Islanders Goalscoring Records: ’80s Legends Join Forces On Major Milestones

The New York Islanders have picked on the New York Rangers a lot in scoring the team's landmark goals. The rival Rangers were the Islanders' foil in two of the record-breaking goals recapped in this article. The great superstars who set the goalscoring records did far more in their careers, of course, antagonizing the Rangers … even if it's to the delight of Isles fans that so many did the latter.

For example, one of two New York Islanders tied for the club's single-game goalscoring record tied his own feat in a contest played five years later, as if to show that the first time wasn't a fluke. The other skater tied for the Islanders' single-game goalscoring record was anything but lucky, boasting an illustrious career as a sniper in the World Hockey Association and National Hockey League.

Another delight for Isles supporters is that the Rangers were losing—badly—to the Islanders when the team's modern-day record of five goals in one game was set in 1978. Then again, it was easier to blow out the franchise's Big Apple rivals when a sniper like Bryan Trottier played for the Isles.

Trottier scored a fantastic 524 career goals in the National Hockey League, exactly 500 of which came in a New York Islanders jersey. The iconic Saskatchewan native became a power-play ace as a rookie for the Islanders and never let go of the mantle, netting 11 or more power-play goals in nine of his 15 seasons wearing the jersey.

It was on a man-advantage at 7:38 of the third period when Trottier produced his fifth tally of a sizzling 9-4 defeat of the New York Rangers on Dec. 23, 1978, assisted by the great stars Mike Bossy and Denis Potvin, to set a single-game goalscoring record that has never been surpassed in the course of six decades.

John Tonelli's record-tying goals scored to tie Trottier's record did not occur in a game against a Big Apple rival or even against a team from the United States, taking place in the New York Islanders' road contest against the 1980-81 Toronto Maple Leafs. Tonelli's goal was also an empty-netter at the tail end of New York's 6-3 victory, coming at 19:18 of the third period.

But the veteran's record-tying five goals in that contest were like a milestone marker for all of his accomplishments before and after this phenomenal game. Tonelli scored 206 goals in eight seasons with the Isles, a stint that only accounts for just over half of the 195-pound winger's seasons in the NHL. Before joining the Islanders in 1978, Tonelli starred with the Houston Aeros of the WHA.

The Hamilton native went on to become Wayne Gretzky's linemate with the L.A. Kings starting in 1988-89, scoring 31 goals in each of his first two seasons with coach Barry Melrose's speedy team.

Trottier's matching of his own single-game record in 1982 inspired a celebration of the forward's loyalty and longevity with the New York Islanders. At the 18:32 mark of the third period in an 8-2 triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers, Trottier manufactured his fifth goal of the contest and his 35th tally of the 1981-82 season, assisted by none other than Mike Bossy and John Tonelli.

As great a player Trottier was, he benefited greatly from the attention opposing checkers had to pay to Mike Bossy. The New York Islanders' career goalscoring record holder peaked with 69 goals sniped in the season of 1978-79, the same slate in which Trottier had one of his five-goal games.

Bossy and the fabled Isles lineup did not win a Stanley Cup until the following season, first getting eliminated by the hated Rangers 4-2 in the Stanley Cup semifinals in the spring of 1979. It was the Rangers, though, who had again fallen victim to a record-breaking Islanders scoring feat earlier that same spring. There was no dramatic Bossy goal scored to break any player's previous single-season record. Franchise history buffs know that Bossy held the previous record with 53 goals in 1977-78.

The magical aspect of the Isles' goalscoring records remains that so many current record-holders helped each other out with assists on the landmark goals. Take one guess: who assisted on Bossy's last goal of the record-setting season on April 8, 1979, which helped the Islanders beat the Rangers 5-2?

But of course—it was Trottier.

Bossy, a prolific scorer throughout his career, is widely considered one of the greatest pure snipers in NHL history. So, it's no surprise that Bossy is also the career goalscoring leader for the Islanders, with 573 career goals for the club.

What makes Bossy's 573 goals all the more impressive is that he reached that total in just 752 career games, a mind-blowing per-game average of 0.76. The swift-skating, sharpshooting winger was only the second of five NHL skaters to score 50 goals in 50 games in one season, fronting the historic Islanders lineup that won four Stanley Cup championships in a row while setting a standard for goalscoring efficiency that has yet to be touched.

Once again, there was no iconic figure for Bossy to chase down in setting the Isles' current 573-goal career mark. He was setting his own precedent, while teammate Brian Trottier also reached the 500-goal plateau in a merry chase that lasted a decade.

It's noteworthy that Bossy's final benchmark-setting goal came in a close game in which the tally helped the Isles go on to win. On March 14, 1987, the great sniper scored a power-play goal against the New Jersey Devils at 13:36 of the third period, assisted by Bryan Trottier once again, trimming the Devils' lead to one goal. In inspired fashion, the Islanders scored twice more and won 7-6 in OT. Another skater with Hall-of-Fame credentials, Pat LaFontaine, scored the five-on-five OT winner.

Bossy retired at the end of that season, ending a 10-year NHL career of skating only for the Isles.