It was 25 years ago today: February 20, 1982

John Tonelli's goal with 47 seconds to play broke a 2-2 tie, and
Chico Resch's heart, as the Isles defeated their former
goaltender and the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at the Coliseum to
establish an NHL record with a fifteenth straight win.
(I hope that you saw the highlight package we aired on Monday's
telecast)

The win broke a record established by the Boston Bruins in the
1929-30 season.

The NHL record winning streak is now 17 games, held by the
1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins' streak, however,
included two overtime wins, leaving the Islanders as the only
NHL team to ever be better than their opponents after 60 minutes
in fifteen straight games.

Pittsburgh, btw, broke the Islanders streak, 4-3 at the Igloo
the following night. The Islanders would respond by breaking
the Penguins hearts, and extending the dynasty, with the
miraculous comeback in game 5 of the Patrick Division
Semi-Finals.

Memories, anyone?