It Happened at the Coliseum … on MARCH 25th

40 years ago tonight (1975) – Dave Fortier’s first goal in 50 games was the game-tying goal with 65 seconds to play, as the Isles rallied to tie the Canadiens 3-3 before the 11^th sellout crowd of the season at the Coliseum.

Dave Fortier (undated), in a game in St. Louis

“It was a funny goal”, Fortier told Newsday’s Tim Moriarty. “The puck was standing on its edge…and I just flailed at it.”  The sixth-attacker goal, with Billy Smith on the bench, beat Canadien netminder Ken Dryden.

The tie extended the Isles’ unbeaten streak to 6 games, and gave them 82 points (31-24-20) with five games to play.  It also extended their home-ice unbeaten streak over Montreal to four games (2-0-2).

Goals by Denis Potvin and Billy Harris have the Isles a 2-0 lead early in the second period but Murray Wilson and Steve Shutt scored to tie the game before the session was over. 

Jacques Lemaire beat Billy Smith 2:22 into the third period to give Montreal the lead, before Fortier knotted the game for good; Denis Potvin and Billy Harris earned assists on the game-tying goal.

While the Canadiens were gliding towards a Norris Division title, the point was enormous for the Isles, as they climbed within 1 point of the Rangers and moved seven points ahead of Atlanta.

Patrick Division	W-L-T	Pts
Philadelphia	46-18-10	102
NY Rangers	35-26-13	83
NY Islanders	31-24-20	82
Atl Flames	31-29-13	75

Also on this date: (2002) - Oleg Kvasha scored twice in the game’s final seven minutes before Claude Lapointe cemented matter with an empty-net as the Isles overcame a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Rangers 4-2.  Kip Miller scored the other goal for the Isles on a first period power play and later contributed his 100th career assist.  The win cut the Isles’ magic number for making the playoffs for the first time since 1994 to 10 and kept the Isles two points ahead of the Devils in a battle for second place in the Atlantic Division.

Unfortunately, I don't have any video of this game, so let me share some from a game two months earlier, at Madison Square Garden, between the teams.  Alexei Yashin had a hat trick in this one -- that was a season that only the home team broadcast Islander/Ranger games, so Sam Rosen and John Davidson are left to describe Yashin's big night.

All-time, the Isles have played 11 March 25th games at the Coliseum and finish with a 5-3-3 record on this date at 1255 Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale.