1998–99 New York Islanders season

1998–99 New York Islanders
Division	5th Atlantic
Conference	13th Eastern
1998–99 record	24–48–10
Home record	11–23–7
Road record	13–25–3
Goals for	194
Goals against	244
Team information
General manager	Mike Milbury
Coach	Mike Milbury (interim) Bill Stewart
Captain	Trevor Linden
Arena	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Average attendance	11,299
Minor league affiliate(s)	Lowell Lock Monsters Roanoke Express
Team leaders
Goals	Zigmund Palffy (22)
Assists	Robert Reichel (37)
Points	Robert Reichel (56)
Penalty minutes	Gino Odjick (133)
Plus/minus	Vladimir Chebaturkin (+6)
Wins	Tommy Salo (17)
Goals against average	Tommy Salo (2.62)

The 1998–99 New York Islanders season was the 27th season in the franchise's history. The Islanders had yet another disappointing season and could not unable to qualify for the playoffs for the fifth straight year.

Regular season

Final standings

Atlantic Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	New Jersey Devils	82	47	24	11	248	196	105
2	5	Philadelphia Flyers	82	37	26	19	231	196	93
3	8	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	38	30	14	242	225	90
4	10	New York Rangers	82	33	38	11	217	227	77
5	13	New York Islanders	82	24	48	10	194	244	58

Eastern Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	y – New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	47	24	11	248	196	105
2	y – Ottawa Senators	NE	82	44	23	15	239	179	103
3	y – Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	34	30	18	210	202	86
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	45	30	7	268	231	97
5	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	37	26	19	231	196	93
6	Boston Bruins	NE	82	39	30	13	214	181	91
7	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	37	28	17	207	175	91
8	Pittsburgh Penguins	ATL	82	38	30	14	242	225	90
9	Florida Panthers	SE	82	30	34	18	210	228	78
10	New York Rangers	ATL	82	33	38	11	217	227	77
11	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	32	39	11	184	209	75
12	Washington Capitals	SE	82	31	45	6	200	218	68
13	New York Islanders	ATL	82	24	48	10	194	244	58
14	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	19	54	9	179	292	47

