Bossy comes into the Islanders' 50th game of the 1980-81 season with 48 goals and it looks like he might leave with that many when he's kept off the scoresheet for more than 55 minutes. But with the Islanders on a power play, Bossy gets No. 49
with 4:10 remaining in the third period
. Encouraged by a roaring Coliseum crowd, Bossy catches Richard, who set the mark in 1944-45, when he beats
Ron Grahame
from the lower left circle with 1:29 left.
Bossy reaches another milestone exactly five years later. He
scores a goal and has three assists
in the Islanders' 7-5 win against the Washington Capitals in Landover, Maryland, to become the 20th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points. The milestone comes in his 656th regular-season game, faster than anyone in NHL history (at the time) except
Wayne Gretzky
.