This day in NY sports history

THIS DAY IN NY SPORTS HISTORY

Saturday, April 4, 1987

Potvin notches his 1,000th point

Scoring with 17 seconds left in the third period of the Islanders' 6-6 tie with the Buffalo Sabres, Denis Potvin became the first defenseman in NHL history to amass 1,000 career points. The Hall of Famer reached the milestone with an assist from Bryan Trottier and Mikko Makela. His goal tied the game and forced a scoreless overtime at Nassau Coliseum. Potvin had also scored at 2:00 in the third period to pull the Isles within 4-3. The tie made the team's record 34-33-12 and they reached the division finals. Potvin, 33, finished that season, his second to last, with 42 points (12 goals) and ended his career with 1,052.

Islanders 6, Sabres 6

First period: Sabres, Gillies (Creighton, Korn), 5:20; Sabres, Foligno (Andreychuk), 11:52; Islanders, Henry, 14:06; Sabres, Ruuttu (Andreychuk, Ferner), 14:43.

Second period: Islanders, Boyd (Trottier, Lafontaine), 6:07; Sabres, Ruuttu (Kurvers), 9:16.

Third period: Islanders, Potvin (Lafontaine, Trottier), 2:00; Sabres, Napier (Housley, Gillies), 3:38; Islanders, Flatley (Gilbert), 6:35; Islanders, D. Sutter (Trottier, Konroyd), 18:09; Sabres, Gillies (Housley), 18:35; Islanders, Potvin (Makela, Trottier), 19:43.

Overtime: No scoring.

Goalies: Sabres, Cloutier (33 saves, 65:00); Islanders, Hrudey (26 saves, 65:00).