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division

Schedule and results

1998–99 regular season
October: 5–5–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 2–2–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 L October 10, 1998 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 0–1–0 Recap 2 L October 12, 1998 0–3 @ Boston Bruins (1998–99) 0–2–0 Recap 3 W October 14, 1998 2–0 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 1–2–0 Recap 4 W October 17, 1998 1–0 @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 2–2–0 Recap 5 L October 21, 1998 2–4 Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 2–3–0 Recap 6 L October 22, 1998 2–3 @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 2–4–0 Recap 7 W October 24, 1998 5–4 Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 3–4–0 Recap 8 W October 27, 1998 1–0 Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 4–4–0 Recap 9 L October 29, 1998 1–2 New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 4–5–0 Recap 10 W October 31, 1998 3–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 5–5–0 Recap
November: 5–8–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 2–5–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 11 W November 2, 1998 6–2 Florida Panthers (1998–99) 6–5–0 Recap 12 L November 5, 1998 3–6 Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 6–6–0 Recap 13 L November 7, 1998 2–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 6–7–0 Recap 14 W November 9, 1998 3–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 7–7–0 Recap 15 L November 10, 1998 2–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 7–8–0 Recap 16 W November 12, 1998 4–0 Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 8–8–0 Recap 17 L November 14, 1998 3–5 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 8–9–0 Recap 18 L November 17, 1998 2–5 @ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 8–10–0 Recap 19 L November 20, 1998 2–4 @ Dallas Stars (1998–99) 8–11–0 Recap 20 W November 21, 1998 6–3 @ Nashville Predators (1998–99) 9–11–0 Recap 21 W November 25, 1998 4–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 10–11–0 Recap 22 L November 26, 1998 1–4 @ Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 10–12–0 Recap 23 L November 28, 1998 1–3 Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 10–13–0 Recap
December: 3–9–2 (home: 1–4–1; road: 2–5–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 24 L December 2, 1998 2–3 New York Rangers (1998–99) 10–14–0 Recap 25 L December 4, 1998 1–5 @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 10–15–0 Recap 26 L December 5, 1998 5–7 New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 10–16–0 Recap 27 L December 8, 1998 1–2 Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 10–17–0 Recap 28 L December 12, 1998 1–2 OT Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 10–18–0 Recap 29 W December 15, 1998 1–0 @ San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 11–18–0 Recap 30 W December 17, 1998 5–4 OT @ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 12–18–0 Recap 31 T December 18, 1998 2–2 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 12–18–1 Recap 32 L December 20, 1998 2–4 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 12–19–1 Recap 33 T December 22, 1998 3–3 OT St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 12–19–2 Recap 34 W December 26, 1998 4–2 Boston Bruins (1998–99) 13–19–2 Recap 35 L December 28, 1998 1–5 @ Florida Panthers (1998–99) 13–20–2 Recap 36 L December 29, 1998 0–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 13–21–2 Recap 37 L December 31, 1998 0–1 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 13–22–2 Recap
January: 2–8–2 (home: 1–2–2; road: 1–6–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 38 L January 2, 1999 3–4 OT San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 13–23–2 Recap 39 T January 5, 1999 1–1 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 13–23–3 Recap 40 L January 7, 1999 0–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 13–24–3 Recap 41 L January 9, 1999 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 13–25–3 Recap 42 L January 11, 1999 3–4 @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 13–26–3 Recap 43 L January 13, 1999 3–4 OT @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 13–27–3 Recap 44 L January 16, 1999 0–1 @ Florida Panthers (1998–99) 13–28–3 Recap 45 L January 20, 1999 2–5 Florida Panthers (1998–99) 13–29–3 Recap 46 W January 21, 1999 5–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 14–29–3 Recap 47 W January 26, 1999 4–1 Boston Bruins (1998–99) 15–29–3 Recap 48 T January 29, 1999 4–4 OT Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 15–29–4 Recap 49 L January 30, 1999 2–9 @ Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 15–30–4 Recap
February: 4–5–3 (home: 2–3–2; road: 2–2–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 50 L February 3, 1999 1–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 15–31–4 Recap 51 W February 4, 1999 5–4 @ Boston Bruins (1998–99) 16–31–4 Recap 52 T February 7, 1999 3–3 OT Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 16–31–5 Recap 53 L February 9, 1999 1–2 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 16–32–5 Recap 54 L February 12, 1999 1–2 Nashville Predators (1998–99) 16–33–5 Recap 55 T February 13, 1999 2–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 16–33–6 Recap 56 T February 15, 1999 3–3 OT Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 16–33–7 Recap 57 W February 17, 1999 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 17–33–7 Recap 58 W February 20, 1999 3–2 @ New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 18–33–7 Recap 59 L February 21, 1999 1–4 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 18–34–7 Recap 60 L February 25, 1999 1–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 18–35–7 Recap 61 W February 27, 1999 3–1 Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 19–35–7 Recap
March: 2–10–2 (home: 0–6–1; road: 2–4–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 62 L March 2, 1999 2–4 Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 19–36–7 Recap 63 L March 4, 1999 2–3 OT Dallas Stars (1998–99) 19–37–7 Recap 64 T March 6, 1999 3–3 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 19–37–8 Recap 65 L March 7, 1999 2–4 New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 19–38–8 Recap 66 T March 9, 1999 2–2 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 19–38–9 Recap 67 L March 11, 1999 1–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 19–39–9 Recap 68 L March 14, 1999 2–3 OT New York Rangers (1998–99) 19–40–9 Recap 69 L March 15, 1999 1–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 19–41–9 Recap 70 W March 19, 1999 3–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 20–41–9 Recap 71 L March 21, 1999 1–2 @ Calgary Flames (1998–99) 20–42–9 Recap 72 L March 24, 1999 1–2 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 20–43–9 Recap 73 L March 27, 1999 3–7 Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 20–44–9 Recap 74 L March 29, 1999 1–3 @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 20–45–9 Recap 75 W March 31, 1999 5–3 @ Florida Panthers (1998–99) 21–45–9 Recap
April: 3–3–1 (home: 1–2–1; road: 2–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 76 T April 3, 1999 2–2 OT Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 21–45–10 Recap 77 L April 6, 1999 3–4 Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 21–46–10 Recap 78 W April 8, 1999 3–1 Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 22–46–10 Recap 79 L April 10, 1999 1–6 Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 22–47–10 Recap 80 W April 12, 1999 4–2 @ New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 23–47–10 Recap 81 L April 14, 1999 2–3 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 23–48–10 Recap 82 W April 17, 1999 7–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 24–48–10 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
21	Robert Reichel‡	C	70	19	37	56	−15	50
16	Zigmund Palffy	RW	50	22	28	50	−6	34
32	Trevor Linden	RW	82	18	29	47	−14	32
20	Bryan Smolinski	C	82	16	24	40	−7	49
25	Mariusz Czerkawski	RW	78	21	17	38	−10	14
13	Claude Lapointe	C	82	14	23	37	−19	62
44	Mark Lawrence	RW	60	14	16	30	−8	38
29	Kenny Jonsson	D	63	8	18	26	−18	34
12	Mike Watt	LW	75	8	17	25	−2	12
38	Barry Richter	D	72	6	18	24	−4	34
15	Ted Donato†‡	LW	55	7	11	18	−10	27
17	Sergei Nemchinov‡	LW	67	8	8	16	−17	22
34	Bryan Berard‡	D	31	4	11	15	−6	26
4	Eric Brewer	D	63	5	6	11	−14	32
7	Scott Lachance‡	D	59	1	8	9	−19	30
10	Mats Lindgren†	C	12	5	3	8	2	2
3	Zdeno Chara	D	59	2	6	8	−8	83
6	David Harlock	D	70	2	6	8	−16	68
24	Gino Odjick	RW	23	4	3	7	−2	133
11	Kevin Miller	C	33	1	5	6	−5	13
10	Jason Dawe‡	RW	22	2	3	5	0	8
11	Craig Janney†	C	18	1	4	5	−2	4
2	Rich Pilon	D	52	0	4	4	−8	88
14	Joe Sacco	RW	73	3	0	3	−24	45
33	Eric Cairns†	D	9	0	3	3	1	23
33	Ken Belanger‡	LW	9	1	1	2	1	30
36	Ted Crowley†	D	6	1	1	2	0	0
37	Dmitri Nabokov	C	4	0	2	2	4	2
49	Vladimir Orszagh	RW	12	1	0	1	2	6
15	Tom Chorske‡	LW	2	0	1	1	1	2
39	Dean Malkoc	D	2	0	1	1	3	7
55	Vladimir Chebaturkin	D	8	0	0	0	6	12
1	Marcel Cousineau	G	6	0	0	0		0
30	Wade Flaherty	G	20	0	0	0		4
18	Mike Hough	LW	11	0	0	0	−2	2
67	Mike Kennedy	C	1	0	0	0	0	2
48	Warren Luhning	RW	11	0	0	0	−4	8
28	Felix Potvin†	G	11	0	0	0		0
35	Tommy Salo‡	G	51	0	0	0		12
36	Ray Schultz	D	4	0	0	0	−2	7
8	Steve Webb	RW	45	0	0	0	−10	32

