1976–77 New York Islanders season

1976–77 New York Islanders
Division	2nd Patrick
Conference	Campbell
1976–77 record	47–21–12
Goals for	288
Goals against	193
Team information
General manager	Bill Torrey
Coach	Al Arbour
Captain	Ed Westfall and Clark Gillies
Alternate captains	None

The 1976–77 New York Islanders season was the fifth season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.

Regular season

Final standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Philadelphia Flyers	80	48	16	16	323	213	112
New York Islanders	80	47	21	12	288	193	106
Atlanta Flames	80	34	34	12	264	265	80
New York Rangers	80	29	37	14	272	310	72

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Patrick Division 1976–77 NHL records Team ATL NYI NYR PHI Total Atlanta — 0–6 4–1–1 2–2–2 6–9–3 N.Y. Islanders 6–0 — 4–1–1 3–2–1 13–3–2 N.Y. Rangers 1–4–1 1–4–1 — 0–2–4 2–10–6 Philadelphia 2–2–2 2–3–1 2–0–4 — 6–5–7 Vs. Smythe Division 1976–77 NHL records Team CHI COL MIN STL VAN Total Atlanta 3–2 3–1–1 2–1–2 4–1 1–3–1 13–8–4 N.Y. Islanders 3–1–1 5–0 3–1–1 3–1–1 4–1 18–4–3 N.Y. Rangers 2–2–1 3–1–1 5–0 2–2–1 3–2 15–7–3 Philadelphia 3–0–2 5–0 3–0–2 5–0 4–0–1 20–0–5 Vs. Adams Division 1976–77 NHL records Team BOS BUF CLE TOR Total Atlanta 2–2 1–2–1 1–2–1 1–4 5–10–2 N.Y. Islanders 2–1–1 3–1–1 3–0–1 1–2–1 9–4–4 N.Y. Rangers 0–4–1 0–4 3–0–1 2–1–1 5–9–3 Philadelphia 3–1 2–2 3–1–1 2–1–1 10–5–2 Vs. Norris Division 1976–77 NHL records Team DET LAK MTL PIT WSH Total Atlanta 2–1–1 2–2 0–3–1 3–0–1 3–1 10–7–3 N.Y. Islanders 2–2 2–2 0–4 2–2 1–0–3 7–10–3 N.Y. Rangers 3–1 0–3–1 1–3 1–2–1 2–2 7–11–2 Philadelphia 3–1 4–0 0–4 3–1 2–0–2 12–6–2

