The Islanders had advanced to the semifinals after becoming the second team in NHL history to come back from a 3–0 series deficit, as they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games.

The Islanders made their first finals appearance in franchise history, while the Flyers made their fourth appearance in the finals in seven years, and they came off a regular season where they went on a North American sports record 35-game undefeated streak that still holds as of 2023[update], paving the way for a regular season championship and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs as the #1 seed.

The controversy of the missed call and its effect on the result of the series created a legacy of animosity between the two teams and their respective fanbases for years to come.

a rivalry that conjures up memories of the Brooklyn Dodgers against the Yankees in the World Series, or Philadelphia against Boston in the [NBA], or Green Bay vs. Dallas in older [NFL] times.

Or maybe even the intensity of the United States against Russia in Lake Placid ..."[5]In the next four seasons, the Flyers would continue to make the playoffs each year but would only advance to the second round twice.

The Flyers went on to make their second Stanley Cup Finals appearance in three years, but would once again lose to the Oilers, this time in seven games.

In 2001, Peter Botte of the New York Daily News wrote: "There once was something called the Patrick Division in the NHL, and the fierce Islanders-Flyers rivalry was among the best parts of it.

[9] By the end of the 2010s, the two teams were both playoff contenders once again, competing in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, formed in the 2013–14 NHL season.

The Islanders advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1993, but fell to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.