This Day in Isles History: Jan. 21

Jan. 21, 1982 - The Islanders 15-game winning streak begins with a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh.

The Islanders first win of their 15-game winning streak was powered by goals from Brent Sutter, Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies, Billy Caroll and two goals from Bob Bourne, including one on the power play. The Islanders 15-game winning streak ran from Jan. 21, 1982 to Feb. 21, 1982 where they lost 4-3 to the Penguins. The 15-game winning streak was a NHL record that stood for 11 years. It is currently tied for third.

During that 15-game span, Trottier began a 25-game scoring streak where he compiled 55 points (28G, 27A). At the time, Trottier was only the third player to record a 25-game point streak, joining Guy Lafleur in 1977 and Wayne Gretzky in 1982. Trottier ended the season with 129 points (50G, 79A) through 80 regular-season games and was second on the Islanders leaderboard behind Mike Bossy who amassed 147 points (64G, 83A) through 80 games.

The Islanders ended the 1981-82 regular season with a record of 54-16-10 and ranked in first place in the Patrick Division. That season, the Islanders went on to win their third-straight Stanley Cup as they swept Vancouver in four games.

Jan. 21, 2021 -Semyon Varlamov sets a franchise record as his shutout streak reaches 1:42:10 which marks the longest by an Islanders goalie to start a season. Despite his shutout streak ending in the second period in the Islanders' eventual 4-1 win over New Jersey, the Russian netminder still began the 2020-21 season with a 3-0-0 record, including two shutouts.

"I just think he's really calm," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said of Varlamov after his second-straight shutout against Boston on Jan. 18. "I think that's the number one thing is he's really calm. You look around the League, when goalies are playing really well what you'll find is there's a calmness to them. It's no different than probably a baseball hitter seeing the ball; it's coming in fairly big to them and seeing it in slow motion."

Varlamov finished the 2020-21 regular season with a 19-11-4 record, including a career-best seven shutouts.