1989–90 New York Islanders season

1989–90 New York Islanders
Division	4th Patrick
Conference	8th Wales
1989–90 record	31–38–11
Home record	15–17–8
Road record	16–21–3
Goals for	281
Goals against	288
Team information
General manager	Bill Torrey
Coach	Al Arbour
Captain	Brent Sutter
Alternate captains	Pat LaFontaine Bryan Trottier
Arena	Nassau Coliseum
Team leaders
Goals	Pat LaFontaine (54)
Assists	Pat LaFontaine (51)
Points	Pat LaFontaine (105)
Penalty minutes	Mick Vukota (290)
Wins	Mark Fitzpatrick (19)
Goals against average	Mark Fitzpatrick (3.39)
←  1988–89 1990–91  →

The 1989–90 New York Islanders season was the 18th season for the franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team finished 31–38–11, returning to the Stanley Cup playoffs after a one-year absence, but losing to their rivals the New York Rangers in the first round, four games to one.

Regular season

The Islanders finished the regular season with the fewest power-play opportunities of all 21 teams in the league with just 330. ^[1] They also tied the Boston Bruins for most shutouts in the NHL, with 5. ^[2]

Final standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
New York Rangers	80	36	31	13	279	267	85
New Jersey Devils	80	37	34	9	295	288	83
Washington Capitals	80	36	38	6	284	275	78
New York Islanders	80	31	38	11	281	288	73
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	32	40	8	318	359	72
Philadelphia Flyers	80	30	39	11	290	297	71

^[3] Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Wales Conference ^[4]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Boston Bruins	ADM	80	46	25	9	289	232	101
2	Buffalo Sabres	ADM	80	45	27	8	286	248	98
3	Montreal Canadiens	ADM	80	41	28	11	288	234	93
4	Hartford Whalers	ADM	80	38	33	9	275	268	85
5	New York Rangers	PTK	80	36	31	13	279	267	85
6	New Jersey Devils	PTK	80	37	34	9	295	288	83
7	Washington Capitals	PTK	80	36	38	6	284	275	78
8	New York Islanders	PTK	80	31	38	11	281	288	73
9	Pittsburgh Penguins	PTK	80	32	40	8	318	359	72
10	Philadelphia Flyers	PTK	80	30	39	11	290	297	71
11	Quebec Nordiques	ADM	80	12	61	7	240	407	31

Divisions:PTK – Patrick, ADM – Adams

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Patrick Division 1989–90 NHL records [5] Team NJD NYI NYR PHI PIT WSH Total New Jersey — 4–1–2 3–3–1 4–2–1 4–2–1 3–4 18–12–5 N.Y. Islanders 1–4–2 — 2–3–2 1–4–2 3–3–1 4–3 11–17–7 N.Y. Rangers 3–3–1 3–2–2 — 5–2 1–5–1 3–4 15–16–4 Philadelphia 2–4–1 4–1–2 2–5 — 4–3 1–5–1 13–18–4 Pittsburgh 2–4–1 3–3–1 5–1–1 3–4 — 5–2 18–14–3 Washington 4–3 3–4 4–3 5–1–1 2–5 — 18–16–1

Vs. Adams Division 1989–90 NHL records Team BOS BUF HFD MTL QUE Total New Jersey 1–1–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 3–0 8–6–1 N.Y. Islanders 1–1–1 3–0 1–2 1–2 1–2 7–7–1 N.Y. Rangers 3–0 0–2–1 2–1 0–3 3–0 8–6–1 Philadelphia 0–3 1–2 1–2 2–0–1 1–1–1 5–8–2 Pittsburgh 1–2 0–3 0–2–1 1–2 2–1 4–10–1 Washington 1–2 1–1–1 1–2 2–1 3–0 8–6–1

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Norris Division 1989–90 NHL records Team CHI DET MIN STL TOR Total New Jersey 2–1 1–1–1 1–2 2–1 1–2 7–7–1 N.Y. Islanders 1–2 1–1–1 1–2 1–2 3–0 7–7–1 N.Y. Rangers 1–0–2 2–0–1 1–1–1 0–2–1 1–1–1 5–4–6 Philadelphia 0–3 0–1–2 2–1 2–1 2–1 6–7–2 Pittsburgh 0–3 2–0–1 1–1–1 0–3 1–2 4–9–2 Washington 1–2 3–0 3–0 0–2–1 1–2 8–6–1

