It Happened at the Coliseum … on FEBRUARY 6th

40 years ago tonight (1975) – Jean-Paul Parise scored the tying goal with 1:02 to play as the Isles extended their unbeaten streak to six (3-0-3) with a 2-2 tie with the Buffalo Sabres.

Billy MacMillian had given the Isles a 1-0 lead with a second period tally but former Islander Brian Spencer and Rene Robert scored goals 1:23 apart to give Buffalo a 2-1 advantage.

It stayed that way until there were 62 seconds to play when Parise found an unguarded cage after Sabre netminder Gary Bromley collided with Ralph Stewart.  “As soon as I got the puck”, Parise told Newsday’s John Jensonne, “I said, “It can’t be. Geez”.”  But it was, and Parise earned the Isles a point against the team with the NHL’s best record.

A tie was a bit of a moral victory for the Isles against the Sabres, as it was only their fourth point in 13 all-time meetings (0-9-4). In fact the Isles’ first home victory against Buffalo would not come until the 1976 playoffs.

The Isles recorded their 56^th point of the season, matching their season two total. As Bob Nystrom noted, “There’s nothing that says we can’t catch the Rangers”.  At the time, the Isles were eight points behind the Rangers.  They would catch them on the final day of the regular season, and that Parise guy would score a pretty big goal a week later to eliminate the Blueshirts.

A personal note:

 This is the first #ItHappened to prominently feature JP Parise since his passing earlier this year. 
More on his passing here: http://www.nyiskinny.com/2015/01/jp-parise-passes-away.html

More on a favorite cause of JP's here: http://defendingtheblueline.org/blog/2015/01/in-memory-of-dtbl-supporter-and-former-nhl-player-jp-parise/    Please help if you can!

Also on this date: (1988) – Alan Kerr scored two goals and added an assist as the Isles beat the Sabres 6-4. Ken Morrow earned his 100^th point on Kerr’s second goal, which went into an empty net. Dave Andreychuk had a hat trick in defeat for Buffalo.

All-time, the Isles have played eight February 6th games at the Coliseum and finish with a 3-3-2 record on this date at 1255 Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale.