Islanders honor Gillies' life, wear No. 9 patch in memory of team legend

ELMONT, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders honored Clark Gillies before their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at UBS Arena on Saturday. Gillies
died of cancer at age 67
on Friday.

Gillies played 872 games for New York (fifth in Islanders history) and scored 663 points (304 goals, 359 assists), fourth in their history. He was one of 17 Islanders players who won four straight Stanley Cup championships from 1980-83. He also was a member of the group that set the NHL record of 19 straight playoff series wins.
The Islanders had No. 9 patches in black and white on the front of their jerseys, which they will wear for the remainder of this season.

After warmups, a video montage was played on the scoreboard featuring photos of Gillies at various Islanders functions to "In My Life" by The Beatles.
Another video tribute was shown prior to the Canadian and U.S. national anthems. The starting lineups from each team backed away from the blue lines to get a better look.
Gillies was entrenched in the Long Island community during his playing career and after. He began The Clark Gillies Foundation, a non-profit corporation developed to help children who are physically, developmentally and/or financially challenged. The goal of the foundation is to improve the quality of life; and 100 percent of proceeds go directly to people in need.
The Huntington Hospital Pediatric Unit was named after Gillies and his foundation, which raised $1 million to help fund its construction. The Foundation continued its association with Huntington Hospital after it created Brianna's Cub room within the Clark Gillies Pediatric Unit and by creating the Clark Gillies Pediatric Emergency Room which is staffed and equipped specifically for children.