This season, the New York Islanders will attempt to repeat history immortalized above the ice where they play.
–
UBS Arena installed the Islanders championship banners on Wednesday. The Islanders won the Stanley Cup for four years in a row between 1980 and 1983. All four banners now float in the new Islanders building, which will host New York’s first game on November 20 against the Calgary Flames.
READ ALSO : Mike Bossy has lung cancer
Located inside Belmont Park, the UBS Arena has eight bars with a view of the ice rink as well as two outdoor terraces for fans. For players, there are 23,000 square feet of facilities, including the locker room.
Players who have been in the four-time champion editions and whose numbers are retired – forwards Clark Gillies, Mike Bossy, Bobby Nystrom and John Tonelli, centers Bryan Trottier and Butch Goring, defenseman Denis Potvin and goalkeeper Billy Smith – also have their own banner hanging in the arena.
Nystrom is well known for his overtime goal in Game 6 against the Philadelphia Flyers that secured the team its first championship.
In the 1981-82 season, the Islanders became a dynasty. They have won eight straight games in the association finals and the Stanley Cup finals, defeating the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks. The following season, the Islanders won the final series 4-0 against the Edmonton Oilers to solidify their status as one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the sport.
Only two teams – the Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens – have won the Stanley Cup four years in a row.
The Islanders will now attempt to add a fifth Championship Banner to their collection.
– .
