After being upset by the New York Rangers in the 1979 Stanley Cup Semifinals, the Islanders play inconsistent hockey for the first five months of the 1979-80 season. That changes after the Islanders acquire Goring, who's played his entire NHL career with the Kings and isn't expecting to be traded.
"My initial reaction was one of anger and disappointment," he says three decades later. "I got here and I realized I was going to an awfully good hockey club. That made it a lot easier to handle. This was a team that had a chance to win a Stanley Cup. Once I was able to get the emotions out of it, I realized it was a tremendous opportunity."
With Goring filling the role of No. 2 center, the Islanders are 8-0 with four ties in their final 12 regular-season games, then go on to win the first of their four consecutive Stanley Cup championships.
MORE MOMENTS
1920:
Joe Malone
scores six goals for the Quebec Bulldogs in a
10-4 victory against the Ottawa Senators
, becoming the first NHL player to score at least six goals in a game twice during his career. Six weeks earlier, he sets an NHL record by scoring seven goals in a win against Ottawa.
1927:
Howie Morenz
of the Montreal Canadiens scores three straight goals in the third period for his first NHL hat trick in a
4-2 win against the visiting Toronto St Patricks
.
1955:The Maple Leafs and Canadiens play to a
scoreless tie at the Forum
, with Toronto's
Harry Lumley
and Montreal's
Jacques Plante
earning shutouts. However, history is made when the Zamboni ice-resurfacing machine makes its NHL debut. Previously, resurfacing is done by a team of workers who have to meticulously squeegee the ice. The Zamboni, invented by Frank J. Zamboni in 1949, becomes a fixture in NHL arenas and rinks around the world.
1971:
Bobby Orr
scores twice for the Boston Bruins in an
8-1 victory against the California Golden Seals
in Oakland. The two goals give Orr 34, a single-season NHL record. He breaks his own mark of 33, set during the previous season.
1978:The Bruins acquire defenseman
Dennis O'Brien
on waivers from the Cleveland Barons, making him the first NHL player to be with four teams in the same season. O'Brien begins 1977-78 with the Minnesota North Stars, is traded to the Colorado Rockies after 13 games, then is sent to the Barons. After 23 games in Cleveland, he goes to Boston.
Exactly 14 years later, forward
Dave McLlwain
becomes the second player to play on four NHL teams in a single season when the Islanders trade him to the Maple Leafs.