Although Bossy had been scoreless for six games, the Capitals, who had never defeated the Islanders since entering the NHL in 1974, seemed like the perfect tonic for a slump. But for more than two periods, goaltender Bernie Wolfe frustrated Bossy and the Islanders, limiting New York to a first-period goal by Lorne Henning and leading 2-1 with less than half the third period remaining.
But with 9:27 to play, Washington forward Bill Riley took a penalty, giving Bossy the chance to make history.
Wolfe stopped a shot by Bossy, who got the rebound and jammed the puck into a small opening on the short side at 11:52 for goal No. 50, triggering a shower of confetti from the crowd of 15,317 and the Islanders raced onto the ice to congratulate him.
The milestone even led to an uncharacteristic celebration by Bossy.
"When I saw the puck go in, I was so overjoyed that every bit of frustration left me at once," he said afterward. I didn't care what I looked like."
But Bossy wasn't finished. Another Washington penalty, this one to Bryan Watson with 1:40 remaining in the third period, gave New York another chance on the power play. Bossy found the back of the net with five seconds remaining to give the Islanders a 3-2 win.
"It's like 200 pounds off my back," he shouted over the postgame noise in the dressing room. "And then to get the winner, too. That was even better than No. 50 because, heaven knows, we sure need the points."
Bossy scored two more goals to finish his first NHL season with 53, more than living up to his prediction. It was the first of his nine straight 50-goal seasons, still an NHL record. His career ended at age 30 because of back problems; he finished with 573 goals in 10 seasons and was a cornerstone of the Islanders' four consecutive Stanley Cup-winning teams from 1980-83.