Vs. Smythe Division 1989–90 NHL records Team CGY EDM LAK VAN WIN Total New Jersey 0–3 1–0–2 2–1 0–3 1–2 4–9–2 N.Y. Islanders 0–3 0–1–2 2–1 2–1 2–1 6–7–2 N.Y. Rangers 1–2 2–0–1 1–2 3–0 1–1–1 8–5–2 Philadelphia 1–1–1 1–2 3–0 0–1–2 1–2 6–6–3 Pittsburgh 0–2–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 2–0–1 6–7–2 Washington 1–0–2 1–2 0–3 0–2–1 0–3 2–10–3

Schedule and results

1989–90 regular season [6]
October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 1 L October 5, 1989 5–6 @ Minnesota North Stars (1989–90) 0–1–0 2 L October 7, 1989 3–6 @ Calgary Flames (1989–90) 0–2–0 3 W October 9, 1989 5–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1989–90) 1–2–0 4 W October 11, 1989 7–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1989–90) 2–2–0 5 T October 14, 1989 3–3 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90) 2–2–1 6 L October 17, 1989 3–6 Minnesota North Stars (1989–90) 2–3–1 7 W October 20, 1989 5–3 @ Washington Capitals (1989–90) 3–3–1 8 L October 21, 1989 1–2 Vancouver Canucks (1989–90) 3–4–1 9 T October 24, 1989 3–3 OT Edmonton Oilers (1989–90) 3–4–2 10 T October 27, 1989 5–5 OT @ New York Rangers (1989–90) 3–4–3 11 L October 28, 1989 1–4 New York Rangers (1989–90) 3–5–3 12 L October 31, 1989 0–3 Montreal Canadiens (1989–90) 3–6–3
November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 13 L November 2, 1989 2–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90) 3–7–3 14 W November 4, 1989 3–2 Detroit Red Wings (1989–90) 4–7–3 15 L November 5, 1989 2–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90) 4–8–3 16 L November 7, 1989 3–5 Washington Capitals (1989–90) 4–9–3 17 L November 9, 1989 5–7 Quebec Nordiques (1989–90) 4–10–3 18 L November 11, 1989 3–5 Chicago Blackhawks (1989–90) 4–11–3 19 L November 12, 1989 2–4 @ New York Rangers (1989–90) 4–12–3 20 L November 14, 1989 4–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90) 4–13–3 21 W November 16, 1989 6–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90) 5–13–3 22 L November 18, 1989 3–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90) 5–14–3 23 L November 21, 1989 3–4 Winnipeg Jets (1989–90) 5–15–3 24 L November 22, 1989 3–5 @ Washington Capitals (1989–90) 5–16–3 25 L November 25, 1989 2–7 Edmonton Oilers (1989–90) 5–17–3 26 L November 28, 1989 2–3 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1989–90) 5–18–3 27 W November 30, 1989 2–0 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1989–90) 6–18–3
December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 28 W December 2, 1989 6–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1989–90) 7–18–3 29 W December 5, 1989 3–0 Buffalo Sabres (1989–90) 8–18–3 30 W December 6, 1989 4–3 @ Hartford Whalers (1989–90) 9–18–3 31 T December 9, 1989 0–0 OT New York Rangers (1989–90) 9–18–4 32 L December 12, 1989 2–7 New Jersey Devils (1989–90) 9–19–4 33 L December 13, 1989 2–5 @ New Jersey Devils (1989–90) 9–20–4 34 W December 15, 1989 5–3 @ Washington Capitals (1989–90) 10–20–4 35 W December 16, 1989 4–3 New York Rangers (1989–90) 11–20–4 36 W December 19, 1989 5–4 OT New Jersey Devils (1989–90) 12–20–4 37 W December 23, 1989 8–6 Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90) 13–20–4 38 W December 28, 1989 3–2 St. Louis Blues (1989–90) 14–20–4 39 L December 30, 1989 3–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1989–90) 14–21–4 40 W December 31, 1989 4–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1989–90) 15–21–4
January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 41 W January 2, 1990 5–3 Los Angeles Kings (1989–90) 16–21–4 42 W January 6, 1990 5–2 Quebec Nordiques (1989–90) 17–21–4 43 W January 10, 1990 3–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90) 18–21–4 44 W January 11, 1990 8–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1989–90) 19–21–4 45 W January 13, 1990 4–2 Washington Capitals (1989–90) 20–21–4 46 W January 16, 1990 3–0 Vancouver Canucks (1989–90) 21–21–4 47 W January 17, 1990 6–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1989–90) 22–21–4 48 W January 19, 1990 6–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1989–90) 23–21–4 49 L January 23, 1990 2–4 @ Hartford Whalers (1989–90) 23–22–4 50 L January 25, 1990 2–5 @ Boston Bruins (1989–90) 23–23–4 51 W January 27, 1990 9–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90) 24–23–4 52 T January 28, 1990 4–4 OT New Jersey Devils (1989–90) 24–23–5 53 L January 30, 1990 1–2 St. Louis Blues (1989–90) 24–24–5
February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 54 W February 2, 1990 5–3 Washington Capitals (1989–90) 25–24–5 55 W February 4, 1990 1–0 @ Buffalo Sabres (1989–90) 26–24–5 56 W February 6, 1990 8–7 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90) 27–24–5 57 T February 8, 1990 5–5 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90) 27–24–6 58 W February 10, 1990 4–3 OT @ Boston Bruins (1989–90) 28–24–6 59 L February 13, 1990 2–4 Calgary Flames (1989–90) 28–25–6 60 L February 17, 1990 1–3 Chicago Blackhawks (1989–90) 28–26–6 61 L February 18, 1990 2–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90) 28–27–6 62 L February 22, 1990 3–4 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90) 28–28–6 63 T February 24, 1990 3–3 OT Detroit Red Wings (1989–90) 28–28–7 64 T February 25, 1990 3–3 OT New Jersey Devils (1989–90) 28–28–8 65 L February 28, 1990 3–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1989–90) 28–29–8
March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 66 L March 2, 1990 3–6 @ New York Rangers (1989–90) 28–30–8 67 L March 3, 1990 4–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1989–90) 28–31–8 68 L March 6, 1990 2–4 Hartford Whalers (1989–90) 28–32–8 69 L March 8, 1990 2–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1989–90) 28–33–8 70 T March 10, 1990 3–3 OT Boston Bruins (1989–90) 28–33–9 71 L March 13, 1990 2–4 Montreal Canadiens (1989–90) 28–34–9 72 L March 15, 1990 4–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90) 28–35–9 73 W March 17, 1990 6–3 New York Rangers (1989–90) 29–35–9 74 T March 18, 1990 2–2 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90) 29–35–10 75 L March 20, 1990 0–3 @ Washington Capitals (1989–90) 29–36–10 76 L March 22, 1990 1–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1989–90) 29–37–10 77 T March 24, 1990 5–5 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1989–90) 29–37–11 78 L March 27, 1990 2–4 Calgary Flames (1989–90) 29–38–11 79 W March 28, 1990 6–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90) 30–38–11 80 W March 31, 1990 6–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90) 31–38–11
Legend:   Win (2 points)  Loss (0 points)  Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

