This Day in Hockey History – May 17, 1983 – Fourth in Four

May 17, 2019

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As most NHL fans know, the New York Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cup championships. They are the only team besides the Montreal Canadiens to win so many in a row. The date they official won their fourth was May 17, 1983.

To get to the Stanley Cup finals, the Islanders defeated the Washington Capitals (3-1), the New York Rangers (4-2), and the Boston Bruins (4-2). “A lot of people figured this was the year we could be had, and it’s got to bother some of them that this year we probably had a better playoff than any of the others,” said Islanders GM Bill Torrey. “Washington was a good team, and people even thought they could upset us. When you play the Rangers, you know what you’re getting. The Boston Bruins had the best record in the league, and against Edmonton, we were the underdogs.” The Edmonton Oilers would be the opponents in the finals. In the first three games, the Oilers only managed four goals and no victories.

Game 4 took place at Nassau Coliseum for a crowd of 15,317. After a somewhat slow start, the Islanders had a “97-second blitz” midway through the first period. Like with the series thus far, the Islanders took a 3-0 lead. Bryan Trottier scored first at 11:02. Only 43 seconds later, at 11:45, John Tonelli followed with the second goal. Finally, Mike Bossy scored third at 12:39. Bossy ended up having the game-winner for the second season in a row. He was the first to do so since Jack Darragh in 1920-21.

The Oilers came back by scoring twice in the second period. Jari Kurri potted the first only 35 seconds in, and Mark Messier finished the period with a goal at 19:39. Their teammate, Wayne Gretzky, made an effort to score at the very end of the game, but Islanders goalie Billy Smith “caught the puck in the glove on his left hand.” Gretzky had not been able to score in the entire series, all 240 minutes.

In the third period, the Oilers missed out on a scoring opportunity thanks to Smith’s performance – acting not goaltending. After New York’s Tomas Jonsson was called for holding at 8:16, Edmonton had a power play, for about 16 seconds. At that point, Glenn Anderson received five-minute major for slashing Smith because the goalie milked it after Anderson tapped him with his stick “on the left side of the helmet during a skirmish in front of the net.” Smith blamed Gretzky’s performance in Game 1 for his behavior, saying, “So I threw myself on my back and squirmed a bit and played dead. Like I said, tit for tat.” From Anderson’s point of view, “He pushed me in the back and I lost my balance. My arms went back and I guess my stick hit him. He went down and I was wondering what he was doing.”

With 1:09 remaining, Ken Morrow “stole the puck” and skated the length of ice to fire on the open net. The Islanders won 4-2 in Game 4 for their fourth Stanley Cup championship. In the finals for the past four seasons, New York only lost three games, none of them at home.

Smith had only allowed six goals throughout the four games and made 24 saves in the last. He received the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP and thus a new car. Smith said, “I want to tell the people in Canada and all over the world that two can play that game.” His captain, Denis Potvin, had quite a bit more to say. “We are the best who ever skated. Anybody who says anything else is just kidding themselves. We have won 16 straight damn series. We have beaten the best, again and again. I will say it now. We are the best who ever skated.” He continued, “And now we have won four. The fourth is the best. I know I have given my most to the best people I know.”