New York Islanders Five Best At the Faceoff Dot

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Nov 22, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens right wing Brian Flynn (32) and New York Islanders center Mikhail Grabovski (84) during a third period face-off at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports /

Claude Lapointe

New York Islanders. . Claude Lapointe. A-. NYI Career Stats: 535 GP, 171 PTS, 53.5% FOW

Lapointe was an Islanders from 1996 to 2003, when he was traded to the Flyers for a fifth round pick. Which the Isles used to trade for Randy Robitaille. Who put up three points in ten games.

When he left the Islanders Robitaille was very much on the decline in terms of his production. In his final year with the Islanders, he notched 12 points in 66 games played. In his two years with Philly, he put up another 12 points in 66 games played across two seasons.

His faceoff numbers never really dipped, though. I guess even though your legs might have left you, the hand-eye coordination stays fairly intact.

With the Isles Lapointe finished with an average 53.5% with a high of 56.57% in 1998-1999. With Philly, he averaged 57.6%.

It’s kind of a shame Lapointe’s career ended in another uniform. Sure, it didn’t start with an Islanders crest, but in his time with the Isles Lapointe became a real fan favorite and won a number of internal awards. It just would have been one of those feel-good stories.