This Day in Isles History: April 5

April 5, 1986 - Bob Nystrom thought he'd already played his final game for the New York Islanders after suffering a eye injury in early January.
Nystrom suffered a torn retina an a dislocated lens of his left eye during practice on Jan. 5, 1986 and had retinal surgery on Jan. 15. He was advised to stop playing professional hockey out of concerns to his health, which left him on 899 games played - all with the Islanders.

In an effort to get Nystrom to 900, Al Arbour had Nystrom suit up for the Islanders final regular season game of the season, putting him on the ice for the opening faceoff to qualify for the milestone. Nystrom, out with Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies, skated for seven seconds before heading to the bench.
"It was trilling to get to go out on the ice," Nystrom said of his 900th game. "I was very nervous that game. I didn't know how I would react, so I was out there for the drop of the puck and as soon as it dropped, I just hoped it went to their end so I could go to the bench. It was a really nice gesture. Al was a super classy and fantastic guy."
The Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils 7-1 in the contest.
''I felt I had a pretty good game,'' Nystrom
joked with the New York Times
after the contest.
Nystrom finished his career with 513 points (235G, 278A) in 900 games - all with the Islanders. Mr. Islander's 900 games are fourth all-time in franchise history, while his 513 points are 10th and his 235 goals are ninth. Nystrom's 1248 PIMs are fifth in franchise history.