1985–86 New York Islanders season

1985–86 New York Islanders
1985–86 New York Islanders
Division	3rd Patrick
Conference	4th Wales
1985–86 record	39–29–12
Home record	22–11–7
Road record	17–18–5
Goals for	327
Goals against	284
Team information
General manager	Bill Torrey
Coach	Al Arbour
Captain	Denis Potvin
Alternate captains	Bryan Trottier; Brent Sutter
Arena	Nassau Coliseum
Team leaders
Goals	Mike Bossy (61)
Assists	Mike Bossy (62)
Points	Mike Bossy (123)
Penalty minutes	Duane Sutter (157)
Plus/minus	Denis Potvin (+34)
Wins	Billy Smith (20)
Goals against average	Kelly Hrudey (3.21)

The 1985–86 New York Islanders season was the 14th season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.

Offseason

Regular season

January 28: In a 9–2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, Denis Potvin breaks Bobby Orr's NHL career record for goals by a defenseman.

Final standings

Patrick Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Philadelphia Flyers	80	53	23	4	335	241	110
Washington Capitals	80	50	23	7	315	272	107
	80	39	29	12	327	284	90
New York Rangers	80	36	38	6	280	276	78
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	34	38	8	313	305	76
New Jersey Devils	80	28	49	3	300	374	59

^[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

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Patrick Division

1985–86 NHL records^[2]
Team	NJD	NYI	NYR	PHI	PIT	WSH	Total
New Jersey	—	2−5	2−5	3−4	2−4−1	1−6	10−24−1
	5−2	—	3−3−1	4−3	5−1−1	3−4	20−13−2
N.Y. Rangers	5−2	3−3−1	—	1−6	2−4−1	3−3−1	14−18−3
Philadelphia	4−3	3−4	6−1	—	6−0−1	5−2	24−10−1
Pittsburgh	4−2−1	1−5−1	4−2−1	0–6−1	—	1−6	10−21−4
Washington	6−1	4−3	3−3−1	2–5	6−1	—	21−13−1

Vs. Adams Division

1985–86 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	HFD	MTL	QUE	Total
New Jersey	0−3	1−2	1−2	1−2	2−1	5−10−0
	1−0−2	1−2	2−1	1−2	1−2	6−7−2
N.Y. Rangers	2−1	0−3	1−2	2−0−1	0−2−1	5−8−2
Philadelphia	2−1	1−2	3−0	2−1	1−1−1	9−5−1
Pittsburgh	1−2	2−0−1	1−2	0−2−1	1−1−1	5−7−3
Washington	2−0−1	1−1−1	2−0−1	2−0−1	3−0	10−1−4

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Norris Division

1985–86 NHL records
Team	CHI	DET	MIN	STL	TOR	Total
New Jersey	2−1	2−0−1	1−2	1−2	1−2	7−7−1
	0−2−1	3−0	0−2−1	1−1−1	3−0	7−5−3
N.Y. Rangers	0−3	3−0	1−2	1−1−1	2−1	7−7−1
Philadelphia	2−0−1	2−1	2−0−1	2−1	2−1	10−3−2
Pittsburgh	1−1−1	2−1	3−0	2−1	3−0	11−3−1
Washington	2−1	2−1	2−1	3−0	2−1	11−4−0

Vs. Smythe Division

1985–86 NHL records
Team	CGY	EDM	LAK	VAN	WIN	Total
New Jersey	0−2−1	0−3	2−1	2−1	2−1	6−8−1
	1−1−1	0−1−2	2−1	1−1−1	2−0−1	6−4−5
N.Y. Rangers	1−2	2−1	2−1	3−0	2−1	10−5−0
Philadelphia	2−1	1−2	3−0	2−1	2−1	10−5−0
Pittsburgh	1−2	1−2	2−1	2−1	2−1	8−7−0
Washington	0−3	3−0	2−1	2−0−1	1−1−1	8−5−2

Schedule and results

1985–86 regular season^[3]

October

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 12, 1985	5–4 OT	@ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86)	1–0–0
2	L	October 14, 1985	2–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86)	1–1–0
3	L	October 16, 1985	4–6	@ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86)	1–2–0
4	W	October 19, 1985	5–4	New York Rangers (1985–86)	2–2–0
5	T	October 22, 1985	2–2 OT	Vancouver Canucks (1985–86)	2–2–1
6	W	October 24, 1985	6–5	Quebec Nordiques (1985–86)	3–2–1
7	W	October 26, 1985	5–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	4–2–1
8	L	October 29, 1985	2–3	Los Angeles Kings (1985–86)	4–3–1