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 7, 1976	3–0	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	1–0–0
2	W	October 9, 1976	2–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	2–0–0
3	W	October 12, 1976	7–0	Atlanta Flames (1976–77)	3–0–0
4	W	October 13, 1976	4–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	4–0–0
5	T	October 16, 1976	4–4	Cleveland Barons (1976–77)	4–0–1
6	W	October 19, 1976	6–1	Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	5–0–1
7	L	October 22, 1976	0–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	5–1–1
8	W	October 23, 1976	5–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	6–1–1
9	L	October 25, 1976	1–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	6–2–1
10	W	October 28, 1976	5–2	St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	7–2–1
11	T	October 30, 1976	3–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	7–2–2
12	W	November 1, 1976	3–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	8–2–2
13	W	November 2, 1976	5–1	@ Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	9–2–2
14	W	November 6, 1976	5–2	Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	10–2–2
15	W	November 9, 1976	8–1	Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	11–2–2
16	T	November 11, 1976	2–2	@ Boston Bruins (1976–77)	11–2–3
17	W	November 13, 1976	3–2	@ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	12–2–3
18	W	November 18, 1976	3–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	13–2–3
19	W	November 19, 1976	6–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	14–2–3
20	L	November 23, 1976	1–5	Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	14–3–3
21	L	November 25, 1976	1–3	Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	14–4–3
22	W	November 27, 1976	3–1	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	15–4–3
23	L	November 28, 1976	3–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	15–5–3
24	L	November 30, 1976	2–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	15–6–3
25	L	December 2, 1976	2–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	15–7–3
26	W	December 4, 1976	3–0	Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	16–7–3
27	W	December 7, 1976	4–2	St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	17–7–3
28	W	December 11, 1976	6–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	18–7–3
29	W	December 12, 1976	6–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	19–7–3
30	T	December 14, 1976	4–4	New York Rangers (1976–77)	19–7–4
31	W	December 17, 1976	4–2	@ Atlanta Flames (1976–77)	20–7–4
32	L	December 18, 1976	2–4	Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	20–8–4
33	W	December 21, 1976	3–0	Boston Bruins (1976–77)	21–8–4
34	W	December 26, 1976	2–1	@ New York Rangers (1976–77)	22–8–4
35	T	December 28, 1976	4–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	22–8–5
36	L	January 1, 1977	1–5	Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	22–9–5
37	T	January 2, 1977	3–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	22–9–6
38	W	January 7, 1977	5–4	@ Atlanta Flames (1976–77)	23–9–6
39	W	January 8, 1977	6–3	Atlanta Flames (1976–77)	24–9–6
40	W	January 10, 1977	8–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	25–9–6
41	L	January 12, 1977	1–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	25–10–6
42	W	January 15, 1977	2–1	Washington Capitals (1976–77)	26–10–6
43	T	January 16, 1977	2–2	@ Washington Capitals (1976–77)	26–10–7
44	W	January 18, 1977	7–2	Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	27–10–7
45	W	January 20, 1977	4–3	@ Boston Bruins (1976–77)	28–10–7
46	L	January 22, 1977	2–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	28–11–7
47	W	January 23, 1977	7–1	@ Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	29–11–7
48	L	January 27, 1977	1–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	29–12–7
49	L	January 29, 1977	0–4	Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	29–13–7
50	L	January 30, 1977	1–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	29–14–7
51	W	February 1, 1977	6–3	Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	30–14–7
52	W	February 3, 1977	6–3	New York Rangers (1976–77)	31–14–7
53	T	February 5, 1977	3–3	Washington Capitals (1976–77)	31–14–8
54	L	February 6, 1977	0–4	@ New York Rangers (1976–77)	31–15–8
55	W	February 8, 1977	4–1	Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	32–15–8
56	W	February 12, 1977	2–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	33–15–8
57	W	February 14, 1977	2–1	@ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	34–15–8
58	L	February 15, 1977	0–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	34–16–8
59	W	February 19, 1977	5–2	New York Rangers (1976–77)	35–16–8
60	T	February 20, 1977	2–2	@ Washington Capitals (1976–77)	35–16–9
61	W	February 22, 1977	2–1	Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	36–16–9
62	W	February 25, 1977	2–1	@ Cleveland Barons (1976–77)	37–16–9
63	W	February 26, 1977	8–2	Atlanta Flames (1976–77)	38–16–9
64	L	March 1, 1977	4–5	Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	38–17–9
65	W	March 3, 1977	4–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	39–17–9
66	L	March 5, 1977	1–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	39–18–9
67	W	March 6, 1977	5–0	@ Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	40–18–9
68	L	March 8, 1977	1–3	Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	40–19–9
69	W	March 9, 1977	6–2	@ Atlanta Flames (1976–77)	41–19–9
70	W	March 12, 1977	8–3	Cleveland Barons (1976–77)	42–19–9
71	T	March 13, 1977	5–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	42–19–10
72	W	March 16, 1977	5–0	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	43–19–10
73	T	March 19, 1977	2–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	43–19–11
74	W	March 22, 1977	9–2	Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	44–19–11
75	T	March 23, 1977	1–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	44–19–12
76	W	March 26, 1977	5–2	St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	45–19–12
77	W	March 27, 1977	6–3	@ Cleveland Barons (1976–77)	46–19–12
78	L	March 29, 1977	1–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	46–20–12
79	L	April 2, 1977	3–5	Boston Bruins (1976–77)	46–21–12
80	W	April 3, 1977	5–2	@ New York Rangers (1976–77)	47–21–12

Playoffs

Preliminary

(4) New York Islanders vs. (12) Chicago Black Hawks

April 5	Chicago Black Hawks		2–5		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
Tony Esposito (32 saves)		Goalie stats			Billy Smith (14 saves)

