Before Mike Bossy: The Islanders’ Long Island Lighting Company

Before Mike Bossy joined the New York Islanders, Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies and Billy Harris were already giving opposing goaltenders plenty to worry about. Known as the Long Island Lighting Company, the trio combined for 98 goals and 128 assists in 1975-76. Their 226 points came from three players at different stages of their development: Trottier was a rookie, Gillies was in his second NHL season, and Harris was the franchise’s original first overall draft pick.

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Highlights

• Trottier, Gillies and Harris combined for 98 goals and 226 points in 1975-76.

• Trottier won the Calder Trophy after a 95-point rookie season.

• Gillies scored at least 30 goals six times during his NHL career.

• Harris was the first draft selection in Islanders history.

• Bossy’s 53-goal rookie season in 1977-78 reshaped New York’s top line.

• Harris and Dave Lewis were traded for Butch Goring shortly before the Islanders’ first championship.

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Their combined goal total slipped to 87 in 1976-77, and Bossy’s arrival the following season changed the Islanders’ offensive identity. With Bossy scoring 53 goals as a rookie, Trottier surged to 123 points and Gillies contributed 35 goals and 85 points. Harris remained a productive player, but his place alongside two future Hall of Famers had become part of Islanders history.

Bryan Trottier

Selected in the second round of the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, Bryan Trottier spent another season in junior hockey before joining the Islanders. He piled up 46 goals and 98 assists for 144 points with the Lethbridge Broncos in 1974-75, then made an immediate NHL impact with 32 goals and 95 points in his Calder Trophy-winning rookie season. Trottier went on to record six 100-point seasons with New York and win the Art Ross, Hart and Conn Smythe trophies. Between 1975-76 and 1993-94, he played 1,279 regular season games and 221 playoff games with the Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins, winning four Stanley Cups with New York and two more with Pittsburgh. He entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Islanders retired his number 19 in 2001.

Clark Gillies

The Islanders selected Clark Gillies fourth overall in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft after three seasons with the Regina Pats. He moved directly into the NHL and scored 25 goals as a rookie in 1974-75, bringing a combination of scoring ability and physical strength that would become essential to New York’s success. Gillies reached 30 goals six times, setting his career high with 38 in 1981-82, and served as captain from during the 1976-77 season until 1979. A member of all four Islanders championship teams, he finished his NHL career with 958 regular season games and 164 playoff appearances between 1974-75 and 1987-88, playing for New York and the Buffalo Sabres. His number 9 was retired in 1996, and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.

Billy Harris

Billy Harris became the first draft pick in Islanders history when New York selected him first overall in 1972. He arrived after a standout final season with the Toronto Marlboros, scoring 57 goals and 129 points to win the Eddie Powers Trophy as the league’s leading scorer. Harris scored 28 goals as an NHL rookie and finished third in Calder Trophy voting behind Steve Vickers and Bill Barber. He scored at least 23 goals in each of his first five seasons, including a career-best 32 during the Long Island Lighting Company’s memorable 1975-76 campaign, and added 22 in his sixth.

Bossy’s arrival changed Harris’s role, and his Islanders career ended just before the franchise’s greatest years. On March 10, 1980, New York traded Harris and defenceman Dave Lewis to the Los Angeles Kings for Butch Goring, whose arrival helped the Islanders capture the first of four consecutive Stanley Cups. Harris finished his NHL career with 897 regular season games and 71 playoff appearances between 1972-73 and 1983-84 with the Islanders, Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs. Although he missed out on the championships, his contribution to building the Islanders into contenders deserves to be remembered.

All Roads Home: A Life On and Off the Ice

The autobiography of Bryan Trottier — his journey through hockey greatness and life beyond the rink.

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Dave Keon Ends Nine-Game Goal Drought With Natural Hat Trick (1966)

Dave Keon found a welcome scoring breakthrough on March 5, 1966. Entering the Toronto Maple Leafs’ matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks at Maple Leaf Gardens, he had gone nine consecutive games without a goal. That drought ended emphatically as Keon scored a natural hat trick to lead Toronto to a 5–0 victory.

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Highlights

• Keon entered the game with a nine-game goal drought.

