From his short, contentious training camp with Team Canada, to co-backstopping the Islanders to a then-NHL record 15-game winning streak, to finishing the playoffs with back-to-back sweeps, 1981-82 was the season in which "Battlin'" Billy Smith grabbed headlines for both his play and his personality. He called out his teammates for playing bad defense, injured the league’s biggest young star, started an employment agency and fought literally anyone that got in his way. He also won, won and won some more, making huge saves in some of the biggest games in Islanders history. And in the end, he was justly rewarded for being the best goalie in the NHL that season.
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