1979-80 O-Pee-Chee 242 Billy Smith Hockey Card (Front)
1979-80 O-Pee-Chee 242 Billy Smith Hockey Card (Back)
1979-80 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
Card Notes
Bill is holder of Islanders’ club record with 6 consecutive playoff victories.
En Français
Avec 6 victoires consécutives durant des éliminatoires, Bill détient un record chez les Islanders.
Details
The record referred to on the back of this 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee hockey card occurred during the 1976-77 NHL season. Billy Smith would top that mark in 1980-81 with eight consecutive wins. He would set the current New York Islanders record of nine consecutive playoff wins in 1981-82.
That nine win streak ties Smith for fifth all-time with Ken Dryden, Grant Fuhr and Chris Osgood. The NHL record is eleven games, a mark shared by Ed Belfour, Tom Barrasso and Patrick Roy. It should be no surprise that Billy’s career playoff record is 88 wins against just 36 losses over 132 games.
Between 1971-72 and 1988-89, Bill Smith played in 680 regular season games to go along with his 132 in the playoffs in the National Hockey League. His career started with the Los Angeles Kings but he appeared in just five games with that club in 1971-72. He was the fourth player taken at the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft and would spend the rest of his NHL career with the New York Islanders.
The man with a First All-Star Team selection, a Conn Smythe Trophy, a Vezina Trophy and a Jennings Trophy to his name was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993.