The New York Islanders win their third Stanley Cup in a row with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Pacific Coliseum that completed a four-game sweep of the championship series.

With New York having earned 118 points during the regular season to Vancouver’s 77, the 41 point difference between the two teams in a final is the largest in NHL history.

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Isles’ centre Butch Goring opened the scoring at 11 minutes 38 seconds with his sixth goal of the playoffs, and Canucks captain Stan Smyl tied it up seven minutes later with his seventh of the post-season.

Mike Bossy, who was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs’ MVP, then scored two powerplay goals in the second period to help put an end to Vancouver’s hopes for their first championship title in team history. Bossy put the puck past goaltender Richard Brodeur when he poked in a rebound off a Denis Potvin's shot at the five-minute mark of the second period, and then scored on a 30-footer three minutes later.

Bryan Trottier, who gained an assist on each of Bossy's goals, finished the playoffs with 23 assists to break Bobby Orr’s record for the most in a single playoffs season. (The current record of 31 is held by Wayne Gretzky.)

The Islanders won a fourth and final Stanley Cup the following year, also in four games, by sweeping the Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers. Only one other team has won more than three consecutive championships. The Montreal Canadiens won five in a row from 1956-60 and four more from 1976-79. The Toronto Maple Leafs are the only other franchise to win three championships in a row, having pulled the feat off it twice.

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