UNIONDALE, N.Y. - It was well past the glory days for the New York Islanders. The Islanders were three years removed from the last of their four straight Stanley Cups, and age and injuries had started to tap the skills of their stars. It seemed their dynasty had already been pushed to the back-burners of hockey fans' minds, as the Edmonton Oilers were in the middle of a championship run of their own.
Mike Bossy was also in decline in 1986, but his fall wasn't as sharp as the Islanders' was. Though he never won an MVP trophy nor received the recognition he deserved as one of the best scorers in the NHL - usually ceding the limelight to Wayne Gretzky - Bossy was still a force to be reckoned with in the league.
After being the first NHL player in 32 years to score 50 goals in 50 games earlier in his career, Bossy added another line to his resume in 1986 that nobody in NHL history has been able to claim, before or since. He became the first player to score at least 50 goals in nine straight seasons, reaching the mark in an 8-4 win over Calgary on March 11, 1986.
It's impressive in itself that Bossy set the record for consecutive 50-goal seasons. But this record stands out, as it's the only record Bossy set that wasn't immediately eclipsed by the great Gretzky. Gretzky seemed poised to equal the mark in the 1987-88 season, but injuries held him to only 64 games, forcing him to come up short. Gretzky scored 50 goals the next season, making him only the second player after Bossy to have nine 50-goal seasons at all, but Bossy stands alone in consecutive seasons reaching that mark.
Bossy played every game in the 1985-86 season, ending with 61 goals. At the age of 29, he seemed destined to make a run at all sorts of career scoring records, or at least to end up number 2 behind Gretzky in everything. But the next year, injuries held him to 63 games, and then he was done, retired from the game at age 30.
It seems unfair that Bossy had to retire as young as he did, as hockey fans were deprived of the chance to see how many goals he could score in his career. But in another way, it was a good thing for his reputation. Unlike most other stars in virtually every sport, nobody saw Bossy as his skills started to wane. There were no seasons where he was a shell of his former self, simply hanging on and clouding everybody's memory of him. It wasn't by his choice, but Bossy retired at the perfect time for his legacy. He will now always be remembered as the high-scoring right wing for hockey's forgotten dynasty.
Showing posts with label Mike Bossy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Bossy. Show all posts
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
March 3, 1981: Scoring in bunches
UNIONDALE, N.Y. - The scoring machine that was Mike Bossy was at its peak in the 1980-81 season. The main offensive weapon for the Islanders teams that won four straight Stanley Cups, Bossy had already made headlines earlier in the season by scoring 50 goals in 50 games. Now, as the Islanders were finishing up their schedule, he had another scoring record.
In compiling his impressive goals total, Bossy had wracked up eight hat tricks during the season, tying the NHL record. He had 15 games to try to get number nine.
Meanwhile, the Islanders had some issues of their own to work out. On February 25, they lost to Calgary 11-4, capping off a month in which they had games of 8 and 9 goals allowed, as well. This was certainly not the kind of performance expected of a two-time champion that had sites set on a third. It seemed as though the Islanders had corrected their problem, giving up only one goal each in a pair of wins following the Calgary disaster.
But then the Edmonton Oilers came to town on March 3, 1981. Behind the play of the great Wayne Gretzky, the Oilers were a scoring machine, and though they hadn't quite reached the heights they would in a few years, they were still a formidible opponent. They were perfectly capable of seeing just how much the Islanders' defense had improved.
The answer: not much. Edmonton poured in eight goals against the Islanders. Fortunately for New York, they had an answer, scoring eight goals of their own to lead to a rather ugly looking 8-8 tie. Among those eight goals were four goals by Bossy, giving him his NHL-record ninth hat trick of the season.
Most of Bossy's offensive exploits from the 1980-81 season were blown away by Gretzky the following season. Gretzky got to 50 goals in only 39 games, and ended up scoring an NHL-record 92 goals - scoring the record-breaking goal against Quebec on March 3, 1982. But that was in the future. In the present, the Oilers were done giving up bunches of goals. They lost only one more game in the regular season, then went 15-3 in the playoffs to win their third straight Stanley Cup.
In compiling his impressive goals total, Bossy had wracked up eight hat tricks during the season, tying the NHL record. He had 15 games to try to get number nine.
Meanwhile, the Islanders had some issues of their own to work out. On February 25, they lost to Calgary 11-4, capping off a month in which they had games of 8 and 9 goals allowed, as well. This was certainly not the kind of performance expected of a two-time champion that had sites set on a third. It seemed as though the Islanders had corrected their problem, giving up only one goal each in a pair of wins following the Calgary disaster.
But then the Edmonton Oilers came to town on March 3, 1981. Behind the play of the great Wayne Gretzky, the Oilers were a scoring machine, and though they hadn't quite reached the heights they would in a few years, they were still a formidible opponent. They were perfectly capable of seeing just how much the Islanders' defense had improved.
The answer: not much. Edmonton poured in eight goals against the Islanders. Fortunately for New York, they had an answer, scoring eight goals of their own to lead to a rather ugly looking 8-8 tie. Among those eight goals were four goals by Bossy, giving him his NHL-record ninth hat trick of the season.
