85 OILERS | Denis Potvin

[@jmj7599]

Those Islander teams rank among the very best ever. The very best ever.

[@johnlevalley521]

The Islanders won 19 consecutive playoff series in 1980 to 1984. A record in ANY team sport. How are they not the best team in NHL history?

[@_vexity_]

😂😂😂 classic islanders fan

[@September2004]

Mike Bossy felt one of the reasons was that the Islanders organization were quiet and didn't promote themselves too much. Even when they were winning their 4 Cups, most of the news were about the young and upcoming Oilers team. Plus, being sandwiched between the Scotty Bowman Canadiens and the Oilers dynasty kinda hurt. The Islanders should also be proud of the fact that the only reason they didn't become the 2nd NHL team to win 5-in-a-row was having to face what is considered the 2nd greatest NHL team of all time ('84 Oilers). The reason I would not put them as the best is that, like other great teams, they came about because the previous dynasty (Canadiens) were getting old and the next dynasty (Oilers) were still in their infancy. It's like with the 55-56 Canadiens. They benefited from the fact that the early 50s Red Wings were getting older and they stupidly traded away Terry Sawchuk who was the bane of the Canadiens. The Canadiens of the 70s had to deal with the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers (plus Buffalo Sabres and others). Who was good enough to challenge the Islanders in all 4 years? I would say none. Philadelphia in 1980 and Edmonton in 1983.

[@austonboston4361]

Cuz, they're not. It's Oilers all the way baaabaaay

[@johnlevalley521]

@@austonboston4361 The Islanders smoked them twice in the playoffs, won 19 consecutive playoffs series and four consecutive Cups. Accomplishments the Oilers NEVER had. They played in an inferior Western Conference. If they played in the Eastern Conference they wouldn't have won one Cup.

[@georgebrennan2576]

Bossy over kurri, potvin over Coffey, Smith fuhr close, Gretzky over trottier....tonelli nysyrom Brent sutter unmatched....

[@SuperPrince1007]

Denis Potvin showed a lot of class here. I agree with him 100%.

[@September2004]

I wasn't old enough to watch the 1983 Final, but that has be the greatest defensive performance in NHL history. It's impressive enough for one team to allow their opponent to score only 6 goals in 4 games in the regular season. (And especially considering this is the wide open 80s.) How much more impressive is it to do it in the playoffs? (Where the average opponent is better than in the regular season.) How much more impressive is it to do it in the Finals? (Where the opponent is likely better than the first 3 you faced.) How much more impressive is it to do it against a great offensive team? How much more impressive is it to do it against a team that became the first to score 400 goals in the regular season?! (Not an Islanders fan. Just impressed.)

[@briancusack4386]

Well said. I am not an Islanders fan either.

[@dzanier]

It was amazing.

[@garysimard5674]

The 76-77 Montreal Canadiens team was easily the best. But this was fan voting I believe. 60 wins - 8 losses - 12 ties. 132 points. 387 GF - 171 GA.

[@September2004]

I like that the Islanders and Oilers met in back to back years as a changing of the guard. I kinda wished that happened in 79 and 80 between the Habs and the Islanders. The two teams were the top teams in 79 so it’s too bad they didn’t meet in the finals (since the Habs did make it) with the Canadiens winning. Then meeting again in 80 would’ve been cool since the Islanders did make it and the Habs were the 3rd best team in the league that season despite all their losses. However, they were upset in the 2nd round in 7 games against Minnesota.

[@MrAschiff]

People seem to forget how good the 1979-1980 Flyers team was, the team the Islanders defeated for their first Stanley Cup. The Flyers had a 35 game unbeaten streak where they either tied or won (there were no overtimes or shootouts then) which is still a sports record. They still had a lot of their great players from their back-to-back championships in the mid 1970s and the Islanders managed to beat them in six games with the final game won on an overtime goal by Bob Nystrom one of the most exciting Stanley Cup victories in NHL. history.

[@Re207]

of course you could also go 77 habs or 82 isles, but 85 oilers a worthy selection for #1. those oilers teams had a lot of firepower. in 85 they crushed a really good flyers team in the final. great to see dave hodge still in broadcasting after all these years

[@channerattoyota1]

Growing up my team was the Islanders because of all the great western Canadians. Clarke Gilles, Bryan Trottier, ect.ect. I loved those boys and hated the Oilers. Only because I grew up in the era hating the Montreal Canadiens but in retrospect I have to say those Oilers were great and the Canadiens were also great in their time. You annoy Deny the greatness. It is hard enough winning one championship let alone 4 in a row or 5 in a row. I think those days are over. Dynasties in sports are a thing of the past so let,s celebrate the greatness of all those great teams in hockey history. The Montreal Canadiens, the Great New York Islanders, and of course the Edmonton Oilers.

