Islanders Share Stories of "Battlin' Billy" Smith

Lane Lambert had a big smile on his face when he was asked if he'd ever scored on Billy Smith during his playing days.
"I did score on Billy Smith," the Islanders Head Coach said.
He even lived to tell the tale, though like most of Smith's opponents in front of the net, he got a souvenir.
"I got slashed by him too," Lambert said.

Smith earned the nickname "Battlin' Billy," racking up 470 penalty minutes with the Islanders, his 475 total PIMs are the second-most for a goalie in NHL history, to go along with his franchise record 304 wins. He took on all comers getting into spats with Dave Semenko, Tiger Williams, Lanny McDonald and Lindy Ruff, among others.
ISLES LEGEND: BILLY SMITH
He famously slashed Wayne Gretzky during a playoff feud and once fought teammate Ernie Hicke during warmups before a game against the Atlanta Flames because the forward had been shooting too high and close on him and Chico Resch.
Smith hacked, whacked and butt-ended players if they got too close to his crease, but never expected anyone else to finish a fight he started. For better or for worse, as in the time he picked a fight with Semenko, he handled his own business, and the rest of the league - including Lambert - knew there was a potential price to pay for going to the net.
"That was just Billy's nature,"
Dave Lewis told the Talkin' Isles podcast
. "He wasn't afraid of a game, wasn't afraid of a puck and wasn't afraid of a player. He just went out to compete and win the game."
Watch: Youtube Video
The defensemen in front of Smith sometimes had to be just as careful as the forwards coming to the net. Lewis, who played for the Islanders from 1973 to March 1980, said Smith would occasionally whack him in the back of the legs if he was screening his netminder while attempting to clear the front of the net.
"Billy had this theory that 'I want to see the puck
. "I carried that trait with me till the day I retired. A lot of goalies in LA came and went and tried and take my job and I fought tooth and nail. I was always great friends with all the guys, but on the ice, I'm not giving my job to anybody. I've always been thankful to Billy for teaching me that."

(Regarding Hrudey's fight with Vanbiesbrouck, the cameras panned to Smith on the bench, and the netminder looks like a boxing cornerman, almost as if he wanted in on the action. It's worth a watch.)
Sometimes fighting for your crease meant literally. Jamie McLennan, the former goalie turned TSN broadcaster, who came up in the Islanders organization in the 1990s, had Smith as his goalie coach in Capitol District.
He told NewYorkIslanders.com a story
about playing in St. John's, Newfoundland, when the mascot posted up in his crease without consequence. McLennan said Smith was displeased, but the next night, McLennan made amends, running the bird over, much to Smith's delight.
"I loved Billy because as much as he cared about you being in shape and stopping pucks, he said most of stopping pucks is between the ears," McLennan said. "So he said I'm going to build that up and you need to develop mental toughness to handle the rigors of the day to day."
Smith's mental toughness always showed up in the playoffs, where he played his best hockey. Smith went 88-36 in the postseason, and his 88 wins are still fifth-most all time, though his .698 winning percentage is higher than the four goalies above him. He was a big-game goaltender and in addition to all the hacks and whacks, Battlin' Billy was always ready to do battle when the stakes were the highest.
"That was the fire of Billy Smith and love him or hate him, that guy under pressure, he was the reason that the Islanders won four cups," Resch said. "He's in the Hall of Fame. I'm just thankful I got to play with them. And I'm thankful that the that those great Islanders fans were able to be recipients of one of the greatest goalies of all time."