The UBS Arena installed the Islanders' championship banners Wednesday. The Islanders won the Stanley Cup four years in a row from the 1979-80 to the 1982-83 seasons. All four banners now hang proudly in the Islanders' new building, which will host New York's first game on Nov. 20 against the Calgary Flames.
Located within Belmont Park, UBS Arena has eight bars with views of the ice and two outdoor terraces for fans. For the Islanders, there's a 23,000 square foot locker room and player campus on the complex.
Players from the four-time championship team, whose numbers are retired, like forwards Clark Gillies, Mike Bossy, Bobby Nystrom and John Tonelli, centers Bryan Trottier and Butch Goring, defenseman Denis Potvin and goalie Billy Smith, also have their own banners swaying in the arena.
Nystrom is known for his Cup-clinching, overtime goal in Game 6 against the Philadelphia Flyers to give the team its first championship.
By the 1981-82 season, the Islanders were playing for a dynasty. They went 8-0 in the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final, defeating the Quebec Nordiques and the Vancouver Canucks. The next season, the Islanders won the final series 4-0 against the Edmonton Oilers to solidify one of the most prolific dynasties in sports history.
Only two teams, the Islanders and Montreal Canadiens, have won four straight Stanley Cup titles.
Now, the Islanders will try and add a fifth championship banner to the collection.