[@bobhenry6159]

Winning 3 in a row is tough. The short off-seasons start to take their toll. The Oilers were never able to win 3 in a row, yet the Isles won 4 in a row. I've had some Oiler fans respond that the Oilers faced tougher competition and at the same time say the Oilers were the best ever, which means the Isles beat the best to win their 4th consecutive cup. lol Fans are funny. The dynasty Isles were THE best hockey team ever. #1 80-83 Islanders #2 75-79 Canadiens (won against fewer teams, which means fewer games and a shorter playoff schedule, and they didn't make the finals 5 straight times). #3 84-90 Oilers. Won 5 of 7 but never 3 in a row. They never even made the finals 3 times in a row.

[@September2004]

Scotty Bowman chose the 82 Islanders and 84 Oilers as 2 of the best 8 teams of all time.

[@purplesword3800]

81-82 isles were best by far...

[@leafyutube]

In the regular season, but the Isles played their best ever hockey in the 83 playoffs.

[@September2004]

Scotty Bowman chose 81-82 as the best of the Islanders teams and one of the 8 best of all time. But I think the 1983 Finals was their best playoff performance. (Holding a 400-goal Edmonton Oiler team to just 6 goals in 4 games??!!)

[@cowetascore8476]

@@leafyutube I was too young, even as an Isles fan at ages 9 and 10, to compare 82 and 83. I went back and watched and by far 1983 was the better team. In 82, the Canucks actually nearly stole Game 1 as an inferior team and it took a Mike Bossy OT goal off a horrible clear attempt to get the Isles going. In 83, the Oilers were constantly pounding the zone in Game 1 and the Isles still managed to not only withstand it, but push forward and put together a goal and an empty net without Bossy in the lineup. Nobody touched them after that. Game 4 had 3 Isles goals in 90 seconds of the 1st and it was probably the best sequence of any of the four Cup teams.

[@brithgob1620]

The 82-83 Islanders had the fewest goals against (226) in the NHL. The Oilers had more goals against (315) than the Islanders scored (302). Like the Islanders in 1978 and 1979, the Oilers weren't ready to win in 1983. Both teams had to learn that just because they were the best team in the regular season, other teams were not going to roll over and quit. Every player wants to win the Stanley Cup, and they are going to try as hard against the Islanders or the Oilers as against lesser teams. If a team is not at the top of its game for the entire playoffs, they are not going to win the Stanley Cup, no matter how talented they are. The Islanders and the Oilers had to learn some hard lessons before they became champions.

[@TheHojirt]

Denis Potvin was an incredible athlete who also was an enormous sore loser. Potvin was not as good offensively as Bobby Orr or Paul Coffey but he was a wall defensively. Then you add Mike Bossy, the purest scorer ever and you have a Stanley Cup winning team. Billy Smith, Trottier etc... were good but Bossy and Potvin were 2 of the best players ever.

[@georgebrennan2576]

One nyr who played then in 80s said Billy smith was biggest difference

[@jeffmccoy1700]

John Tonelli gets my pick as the most underrated player of the expansion era. He scored a lot of goals at important times, a tireless worker along the boards winning the puck battles. A feather in his cap was being named the MVP of the 1984 Canada Cup playing for Canada on a team that also included Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey and Ray Bourque.

[@georgebrennan2576]

I asked a,nyr would played vs the isles during the cup Years who the best on that team. He said, Billy Smith

[@georgebrennan2576]

@@jeffmccoy1700 1000 percent agree. Add nystrom and Brent sutter and 3 gius who can,do it all

[@jeffmccoy1700]

@@georgebrennan2576 Brent Sutter, Butch Goring and of course Bryan Trottier three of the best two-way centermen of that era - strength down the middle. Another extremely underrated player on that dynasty team I thought was defenseman Ken Morrow a defensive pillar who was kind of overshadowed by Denis Potvin. That team combined everything - scoring, defense, goaltending, skill, discipline, character, the will to win, toughness both mental and physical, grit, a genuine heart and soul dynasty team.

[@bb-gc2tx]

it must of killed potvin doing this knowing the isles were best team in nhl history

[@smokey0765]

Potvin cups

[@JeepTJWheelin]

The '82 - '83 Islanders are the greatest team in NHL history.

[@mlb3135]

For me, the 1983 and 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs was the most entertaining hockey I ever saw. Two superb teams playing intensely from start to finish every game. Both teams played exceptionally well. After those two series of games, regular hockey almost seemed like slow motion and boring. Only once in a while would you see some action that would get your attention.