Main article: 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs

1990 Stanley Cup playoffs [6]
Division Semifinals vs. (P1) New York Rangers – Rangers win 4–1 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Series 1 April 5 NY Islanders 1–2 NY Rangers 0–1 2 April 7 NY Islanders 2–5 NY Rangers 0–2 3 April 9 NY Rangers 3–4 NY Islanders 2OT 1–2 4 April 11 NY Rangers 6–1 NY Islanders 1–3 5 April 13 NY Islanders 5–6 NY Rangers 1–4
Legend:   Win  Loss

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Pat LaFontaine C 74 54 51 105 38 -13 13 2 8 Brent Sutter C 67 33 35 68 65 9 17 3 3 Doug Crossman D 80 15 44 59 54 3 8 0 1 Jeff Norton D 60 4 49 53 65 -9 4 0 0 Pat Flatley RW 62 17 32 49 101 10 4 0 2 Randy Wood LW/C 74 24 24 48 39 -10 6 1 3 Don Maloney LW 79 16 27 43 47 6 0 1 2 Derek King LW 46 13 27 40 20 2 5 0 1 David Volek W 80 17 22 39 41 -2 6 0 0 Alan Kerr RW 75 15 21 36 129 -1 3 0 1 Hubie McDonough C 54 18 11 29 26 10 0 3 3 Gary Nylund D 64 4 21 25 144 8 2 0 0 Bryan Trottier C 59 13 11 24 29 -11 4 0 0 Brad Lauer LW 63 6 18 24 19 5 0 0 2 Gerald Diduck D 76 3 17 20 163 2 1 0 0 Dave Chyzowski LW 34 8 6 14 45 -4 3 0 1 Mick Vukota RW 76 4 8 12 290 10 0 0 0 Joe Reekie D 31 1 8 9 43 13 0 0 1 Gilles Thibaudeau C 20 4 4 8 17 2 0 0 0 Jari Gronstrand D 41 3 4 7 27 0 0 0 2 Tom Fitzgerald RW 19 2 5 7 4 -3 0 0 1 Mikko Makela RW 20 2 3 5 2 -10 1 0 0 Ken Baumgartner LW 53 0 5 5 194 6 0 0 0 Derek Laxdal RW 12 3 1 4 4 -4 0 0 0 Marc Bergevin D 18 0 4 4 30 -8 0 0 0 Dean Chynoweth D 20 0 2 2 39 0 0 0 0 Mark Fitzpatrick G 47 0 2 2 18 0 0 0 0 Dale Henry LW 20 0 2 2 2 -4 0 0 0 Rich Pilon D 14 0 2 2 31 2 0 0 0 Shawn Evans D 2 1 0 1 0 -1 1 0 0 Paul Gagne LW 9 1 0 1 4 -1 0 0 0 Jeff Finley D 11 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Glenn Healy G 39 0 1 1 7 0 0 0 0 Wayne McBean D 5 0 1 1 2 -1 0 0 0 Rob DiMaio RW 7 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Dale Kushner RW 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Chris Pryor D 10 0 0 0 24 -7 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV% Mark Fitzpatrick 2653 47 19 19 5 150 3.39 3 1472 1322 .898 Glenn Healy 2197 39 12 19 6 128 3.50 2 1210 1082 .894 Team: 4850 80 31 38 11 278 3.44 5 2682 2404 .896