Most of Bossy's offensive exploits from the 1980-81 season were blown away by Gretzky the following season. Gretzky got to 50 goals in only 39 games, and ended up scoring an NHL-record 92 goals - scoring the record-breaking goal against Quebec on March 3, 1982. But that was in the future. In the present, the Oilers were done giving up bunches of goals. They lost only one more game in the regular season, then went 15-3 in the playoffs to win their third straight Stanley Cup.
Monday, January 24, 2011
January 24, 1981: The race for 50 in 50
UNIONDALE, N.Y. - For 32 years, no NHL player had come close to Maurice Richard's accomplishment of 50 goals in 50 games. Then, in the 1980-81 season, two players made a serious run at it.
It wasn't too surprising that Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders made a good run at the hallowed mark. He had led the NHL with 69 goals two years before and had scored at least 50 in all three years he played in the NHL. As a player with a reputation as a top scorer, his run at Richard wasn't too much of a shock.
Charlie Simmer of the Los Angeles Kings didn't have the reputation for scoring that Bossy had, though Simmer had led the league in goals in the 1979-80 season. The 56 goals he scored that year were more than he had scored in his previous five seasons combined.
When Bossy and Simmer both got off to hot starts in the 1980-81 season, the talk began about whether either or both would reach the hallowed 50 goals in 50 games mark. Soon, an unofficial competition between the two scorers began to grow as they embarked on a race against each other and against Richard.
One thing that helped the competition was that both the Islanders and the Kings had their 50th game scheduled for the same day: January 24, 1981. That date was the finish line, the deadline for the two snipers to get their hallowed mark.
Entering play on January 24, Bossy had 48 goals and Simmer had 46, so both needed a big day to give Richard company among goal scorers. Simmer's Kings played a game in Boston that day, and he rose to the occasion with a hat trick. But Simmer couldn't find the fourth goal he needed and ended up just short of the mark. Still, as only the second player to score 49 goals in his team's first 50 games, his was still an impressive season.
That left the spotlight on Bossy, whose Islanders were hosting the Quebec Nordiques. For most of the game, the Nordiques kept Bossy in check, leaving him stuck on 48 goals. But in the final five minutes, he broke free, getting his 49th and 50th goals in teh final moments of a 7-4 victory.
Bossy's feat was celebrated around the league, and Richard himself was on hand to congratulate Bossy after the game. Bossy ended up with a league-high 68 goals for the season, his second scoring crown, as the Islanders won their second straight Stanley Cup that spring.
For Bossy, the 50 goals in 50 games was the high point of a brilliant but short career. He reached 50 goals in his first nine seasons in the NHL and is the only NHL player to have nine straight seasons of 50 or more goals. He joins Wayne Gretzky as the only two players to score at least 60 goals in five different seasons. But while Gretzky enjoyed a long enough career to collect every relevant career scoring record in the NHL, Bossy's career only lasted 10 seasons before being derailed by injury. Still, he holds the NHL record for most goals per game - a mark that is helped by the fact that his career wasn't long enough for him to play with depleted skills - and he is still ranked number 19 on the career scoring list.
It wasn't too surprising that Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders made a good run at the hallowed mark. He had led the NHL with 69 goals two years before and had scored at least 50 in all three years he played in the NHL. As a player with a reputation as a top scorer, his run at Richard wasn't too much of a shock.
Charlie Simmer of the Los Angeles Kings didn't have the reputation for scoring that Bossy had, though Simmer had led the league in goals in the 1979-80 season. The 56 goals he scored that year were more than he had scored in his previous five seasons combined.
When Bossy and Simmer both got off to hot starts in the 1980-81 season, the talk began about whether either or both would reach the hallowed 50 goals in 50 games mark. Soon, an unofficial competition between the two scorers began to grow as they embarked on a race against each other and against Richard.
One thing that helped the competition was that both the Islanders and the Kings had their 50th game scheduled for the same day: January 24, 1981. That date was the finish line, the deadline for the two snipers to get their hallowed mark.
Entering play on January 24, Bossy had 48 goals and Simmer had 46, so both needed a big day to give Richard company among goal scorers. Simmer's Kings played a game in Boston that day, and he rose to the occasion with a hat trick. But Simmer couldn't find the fourth goal he needed and ended up just short of the mark. Still, as only the second player to score 49 goals in his team's first 50 games, his was still an impressive season.
That left the spotlight on Bossy, whose Islanders were hosting the Quebec Nordiques. For most of the game, the Nordiques kept Bossy in check, leaving him stuck on 48 goals. But in the final five minutes, he broke free, getting his 49th and 50th goals in teh final moments of a 7-4 victory.
Bossy's feat was celebrated around the league, and Richard himself was on hand to congratulate Bossy after the game. Bossy ended up with a league-high 68 goals for the season, his second scoring crown, as the Islanders won their second straight Stanley Cup that spring.
For Bossy, the 50 goals in 50 games was the high point of a brilliant but short career. He reached 50 goals in his first nine seasons in the NHL and is the only NHL player to have nine straight seasons of 50 or more goals. He joins Wayne Gretzky as the only two players to score at least 60 goals in five different seasons. But while Gretzky enjoyed a long enough career to collect every relevant career scoring record in the NHL, Bossy's career only lasted 10 seasons before being derailed by injury. Still, he holds the NHL record for most goals per game - a mark that is helped by the fact that his career wasn't long enough for him to play with depleted skills - and he is still ranked number 19 on the career scoring list.
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