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
9	L	November 1, 1985	3–5	@ Washington Capitals (1985–86)	4–4–1
10	W	November 2, 1985	5–3	Washington Capitals (1985–86)	5–4–1
11	T	November 5, 1985	4–4 OT	Calgary Flames (1985–86)	5–4–2
12	W	November 6, 1985	5–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	6–4–2
13	W	November 9, 1985	3–2	New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	7–4–2
14	L	November 12, 1985	2–3	Montreal Canadiens (1985–86)	7–5–2
15	T	November 16, 1985	4–4 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1985–86)	7–5–3
16	L	November 17, 1985	4–5 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	7–6–3
17	W	November 19, 1985	8–6	Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	8–6–3
18	T	November 21, 1985	4–4 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1985–86)	8–6–4
19	L	November 23, 1985	0–5	New York Rangers (1985–86)	8–7–4
20	W	November 24, 1985	4–3 OT	@ New York Rangers (1985–86)	9–7–4
21	T	November 27, 1985	4–4 OT	@ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86)	9–7–5
22	W	November 29, 1985	4–1	@ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86)	10–7–5
23	L	November 30, 1985	3–4	@ Calgary Flames (1985–86)	10–8–5

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
24	T	December 3, 1985	4–4 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1985–86)	10–8–6
25	L	December 6, 1985	3–7	@ Quebec Nordiques (1985–86)	10–9–6
26	L	December 7, 1985	1–4	Quebec Nordiques (1985–86)	10–10–6
27	W	December 10, 1985	7–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	11–10–6
28	T	December 11, 1985	4–4 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	11–10–7
29	T	December 14, 1985	2–2 OT	St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	11–10–8
30	W	December 17, 1985	7–3	Buffalo Sabres (1985–86)	12–10–8
31	T	December 20, 1985	2–2 OT	@ New York Rangers (1985–86)	12–10–9
32	L	December 21, 1985	4–5	New York Rangers (1985–86)	12–11–9
33	W	December 23, 1985	6–3	@ Hartford Whalers (1985–86)	13–11–9
34	L	December 26, 1985	3–4	Hartford Whalers (1985–86)	13–12–9
35	W	December 28, 1985	4–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	14–12–9
36	L	December 29, 1985	3–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86)	14–13–9
37	W	December 31, 1985	5–4 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	15–13–9

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
38	W	January 2, 1986	7–5	Boston Bruins (1985–86)	16–13–9
39	L	January 4, 1986	1–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	16–14–9
40	L	January 7, 1986	2–3	Minnesota North Stars (1985–86)	16–15–9
41	W	January 9, 1986	9–0	Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	17–15–9
42	W	January 11, 1986	8–2	Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	18–15–9
43	L	January 15, 1986	3–6	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	18–16–9
44	W	January 17, 1986	4–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	19–16–9
45	L	January 18, 1986	0–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1985–86)	19–17–9
46	W	January 21, 1986	7–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	20–17–9
47	W	January 24, 1986	7–5	@ Washington Capitals (1985–86)	21–17–9
48	T	January 25, 1986	3–3 OT	Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	21–17–10
49	W	January 28, 1986	9–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	22–17–10
50	W	January 30, 1986	8–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	23–17–10

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
51	W	February 1, 1986	4–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	24–17–10
52	W	February 2, 1986	3–2 OT	@ New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	25–17–10
53	L	February 5, 1986	2–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	25–18–10
54	W	February 8, 1986	4–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86)	26–18–10
55	W	February 11, 1986	1–0	Vancouver Canucks (1985–86)	27–18–10
56	L	February 13, 1986	3–6	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	27–19–10
57	W	February 15, 1986	6–5	New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	28–19–10
58	L	February 18, 1986	4–5	Washington Capitals (1985–86)	28–20–10
59	L	February 21, 1986	1–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86)	28–21–10
60	W	February 22, 1986	5–2	Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	29–21–10
61	L	February 26, 1986	2–7	@ New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	29–22–10
62	W	February 28, 1986	6–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86)	30–22–10