Goaltending

• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.

No.	Player	Regular season
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
35	Tommy Salo‡	51	17	26	7	1368	132	2.62	.904	5	3018
30	Wade Flaherty	20	5	11	2	491	53	3.03	.892	0	1048
28	Felix Potvin†	11	2	7	1	345	37	3.66	.893	0	606
1	Marcel Cousineau	6	0	4	0	119	14	2.87	.882	0	293

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Kenny Jonsson
Team	Bob Nystrom Award	Claude Lapointe

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Eric Brewer	October 10, 1998

Draft picks

New York's draft picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft held at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	9	Mike Rupp	United States	Erie Otters (OHL)
2	36	Chris Nielsen	Canada	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
4	95	Andy Burnham	Canada	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
5	123	Jiri Dopita	Czech Republic	Petra Vsetín (Czech Republic)
6	155	Kevin Clauson	United States	Western Michigan University (CCHA)
7	182	Evgeny Korolev	Russia	London Knights (OHL)
8	209	Frederick Brind'Amour	Canada	Sherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL)
9	237	Ben Blais	United States	Walpole High School (USHS-MA)
9	242	Jason Doyle	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
9	250	Radek Matejovsky	Czech Republic	Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)

References

• "New York Islanders 1998-99 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
• "1998-99 New York Islanders Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.