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50 free New York Islanders trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The New York Islanders exist because Nassau County wanted to keep a rival league out of its brand-new Coliseum, and within eight years Bill Torrey's draft-built roster was lifting the Stanley Cup. This Islanders trivia quiz covers the whole story: the 12-60-6 first season, Denis Potvin over the Canadiens' objections, the Trio Grande, Bob Nystrom's overtime winner, four straight championships and the 19-series streak that no team in any sport has matched, the '1940!' chant, the Easter Epic and Mike Bossy's 50 in 50. It then follows the strange decades that followed: the fisherman logo and 'fishsticks' taunts, John Spano's fraud, 'Mad Mike' Milbury drafting Rick DiPietro, the 15-year contract, John Tavares, the Brooklyn years, Barry Trotz and Lou Lamoriello, Mathew Barzal's Calder Trophy, two trips to the conference finals and the move to UBS Arena at Belmont Park. Easy questions for casual fans sit alongside genuinely hard ones about the dynasty. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedic and reference sources before publishing, and each question carries a citation. For more, try our NHL trivia and hockey trivia pages.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In what year did the Islanders play their first NHL season?
1972
Atlanta's Flames arrived at the same time to keep the schedule balanced.
Q 02The Islanders were created largely to keep which rival league's team out of Nassau Coliseum?
World Hockey Association
The WHA's New York Raiders ended up at Madison Square Garden and later fled to Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Q 03Many expected the new Nassau County team to borrow the name of which defunct Eastern Hockey League club?
Long Island Ducks
The Ducks were an Eastern Hockey League club that played from 1959 to 1973.
Q 04Which songwriter owned the restaurant where the Islanders' name was unveiled in February 1972?
Burt Bacharach
The press conference was held across the street from Roosevelt Raceway.
Q 05Which general manager, known as 'The Architect', built the Islanders through the draft from 1972?
Bill Torrey
His banner in the rafters carries his trademark bowtie instead of a number.
Q 06Which record did the 1972-73 expansion Islanders set with a 12-60-6 mark?
Most losses in an NHL season
They still beat the defending-champion Bruins 9-7 that January.
Q 07Which Montreal GM tried and failed to pry the 1973 first-overall pick from Torrey to draft Denis Potvin?
Sam Pollock
Potvin, hyped as 'the next Bobby Orr' at 14, won the Calder Trophy in 1974.
Q 08Al Arbour came to coach the Islanders in 1973 from which NHL club?
St. Louis Blues
He would coach 1,500 games for the Isles, the last one on a one-day contract in 2007.
Q 09In 1975 the Islanders became only the second team to win a series from 3-0 down, against which opponent?
Pittsburgh Penguins
Ed Westfall scored the late Game 7 winner; the 1942 Maple Leafs were the first to do it.
Q 10Bryan Trottier's 95 points in 1975-76 set a rookie record and won him which award?
Calder Memorial Trophy
His 63 assists were also a rookie record at the time.
Q 11Al Arbour talked Torrey into drafting Mike Bossy over Dwight Foster in 1977 with what argument?
It is easier to teach a scorer to check
Twelve teams passed on Bossy, including the Rangers and Maple Leafs twice each.
Q 12Which trade before the 1980 playoffs is often called the 'final piece of the puzzle'?
Acquiring Butch Goring from Los Angeles
Billy Harris and Dave Lewis went to the Kings for the second-line center.
Q 13Whose overtime goal in Game 6 of the 1980 Final delivered Long Island's first Stanley Cup?
Q 21Which centre came to the Islanders in the 1991 trade that sent Pat LaFontaine to Buffalo?
Pierre Turgeon
Benoit Hogue, Uwe Krupp and Dave McLlwain came too; Turgeon later won the Lady Byng.
Q 22Which Capitals player drew a then-record 21-game suspension for a 1993 hit on the Islanders' star center?
Dale Hunter
Turgeon separated his shoulder seconds after scoring an insurance goal in the series clincher.
Q 23Whose overtime goal in Game 7 eliminated the two-time defending champion Penguins in 1993?
David Volek
Newsday's front page read 'It's a Miracle!' over a picture of goalie Glenn Healy.
Bob Nystrom
It came at 7:11 of overtime against the Flyers, who had gone unbeaten in 35 straight regular-season games.
Q 14Which two players made the 1980 Islanders the first Cup winner with Europeans on the roster?
Stefan Persson and Anders Kallur
Both were Swedes; Ken Morrow arrived that spring fresh from the Miracle on Ice.
Q 15Which taunt did Islanders fans start during a 1981 sweep of the Rangers that spread across the league?
'1940!'
It referred to the Rangers' last Cup; they finally ended the drought in 1994.
Q 16Whom did the Islanders beat in the 1982 Final, the first coast-to-coast Stanley Cup Final?
Vancouver Canucks
Bossy scored the clincher while falling parallel to the ice and won the Conn Smythe.
Q 17Which goalie won the Conn Smythe after shutting down Gretzky's Oilers in the 1983 Final sweep?
Billy Smith
Gretzky did not score a goal in the series, and the Oilers later said seeing the exhausted champions taught them what winning took.
Q 18How many consecutive playoff series did the Islanders win from 1980 to 1984, a record in pro sports?
19
It edges the Boston Celtics' 18 from 1959-67, and each Islander Cup required four series wins.
Q 19The Islanders' 1984 'Drive for Five' ended in the Final against which team?
Edmonton Oilers
Rookie Pat LaFontaine scored twice in 38 seconds in the last game, but the Oilers began their own dynasty.
Q 20How many shots did Kelly Hrudey stop in the 1987 'Easter Epic' before Pat LaFontaine ended it?
73
The winner came at 1:56 a.m. on Easter Sunday morning against the Capitals.
Q 24Rangers fans mocked the 1995 fisherman logo with which chant?
'We want fishsticks!'
The logo resembled the Gorton's fisherman and was dropped as soon as league rules allowed.
Q 25Which shoulder patch appeared on the fisherman-era jerseys?
A lighthouse
It referenced the Montauk Lighthouse; the striping was meant to look like ocean waves.
Q 26Fraudster John Spano briefly 'bought' the Islanders in 1996 from which long-time owner?
Pickett
Spano got 71 months in prison; the saga became the ESPN 30 for 30 film 'Big Shot'.
Q 27Which two future stars did Mike Milbury trade to Florida in 2000 for Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish?
Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen
He then took Rick DiPietro first overall ahead of Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik.
Q 28Which defenseman went to Ottawa in the 2001 deal that brought Alexei Yashin to Long Island?
Zdeno Chara
The Islanders also gave up the second overall pick in the 2001 draft.
Q 29Rick DiPietro's 2006 contract ran for how many years?
15
At $67.5 million it was believed to be the longest in NHL history at the time.
Q 30Which backup goalie retired in 2006 to become the Islanders' general manager?
Garth Snow
He replaced Neil Smith, who lasted roughly a month in the job.