past the keeper. After scoring, Poti remained bent over the keeper, looked like he was staring him down, maybe even talking smack. Not sure what the hell that was about, but I dug it. Isles controlled the puck for the rest of the way and easily won 4-1. Good times.
The highlight of the night, for me, was the second intermission when the team brought back Bossy and Trottier to take part in the shootout, with each guy shooting on behalf of a lucky fan. Trots went first, dressed in the home whites, and put three of his 15 shots in. I know these guys are older and wearing button-down shirts under too-big brand new jerseys, but this still shows how hard it is to shoot a puck from the blue line into a gap about four-pucks wide in the middle of the net. If Trots gets just three, it ain’t easy. So Bossy, wearing Blue jersey (thankfully not the Orange) goes next and while I love both of these guys, Bossy’s always been my favorite. When I was a kid I seriously expected him to score every time he touched the puck. Kind of like my wife expected me to gas up the car every time I walk by the damn thing. My only care was that the BossMan not embarass himself. I couldn’t handle that. I didn’t have to worry. I lost count as the cheers started getting louder and louder and Bossy started unleashing the shots faster and faster. I would say, being totally objective, that he must have scored 32 times on his 15 shots. I know the math doesn’t work out but just trust me on this. Bossy was great. The “Bos-sey” chants started when he had about five shots left, with even Trots participating by banging his stick on the ice to the rhythm of the chants. It was great. The Old First-Liners back on the ice, getting the crowd excited, cheering each other on, and putting the puck in the net.
[murph's comments] Attendance was 14,000 and change, first time since 1999 the Isles didn’t sell out the home opener. Not bad, but I thought there would be more of a walk up. The Mets playoff game probably didn’t help much. Islanders All-Time home opener record is 22-10-1-1.
The third jerseys are nice, I do actually like them…but on a night where Trotts and Boss are right there, do us all a favor and wear some classic blue next time. The other thought regarding jerseys we had last night was that anyone walking into the Coliseum at this point still wearing the fisherman jersey should receive a brand new jersey free of charge. Give ‘em the orange one, I don’t care, just kill off the fisherman for good. I don’t know what these people are thinking when they wear that debacle to the game. I’d show up buck nekkid before I showed up wearing %$@& Captain Ahab. Off to Jersey to see the Jets…
Video Highlights from NHL.com
Hey Islander fans, are you busy for the next fifteen minutes? I hope not…because you are now. IslandersArmy.com has fifteen minutes of Stanley Cup celebrating, drinking, and interviews from 1981.
First we start with the end of the game - the last :45 seconds and the beginning of the celebration. On ice interviews with Bryan Trottier, Butch Goring (Conn Smythe Trophy Winner), Denis Potvin, and John Tonelli. Then the action heads inside the locker room where there is a lot of champagne being sprayed and an interview with Mike Bossy. Finally, they present the Conn Smythe trophy to Goring.
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In part two, there are interviews with Anders Kallur, Clark Gillies, Wayne Merrick (game winning goal), and Ken Morrow.
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Look, I know it’s been a tough day. So I uploaded some videos to help ease the pain.
1980 All-Star Game from Detroit, MI. Wales beat the Campbell 6-3. This first clip is the pre-game introductions featuring Trotts, Boss, and Phil Esposito getting booed. It was Gordie “Mr. Hockey” Howe’s final All-Star Game appearance, and he gets a 2+ minute standing ovation. Sweet.
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Here’s some game footage. Trotts and Boss played together on the same line. They unfortunately did not score. In this clip they work it down low and get some great chances though.
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