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Brent Sutter C 5 2 3 5 2 0 2 0 1 David Volek W 5 1 4 5 0 -3 0 0 0 Jeff Norton D 4 1 3 4 17 0 0 0 0 Pat Flatley RW 5 3 0 3 2 1 2 0 0 Wayne McBean D 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 Randy Wood LW/C 5 1 1 2 4 -2 0 0 0 Jeff Finley D 5 0 2 2 2 -3 0 0 0 Brad Lauer LW 4 0 2 2 10 4 0 0 0 Derek Laxdal RW 1 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 Gary Nylund D 5 0 2 2 17 1 0 0 0 Rob DiMaio RW 1 1 0 1 4 2 0 0 0 Tom Fitzgerald RW 4 1 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 Hubie McDonough C 5 1 0 1 4 -2 0 0 0 Bryan Trottier C 4 1 0 1 4 -4 0 0 0 Doug Crossman D 5 0 1 1 6 1 0 0 0 Rod Dallman LW 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 Glenn Healy G 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Pat LaFontaine C 2 0 1 1 0 -1 0 0 0 Ken Baumgartner LW 4 0 0 0 27 1 0 0 0 Marc Bergevin D 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Gerald Diduck D 5 0 0 0 12 -5 0 0 0 Mark Fitzpatrick G 4 0 0 0 19 0 0 0 0 Jari Gronstrand D 3 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 Alan Kerr RW 4 0 0 0 10 -3 0 0 0 Derek King LW 4 0 0 0 4 -3 0 0 0 Don Maloney LW 5 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0 Mick Vukota RW 1 0 0 0 17 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV% Glenn Healy 166 4 1 2 9 3.25 0 79 70 .886 Mark Fitzpatrick 152 4 0 2 13 5.13 0 71 58 .817 Team: 318 5 1 4 22 4.15 0 150 128 .853

^[7]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Draft picks

New York's draft picks at the 1989 NHL entry draft held at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	2	Dave Chyzowski	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
2	23	Travis Green	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
3	44	Jason Zent	United States	Nichols School (USHS-NY)
4	65	Brent Grieve	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
5	86	Jace Reed	United States	Grand Rapids High School (USHS-MN)
5	90	Steve Young	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
5	99	Kevin O'Sullivan	United States	Catholic Memorial School (USHS-MN)
7	128	Jon Larson	United States	Roseau High School (USHS-MN)
7	133	Brett Harkins	United States	Detroit Compuware Ambassadors (OHL)
8	149	Phil Huber	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
9	170	Matthew Robbins	United States	New Hampton School (USHS-NH)
10	191	Vladimir Malakhov	Soviet Union	CSKA Moscow (Soviet Union)
11	212	Kelly Ens	Canada	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
12	233	Iain Fraser	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
S	2	Rob Vanderydt	Canada	Miami University (CCHA)
S	7	Brad Mattson	United States	Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (MIAC)

See also

• 1989–90 NHL season

References

1. "1989-90 NHL Summary".
2. "1989-90 NHL Goalie Statistics".
3. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN   9781894801225.
4. "1989–1990 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
5. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
6. "1989-90 New York Islanders Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
7. "1989-90 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2009.