• His opening goal at 1:07 stood as the game-winner.

• He completed a natural hat trick at 12:17 of the second period.

• George Armstrong and Ron Ellis added third-period goals.

• Bruce Gamble stopped all 33 Chicago shots.

• Bob Pulford led Toronto with eight shots but recorded no points.

• Bobby Hull led Chicago with six shots.

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Keon Strikes Early Against Glenn Hall

Keon needed just 1:07 to score his 19th goal of the 1965–66 NHL season. Bob Baun and Allan Stanley assisted on the opening goal against Chicago goaltender Glenn Hall. It proved to be the only goal of the first period and, with Bruce Gamble keeping the Blackhawks off the scoreboard, the eventual game-winner.

A Natural Hat Trick in the Second Period

A cross-checking penalty assessed to Stan Mikita at the end of the first period gave Toronto a power play to begin the second. Keon capitalized just 50 seconds after the intermission, scoring with assists from Kent Douglas and George Armstrong. At 12:17, he struck again, this time with help from Larry Hillman. By scoring the game’s first three goals, Keon completed a natural hat trick and put the Maple Leafs firmly in control.

Armstrong and Ron Ellis added third-period goals to complete the 5–0 win. Keon finished with six shots on net, converting half of them. Bob Pulford was even busier around the Chicago goal, recording eight shots, although he finished without a point.

Bruce Gamble Keeps Chicago Quiet

At the other end, Gamble stopped all 33 shots he faced to earn the shutout. Bobby Hull led Chicago with six shots, but even the Blackhawks’ most dangerous scorer could not find a way through Toronto’s goaltender.

The hat trick stood out during an otherwise lean scoring stretch for Keon. After going nine games without a goal before facing Chicago, he scored just three more over Toronto’s final 14 games of the season. On this night, however, his finishing touch and Gamble’s perfect performance combined for a decisive Maple Leafs victory.

Keon and Me: My Search For The Lost Soul Of The Leafs

A heartfelt journey through the legacy of Dave Keon and the soul of the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise.

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Number 23 Scores No. 23: Bob Gainey’s Career-Best Goal Total

Bob Gainey built his reputation as one of the NHL’s finest defensive forwards, but Montreal’s number 23 could contribute at the other end of the ice, too. The Peterborough, Ontario native scored 239 regular-season goals during his career and reached the 20-goal mark four times. His personal best came in 1980-81, when he scored 23 times. Fittingly, goal number 23 was a game-winner against the New York Islanders.

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Highlights

• Gainey scored a career-high 23 goals in 1980-81.

• His 23rd came against the Islanders on March 31, 1981.

• Rod Langway and Doug Jarvis assisted on the milestone goal.

• The second-period tally was the winner in Montreal’s 3-1 victory.

• Gainey’s 47 points that season also represented a career high.

• Montreal retired his number 23 on February 23, 2008.

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On March 31, 1981, the Canadiens hosted the Islanders at the Montreal Forum. The teams exchanged first-period goals, then remained tied at 1-1 through much of the second. With two of the league’s top clubs locked in a tight contest, Gainey supplied the breakthrough.

At 16:52 of the second period, Gainey beat Islanders goaltender Roland Melanson for his 23rd goal of the season. Rod Langway and Doug Jarvis earned the assists as Montreal moved ahead 2-1. The Canadiens went on to win 3-1, leaving Gainey’s milestone goal as the deciding tally.

Gainey also established a career high with 47 points that season. Montreal finished first in the Norris Division and third in the NHL’s overall standings, behind the Islanders and St. Louis Blues. That regular-season success did not carry into the playoffs, however. The Edmonton Oilers swept the Canadiens in their opening-round series.

From 1973-74 through 1988-89, Gainey played 1,160 regular-season games and another 182 playoff contests, all with Montreal. His career included five Stanley Cup championships and four Selke Trophy wins, followed by induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. The Canadiens retired his number 23 on February 23, 2008, another fitting numerical connection for a player whose best goal-scoring season peaked at 23.

A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & the Rise of Professional Hockey

Explore the fascinating early history of professional hockey, including the forgotten Toronto teams, personalities, and events that helped shape the game into Canada's national winter obsession.

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