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
63	L	March 1, 1986	4–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86)	30–23–10
64	W	March 4, 1986	6–3	Montreal Canadiens (1985–86)	31–23–10
65	L	March 8, 1986	2–6	Washington Capitals (1985–86)	31–24–10
66	L	March 9, 1986	1–3	@ Washington Capitals (1985–86)	31–25–10
67	W	March 11, 1986	8–4	Calgary Flames (1985–86)	32–25–10
68	W	March 13, 1986	3–2	@ Hartford Whalers (1985–86)	33–25–10
69	W	March 15, 1986	3–1	New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	34–25–10
70	L	March 16, 1986	1–3	@ New York Rangers (1985–86)	34–26–10
71	W	March 18, 1986	6–2	New York Rangers (1985–86)	35–26–10
72	W	March 20, 1986	7–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	36–26–10
73	T	March 22, 1986	3–3 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1985–86)	36–26–11
74	L	March 25, 1986	0–2	St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	36–27–11
75	W	March 28, 1986	4–3	@ Washington Capitals (1985–86)	37–27–11
76	T	March 29, 1986	4–4 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1985–86)	37–27–12

April

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
77	L	April 1, 1986	2–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	37–28–12
78	W	April 2, 1986	7–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	38–28–12
79	W	April 5, 1986	7–1	New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	39–28–12
80	L	April 6, 1986	7–9	@ New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	39–29–12

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

Playoffs

The Islanders lost in their best-of-five series in the first round to the Washington Capitals.

Round 1: New York Islanders (3) vs. Washington Capitals (2)

Game 1- Islanders 1, Capitals 3

Game 2- Islanders 2, Capitals 5

Game 3- Capitals 3, Islanders 1

Washington wins series 3-0

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Mike Bossy	RW	80	61	62	123	14	30	21	1	9
Bryan Trottier	C	78	37	59	96	72	29	5	1	3
John Tonelli	LW	65	20	41	61	50	22	3	0	1
Denis Potvin	D	74	21	38	59	78	34	8	1	4
Brent Sutter	C	61	24	31	55	74	11	10	0	2
Pat LaFontaine	C	65	30	23	53	43	16	2	0	4
Duane Sutter	RW	80	20	33	53	157	15	4	0	1
Pat Flatley	RW	73	18	34	52	66	20	6	0	2
Tomas Jonsson	D	77	14	30	44	62	16	5	1	1
Mikko Makela	RW	58	16	20	36	28	12	2	0	3
Paul Boutilier	D	77	4	30	34	100	-5	0	0	0
Bob Bourne	C	62	17	15	32	36	-7	2	0	5
Greg Gilbert	LW	60	9	19	28	82	5	1	0	2
Stefan Persson	D	56	1	19	20	40	-3	1	0	0
Mark Hamway	RW	49	5	12	17	9	-5	1	0	1
Richard Kromm	LW	14	7	7	14	4	8	0	0	0
Clark Gillies	LW	55	4	10	14	55	-8	1	0	0
Randy Boyd	D	55	2	12	14	79	9	0	0	0
Roger Kortko	C	52	5	8	13	19	-11	0	0	1
Ken Morrow	D	69	0	12	12	22	24	0	0	0
Gord Dineen	D	57	1	8	9	81	15	0	0	0
Neal Coulter	RW	16	3	4	7	4	-1	0	0	0
Ari Haanpaa	LW	18	0	7	7	20	0	0	0	0
Steve Konroyd	D	14	0	5	5	16	4	0	0	0
Dale Henry	LW	7	1	3	4	15	0	0	0	0
Bob Bassen	C	11	2	1	3	6	0	0	0	0
Gerald Diduck	D	10	1	2	3	2	5	0	0	0
Scott Howson	C	10	1	2	3	2	2	0	0	0
Kelly Hrudey	G	45	0	3	3	14	0	0	0	0
Billy Smith	G	41	0	3	3	49	0	0	0	0
Ken Leiter	D	9	1	1	2	6	1	0	0	0
Bob Nystrom	RW	14	1	1	2	16	-4	1	0	0
Brad Dalgarno	RW	2	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
Alan Kerr	RW	7	0	1	1	16	1	0	0	0
Glenn Johannesen	LW	2	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Billy Smith	2308	41	20	14	4	143	3.72	1	1204	1061	.881
Kelly Hrudey	2563	45	19	15	8	137	3.21	1	1455	1318	.906
Team:	4871	80	39	29	12	280	3.45	2	2659	2379	.895

