Billy Smith
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Billy Smith (born December 12 1950, in Perth, Ontario) was a professional ice hockey player. He was a National Hockey League goaltender, and is an inductee of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He began with the Los Angeles Kings in 1971, but was drafted by the New York Islanders the following year, staying with them until his retirement in 1989.
Considered one of the best goalies in the 1970s and early 1980s, Smith was a First Team All Star in 1982, and played in the All Star Game in 1979. He won the Vezina Trophy as Best Goaltender in 1982, and the William M. Jennings Trophy for lowest goals allowed in 1983.
Smith's regular season success, however, was surpassed by his performances in the Playoffs, as he helped the Islanders win four straight Stanley Cups (1980-1983), reach the finals five straight times (1980-1984), and win a record 19 consecutive Playoff series.
His single most famous game may be his 2-0 victory in the first game of the 1983 Stanley Cup finals against the Edmonton Oilers, shutting out Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, and Kurri. The Islanders went on to sweep the Oilers in 4 games, with Smith allowing the Oilers only 6 goals and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff Most Valuable Player. A year later, Smith broke the record for the most Playoff victories: he lead all goaltenders in playoff victories in total and in every individual year between 1979 and 1984. Then in 1985, Smith led the Islanders to win 3 straight games after being down 0-2 to the Washington Capitals, the first time such a come back occurred in the NHL. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Playoff goaltenders, Smith was also reputed to be the supreme "money" player, i.e., the goalie most likely to win the most important games.
Nick-named "Battling" Billy for his fiery temper and unabashed use of the stick on players crowding the crease, Smith was noted for his histrionic displays of feigned injuries that would often lead to penalties against opponents, for whom he carried an undisguised enmity, always refusing as a mockery to participate in the traditional handshakes between teams at the end of a Playoff series.
Smith was also the first NHL goalie to be credited with scoring a goal; on November 28, 1979, Smith was the last Islander to touch the puck before Colorado Rockies defenseman Rob Ramage accidentally passed the puck into his own net.
