NY sports history: Jan. 27, 1979

THIS DAY IN NY SPORTS HISTORY

Saturday, Jan. 27, 1979

Rangers snap Isles' home mark

Ulf Nilsson had a goal and four assists as the Rangers beat the Islanders, 7-2, at the Nassau Coliseum and handed the Islanders their first home loss of the season.

The Islanders had started the 1978-79 campaign with 23 straight home wins or ties (15-0-8 record). Anders Hedberg had two goals, and Pat Hickey added a goal and two assists for the Rangers. Goalie John Davidson stopped 23 of 25 shots in the victory.

Ed Westfall and Clark Gillies each scored for the Islanders, and goalie Billy Smith had 26 saves. Interestingly, 10 days earlier, the Rangers ended Isles' goalie Glenn Resch's personal unbeaten streak (15-0-8) in a 5-3 Rangers' win at the Garden.

The Islanders (51-15-14) finished the regular season as the Patrick Division champs with an NHL-best 116 points. The Rangers (40-29-11) were third in the division, but upended the Islanders in the Campbell Conference finals, 4 games to 2.

Alas, the Rangers fell short in the Stanley Cup finals, losing in five games to Montreal. The Islanders were one season away from their incredible run of winning four straight Stanley Cups from 1980-1983. The Rangers, who hadn't won a Cup since 1940, finally captured Lord Stanley in 1994.