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG
Mike Bossy	RW	3	1	2	3	4	-2	0
Bryan Trottier	C	3	1	1	2	2	-1	0
Clark Gillies	LW	3	1	0	1	6	-2	0
Pat LaFontaine	C	3	1	0	1	0	-2	1
Bob Bassen	C	3	0	1	1	0	-1	0
Tomas Jonsson	D	3	0	1	1	4	-2	0
Richard Kromm	LW	3	0	1	1	0	0	0
Denis Potvin	D	3	0	1	1	0	-2	0
Brent Sutter	C	3	0	1	1	2	-3	0
Bob Bourne	C	3	0	0	0	0	-2	0
Paul Boutilier	D	3	0	0	0	2	-2	0
Randy Boyd	D	3	0	0	0	2	-1	0
Gord Dineen	D	3	0	0	0	2	-1	0
Pat Flatley	RW	3	0	0	0	21	-2	0
Greg Gilbert	LW	2	0	0	0	9	-1	0
Mark Hamway	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kelly Hrudey	G	2	0	0	0	4	0	0
Alan Kerr	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Steve Konroyd	D	3	0	0	0	6	-1	0
Ken Morrow	D	2	0	0	0	4	-2	0
Billy Smith	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Duane Sutter	RW	3	0	0	0	16	1	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%
Kelly Hrudey	120	2	2	6	3.00	59	53	.898
Billy Smith	60	1	1	4	4.00	34	30	.882
Team:	180	3	3	10	3.33	93	83	.892

^[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; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

New York's draft picks at the 1985 NHL entry draft held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	6	Brad Dalgarno	Canada	Hamilton Steelhawks (OHL)
1	13	Derek King	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
2	34	Brad Lauer	Canada	Regina Pats (WHL)
3	55	Jeff Finley	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
4	76	Kevin Herom	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
5	89	Tommy Hedlund	Sweden	AIK IF (Sweden)
5	97	Jeff Sveen	Canada	Boston University (Hockey East)
6	118	Rod Dallman	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
7	139	Kurt Lackten	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
8	160	Hank Lammens	Canada	St. Lawrence University (ECAC)
9	181	Rich Wiest	Canada	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
10	202	Real Arsenault	Canada	Prince Andrew Secondary School (Canadian HS-NS)
11	223	Mike Volpe	Canada	Halifax Lions (MTJHL)
12	244	Tony Grenier	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)

References

^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
^ "1985-86 New York Islanders Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
^ "1985-86 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2009.

[nhl-gd-standings-1] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.

[2] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[Gamelog-3] "1985-86 New York Islanders Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 24, 2025.

[4] "1985-86 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2009.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

New York Islanders
Founded in 1972 Based in Elmont, New York
Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks expansion draft Seasons Current season
History	Records Award winners Retired numbers Broadcasters
Personnel	Owner(s) New York Islanders Hockey Club, L.P. (Jon Ledecky, governor) General manager Mathieu Darche Head coach Patrick Roy Team captain Anders Lee Current roster
Arenas	Nassau Coliseum Barclays Center UBS Arena
Rivalries	New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Washington Capitals
Affiliates	AHL Bridgeport Islanders ECHL Worcester Railers
Media	TV MSG Network MSG Sportsnet Radio WEPN-FM WRHU 88.7 FM
Culture and lore	The Trio Grande Easter Epic Sparky the Dragon Penguins–Islanders brawl The Lighthouse Project Hockey Night Live! John Spano 2014 Stadium Series 2024 Stadium Series
Category Commons

New York Islanders seasons
1970s	1970–71 . 1971–72 . 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

1985–86 NHL season
Patrick	New Jersey NY Rangers Philadelphia Pittsburgh Washington
Adams	Boston Buffalo Hartford Montreal Quebec
Norris	Chicago Detroit Minnesota St. Louis Toronto
Smythe	Calgary Edmonton Los Angeles Vancouver Winnipeg
See also	Draft Waiver draft All-Star Game Monday Night Miracle Stanley Cup playoffs Stanley Cup Finals

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Player statistics

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

See also

References