15 November 1981: The Islanders overcame a misfiring power play (0-for-7 on the evening), and physical play from the Flyers, to score the final four goals of the game and rally to win at The Spectrum. An exceptionally tight-checking opening period (nine TOTAL shots on goal, versus six hits) looked sure to end scoreless before Bob Bourne was sprung free by Gord Lane off a turnover and slid the puck under Pete Peeters with only eight seconds to go in the period. While disappointed, Philadelphia was not dispatched, as Brad Marsh scored only a minute after the restart, and Bill Barber then finished off a sweet LCB combination on the power play less than six minutes later to put the Flyers in front.
But, as soon as the Isles could get their top line back onto the ice after the goal, they had struck back and struck hard - Clark Gillies and Bryan Trottier scored only thirty seconds apart on the subsequent shift and New York had taken back both the momentum and the lead. When Gillies scored again in the opening minute of the third, it looked as if the defending champs would sweep Philadelphia away, but the home team dominated the final twenty minutes, outshooting the Islanders 21-8 and putting near-constant pressure on rebounds sitting on Billy Smith's doorstep. But the Islander netminder stood tall and kept the puck out of the goal on each occasion, while Bob Nystrom ended almost any doubt with a fifth NYI goal at the midway point of the period. Ron Flockhart had nine shots, and Glen Cochrane three hits, for the Flyers in the losing cause. FINAL: New York Islanders 5, Philadelphia 2.
Contribution to the Facebook co-op replay . . .
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| Billy Smith (39 saves) was a wall to Philadelphia's ambitions |
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