April 7	Chicago Black Hawks		1–2		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
Tony Esposito (17 saves)		Goalie stats			Billy Smith (33 saves)

New York wins 2–0

Semifinals

(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) New York Islanders

April 23

New York Islanders

3–4

Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Forum

April 26

New York Islanders

0–3

Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Forum

April 28

Montreal Canadiens

3–5

New York Islanders

Nassau Coliseum

April 30

Montreal Canadiens

4–0

New York Islanders

Nassau Coliseum

May 3

New York Islanders

4–3

OT

Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Forum

May 5

Montreal Canadiens

2–1

New York Islanders

Nassau Coliseum

Montreal won series 4–2

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Denis Potvin D 80 25 55 80 103 42 7 1 4 Bryan Trottier C 76 30 42 72 34 28 11 1 6 Billy Harris RW 80 24 43 67 44 18 5 1 3 Bob Nystrom RW 80 29 27 56 91 22 5 0 3 J.P. Parise LW 80 25 31 56 46 26 5 0 7 Clark Gillies LW 70 33 22 55 93 18 12 0 5 Jude Drouin C 78 24 29 53 27 18 4 0 2 Ed Westfall D/RW 79 14 33 47 8 21 1 3 0 Jean Potvin D 79 10 36 46 26 14 1 1 0 Bob Bourne C 75 16 19 35 30 27 0 0 5 Lorne Henning C 80 13 18 31 10 21 0 6 2 Garry Howatt LW 70 13 15 28 182 14 1 0 4 Dave Lewis D 79 4 24 28 44 29 0 1 1 Bert Marshall D 72 4 21 25 61 48 0 0 1 Pat Price D 71 3 22 25 25 26 2 0 0 Andre St. Laurent C 72 10 13 23 55 8 2 0 3 Gerry Hart D 80 4 18 22 98 29 0 1 0 Billy MacMillan RW 43 6 8 14 13 4 0 1 1 Richie Hansen C 4 1 0 1 0 −1 0 0 0 Bob Lorimer D 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 Chico Resch G 46 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Billy Smith G 36 0 1 1 12 0 0 0 0 Walt Ledingham LW 4 0 0 0 0 −1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO Chico Resch 2711 46 26 13 6 103 2.28 4 Billy Smith 2089 36 21 8 6 87 2.50 2 Team: 4800 80 47 21 12 190 2.37 6

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Billy Harris RW 12 7 7 14 8 2 0 1 Jude Drouin C 12 5 6 11 6 1 0 0 Denis Potvin D 12 6 4 10 20 2 0 0 Bryan Trottier C 12 2 8 10 2 0 0 0 Clark Gillies LW 12 4 4 8 15 0 0 4 J.P. Parise LW 11 4 4 8 6 1 0 0 Dave Lewis D 12 1 6 7 4 0 0 0 Ed Westfall D/RW 12 1 5 6 0 0 1 0 Jean Potvin D 11 0 4 4 6 0 0 0 Andre St. Laurent C 12 1 2 3 6 0 0 1 Bob Bourne C 8 2 0 2 4 0 0 0 Billy MacMillan RW 12 2 0 2 7 0 0 2 Garry Howatt LW 12 1 1 2 28 0 0 0 Gerry Hart D 12 0 2 2 23 0 0 0 Bob Nystrom RW 12 0 2 2 7 0 0 0 Lorne Henning C 12 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Pat Price D 10 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 Dave Salvian RW 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 Bert Marshall D 6 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 Chico Resch G 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Billy Smith G 10 0 0 0 8 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO Billy Smith 580 10 7 3 27 2.79 0 Chico Resch 144 3 1 1 5 2.08 0 Team: 724 12 8 4 32 2.65 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;

Draft picks

New York's draft picks at the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft held in Montreal.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	14	Alex McKendry	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
2	32	Mike Kaszycki	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)
3	50	Garth MacGuigan	Canada	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
4	68	Ken Morrow	United States	Bowling Green University (CCHA)
5	86	Mike Hordy	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)
6	104	Yvon Vautour	Canada	Laval National (QMJHL)

See also

• 1976–77 NHL season

References

• "1976–77 New York Islanders Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 6, 2009.