* 1981 – In the 39th game of his 3rd NHL season Wayne Gretzky scores 5 goals giving him 50 on the year setting a new NHL record previously held by Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy who earlier had each scored 50 goals in 50 games.

In the upcoming 1977-78 season, Bossy became the third Islander to win the Calder Trophy, having scored 53 goals that season, at the time the most scored by a rookie.

Bryan Trottier was voted the league MVP and captured the scoring title, while sophomore Bossy scored 69 goals, which also led the league.

The Sutter brothers, Duane and Brent, unexpectedly led all players with 7 and 5 points, respectively, while Bossy again scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal.

Bossy, who had scored 17 goals in each of the past three playoffs only scored 8 in the first three rounds of the 1984 playoffs and was silenced during the final series.

He went on to score an all-time rookie record of 76 goals in his rookie season ( shattering the previous record of 53 set by Mike Bossy ), which made him the second European to lead the league in goal scoring ( after Jari Kurri ), along with Alexander Mogilny, and also makes him one of only eight players, and to date, the last player ( along with Mogilny ) to have scored 70 or more goals in one NHL season.

After Canadian Mike Bossy scored an overtime game-winner to defeat the Soviets in the semi-finals, Canada won their second Canada Cup in a victory over Sweden in the final.

Bossy, who had scored 8 goals after the first three rounds of the playoffs ( and 17 goals in the past three consecutive post-seasons ), was silenced completely in the finals series.

At that time, only Gretzky, Mike Bossy and Phil Esposito had ever scored more goals in one season.

That season, Williams earned a place in the mid-season All-Star game, having scored 27 goals by the All-Star break, and played on a line with Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy.

Gillies scored over 30 goals for four straight seasons as part of the " Trio Grande ", the Islanders ' top forward line with Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier, and was named to the NHL's All-Star team twice.

Smyl scored the Canucks ' only goal in their 3 – 1 defeat in game four, tying the game at 1 – 1 in the first period on his own rebound before Mike Bossy scored twice to secure the Islanders ' win.

Bossy boldly predicted that he would score 50 goals in his rookie season.

Then, in the 1980 – 81 season, Bossy became only the second player to score 50 goals in 50 games.

Both players were involved in their 50th game, with Simmer at 46 and Bossy at 48, with Simmer getting a hat trick to bring his total to 49 goals in 50.

At the time, he was the third fastest a player to reach the milestone, behind Bossy ( 129 games ) and Maurice Richard ( 134 games ), and was the third player in league history to score 50 goals in each of his first two seasons ( Bossy and Wayne Gretzky ).

That same season, Mike Bossy became only the second player in NHL history to score 50 in 50.

Then, in the 1980 – 81 season, sniper Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders became only the second player to score 50 goals in 50 games.

This was hyped by the hockey press as Bossy was in an unofficial competition with Charlie Simmer of the Los Angeles Kings ( see below ) to see who could be the first to accomplish the 50 in 50 milestone since Richard.

Both players were involved in their 50th game, with Simmer at 46 goals and Bossy 48, with Simmer getting a hat trick that brought his total to 49 goals in 50.

The Edmonton Oilers ' young superstar Wayne Gretzky broke several prestigious records, including the record of 50 goals in 50 games, set by Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy, by scoring 50 goals in only 39 games.

The most notable individual performers were Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers, who broke Bobby Orr's single season assist record and Phil Esposito's point mark for a new record of 164 points, winning his second of an unmatched eight straight Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player, as well as Mike Bossy, who became only the second man in NHL history to score 50 goals in his first 50 games.

However, Bossy got his 49th goal with 5: 15 left to go in the game and the 50th with 1: 50 remaining, sending the Nassau Coliseum into a delirium.

Despite scoring 309 goals in four seasons, Bossy was considered a timid player by NHL scouts.

Bossy finished the season with 68 goals in 79 games.

Bossy was known for being able to score goals in remarkable fashion, the most incredible, perhaps, in the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals against the Vancouver Canucks when, up-ended by a check from Tiger Williams and flying several feet in the air, parallel to the ice, Bossy nonetheless managed to hook the puck with his stick and score.

Bure's 154 NHL goals at that point in his career put him behind only Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy for the most in any NHL player's first three seasons.

In addition to having reached the 50-goal mark in his career five times and the 60-goal mark twice, his. 623 goals per game average is third among the top 100 goal scorers in NHL history, behind Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux.

He finished his junior career second all-time in QMJHL career goals with 281, behind Mike Bossy, and second all-time in career points with 580, behind only Shawinigan-teammate Patrice Lefebvre.

Set by Maurice " Rocket " Richard during the 1944 – 45 NHL season and tied by Mike Bossy during the 1980 – 81 NHL season, Gretzky accomplished the feat in only 39 games.

In 1981 – 82 the Islanders won a then-record 15 straight games en route to a franchise-record 118 points, while Mike Bossy set a scoring record for right wingers with 147 points in an 80 game schedule.

Bossy said afterward that the team believed that if they could win a single away game, they would have been able to take games six and seven at home to win a fifth Stanley Cup.

Bossy finished the season with 68 goals in 79 games.

Bossy did it with a flair at his home rink, as he only had 48 goals going into the 3rd and final period ( before the advent of overtime games ).

Eight former members of the Islanders have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, seven of whom — Al Arbour, Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Bill Torrey and Bryan Trottier — were members of all four Cup winning teams.

Goring's is often called the " final piece of the puzzle ": a strong two-way player, his presence on the second line ensured that opponents would no longer be able to focus their defensive efforts on the Islanders ' first line of Bossy, Trottier and Clark Gillies.

*** The New York Islanders, for Hall of Famer Mike Bossy.

Michael Dean Bossy ( born January 22, 1957 ) is a former Canadian ice hockey player who played for the New York Islanders for his entire career and was a crucial part of their four-year reign as Stanley Cup champions in the early 1980s.

Bossy has harbored some animosity towards Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers, stating that the Islanders got little recognition for their dynasty ( 1980 – 83 ) compared to the Canadiens ( 1976 – 79 ) or Oilers ( 1984 – 90 ).

Bossy complained " I do a lot of promoting for how good Islanders were ... We never got one millionth of the recognition we should.

On October 13, 2006, the Islanders held a news conference to announce that Bossy had rejoined the organization, working with the front office in sponsor and fan development.

However, Trottier was most known for his dynamic on-ice partnership with Mike Bossy during his prime years with the Islanders until Bossy's early retirement at the end of the 1987 season.

Trottier was named by Islanders fans as the second greatest player in franchise history, ahead of Denis Potvin and behind Mike Bossy.

During his eight seasons with the Islanders, coach Al Arbour used Tonelli on the famed " Banana Line " with Wayne Merrick and Bob Nystrom, on the top line with Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy, and later he played flank for Brent Sutter and Patrick Flatley.

The New York Islanders ' Mike Bossy set a regular season scoring record for right-wingers with 147 points in an 80 game season, and finished as runner-up to Gretzky for the Art Ross Trophy.

The story of the playoffs, though, was Mike Bossy and the New York Islanders.