1976–77 New York Islanders season

1976–77 New York Islanders
Division2nd Patrick
Conference2nd Campbell
1976–77 record47–21–12
Home record24–11–5
Road record23–10–7
Goals for288
Goals against193
Team information
General managerBill Torrey
CoachAl Arbour
CaptainEd Westfall and Clark Gillies
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaNassau Coliseum
Team leaders
GoalsClark Gillies (33)
AssistsDenis Potvin (55)
PointsDenis Potvin (80)
Penalty minutesGarry Howatt (182)
WinsChico Resch (26)
Goals against averageChico Resch (2.28)

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

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Philadelphia Flyers 80 48 16 16 323 213 112
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

[1]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


Schedule and results

1976–77 regular season[3]
October
Game Result 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
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
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
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
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
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
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
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
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
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
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
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
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

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

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

Quarterfinals

(4) New York Islanders vs. (5) Buffalo Sabres

April 11 Buffalo Sabres 2–4 New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum Recap  
No scoring First period 12:28 – Garry Howatt (1)
18:44 – Billy Harris (1)
Gilbert Perreault (1) – 09:38
Rene Robert (3) – 11:39 		Second period 12:04 – Clark Gillies (2)
18:33 – Jude Drouin (2)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Don Edwards 24 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats Billy Smith 37 saves / 39 shots
April 13 Buffalo Sabres 2–4 New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum Recap  
Don Luce (1) – 11:26
Rene Robert (4) – pp – 15:40 		First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 13:50 – Bob Bourne (2)
16:31 – Bryan Trottier (1)
No scoring Third period 08:30 – Clark Gillies (3)
11:35 – Dave Lewis (1)
Don Edwards 18 saves / 22 shots Goalie stats Billy Smith 24 saves / 26 shots
April 15 New York Islanders 4–3 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Recap  
Billy Harris (2) – 17:39 First period 02:18 – pp – Rick Martin (2)
06:29 – pp – Jerry Korab (2)
Jude Drouin (3) – 10:55
Jude Drouin (4) – pp – 13:40 		Second period No scoring
Clark Gillies (4) – 00:09 Third period 10:10 – pp – Don Luce (2)
Billy Smith 45 saves / 48 shots Goalie stats Don Edwards 19 saves / 23 shots
April 17 New York Islanders 4–3 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Recap  
Billy Harris (3) – pp – 10:29 First period 02:49 – Jocelyn Guevremont (3)
Ed Westfall (1) – sh – 09:54
Denis Potvin (2) – 18:51 		Second period 06:16 – pp – Don Luce (3)
Billy MacMillan (2) – 07:42 Third period 04:57 – Rene Robert (5)
Billy Smith 26 saves / 29 shots Goalie stats Gerry Desjardins 17 saves / 21 shots
New York won series 4–0


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

[4]

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

Transactions

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

References

  1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "1976-77 New York Islanders Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
  4. ^ "1976-77 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
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