Entering their 53rd season of existence, the NY Islanders have fared better against some teams than others. 

Though they’ve only faced the Seattle Kraken eight times, the Isles have a point percentage of only .375 against the league’s newest franchise, followed by a .405 point percentage against the Nashville Predators.

Who have the Isles found the most success against?

But who have the Isles fared best against? Technically, that answer is the Utah Hockey Club (Utah Mammoth), whom they’ve played only two games against, taking one point. But as far as teams the Isles have more than one season of results against, the answer may not be a team many people are familiar with. 

The answer is the California Golden Seals/Cleveland Barons. 

The first matchup between the Islanders and Golden Seals was during the Isles’ inaugural season in 1972, resulting in a 6-2 Islanders win, the second victory in franchise history. In this game,  Germaine Gagnon, who was acquired by the Islanders before the start of the season from the Montreal Canadiens, recorded the franchise’s first trick.

The Isles found plenty of success finding the back of the net against the Golden Seals. In 1974, the Isles put up a 10-spot on California, gliding to a 10-1 victory. The 10 Islanders’ goals were a franchise record and stood until 1983. In that same game, Billy MacMillan and Ed Westfall both recorded hat-tricks, one of only three instances in which multiple Islanders have recorded a hat-trick in a single game.

Struggling with attendance in the Oakland area, the Golden Seals relocated to Ohio, where they became the Cleveland Barons.

The location change didn’t prevent the Islanders from their winning ways, as they continued to find similar success against the Barons. 

But the Barons would only last two seasons in the NHL before ultimately merging with the Minnesota North Stars in 1978.

In 26 games against the franchise between the two cities, the Islanders held a 16-5-6 record and a .692 win percentage.

Thought the Golden Seals/Barons’ time in the NHL was short, the Islanders seemed to always have those games circled in the calendar.