1981–82 New York Rangers season

The 1981–82 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 56th season.^[1] During the regular season, the Rangers finished second in the Patrick Division with 92 points and qualified for the NHL playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs, New York defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, three games to one, to advance to the Patrick Division Finals. There, the Rangers lost to the New York Islanders in six games.^[2]

1981–82 New York Rangers
Division	2nd Patrick
Conference	5th Wales
1981–82 record	39–27–14
Home record	19–15–6
Road record	20–12–8
Goals for	316
Goals against	306
Team information
General manager	Craig Patrick
Coach	Herb Brooks
Captain	Barry Beck
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Average attendance	17,399
Team leaders
Goals	Ron Duguay (40)
Assists	Mike Rogers (65)
Points	Mike Rogers (103)
Penalty minutes	Ed Hospodar (152)
Wins	Steve Weeks (23)
Goals against average	John Davidson/John Vanbiesbrouck (1.00)
← 1980–81 1982–83 →

Final standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
New York Islanders	80	54	16	10	385	250	118
New York Rangers	80	39	27	14	316	306	92
Philadelphia Flyers	80	38	31	11	325	313	87
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	31	36	13	310	337	75
Washington Capitals	80	26	41	13	319	338	65

^[3]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Patrick Division 1981–82 NHL records[4] Team NYI NYR PHI PIT WSH Total N.Y. Islanders — 6−2 6−1−1 6−2 7−0−1 25−5−2 N.Y. Rangers 2−6 — 4−2−2 4−3−1 3−2−3 13−13−6 Philadelphia 1−6−1 2−4−2 — 5−2−1 3−4−1 11−16−5 Pittsburgh 2−6 3−4−1 2–5–1 — 5−2−1 12−17−3 Washington 0−7−1 2−3−3 4–3–1 2–5–1 — 8−18−6 Vs. Adams Division 1981–82 NHL records Team BOS BUF HFD MTL QUE Total N.Y. Islanders 1−2 1−2 2−0−1 2−1 1−1−1 7−6−2 N.Y. Rangers 1−2 2−0−1 1−1−1 1−2 1−1−1 6−6−3 Philadelphia 2−1 2−1 3−0 1−2 1−1−1 9−5−1 Pittsburgh 1−1−1 1−2 2−0−1 1−2 3−0 8−5−2 Washington 0−3 0−3 2−1 2−1 0−2−1 4−10−1 Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Norris Division 1981–82 NHL records Team CHI DET MIN STL TOR WIN Total N.Y. Islanders 3−0 3−0 2−0−1 2−0−1 3−0 2−1 15−1−2 N.Y. Rangers 3−0 2−1 2−1 2−0−1 1−1−1 1−1−1 11−4−3 Philadelphia 1−1−1 2−0−1 1−1−1 3−0 2−1 1−2 10−5−3 Pittsburgh 0−1−2 1−2 1−2 1−2 0−1−2 2−1 5−9−4 Washington 1−2 1−0−2 0−2−1 2−1 2−1 2−1 8−7−3 Vs. Smythe Division 1981–82 NHL records Team CGY COL EDM LAK VAN Total N.Y. Islanders 1−0−2 2−0−1 1−1−1 1−2 2−1 7−4−4 N.Y. Rangers 2−0−1 2−0−1 0−3 2−1 3−0 9−4−2 Philadelphia 3−0 2−1 1−2 2−0−1 0−2−1 8−5−2 Pittsburgh 0−1−2 3−0 0−3 1−1−1 2−0−1 6−5−4 Washington 3−0 1−2 0−2−1 1−1−1 1−1−1 6−6−3

Schedule and results

1981–82 regular season[5]
October: 3–8–0 (home: 2–4–0; road: 1–4–0) Game October Opponent Score Record 1 6 Detroit Red Wings 5–2 0–1–0 2 9 @ Winnipeg Jets 8–3 0–2–0 3 10 @ Minnesota North Stars 7–0 0–3–0 4 14 Vancouver Canucks 2–1 1–3–0 5 17 @ New York Islanders 5–4 1–4–0 6 18 St. Louis Blues 5–3 2–4–0 7 21 Los Angeles Kings 5–2 2–5–0 8 24 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 5–3 3–5–0 9 25 Montreal Canadiens 4–2 3–6–0 10 28 Edmonton Oilers 5–3 3–7–0 11 31 @ Boston Bruins 7–3 3–8–0
November: 5–5–3 (home: 3–2–2; road: 2–3–1) Game November Opponent Score Record 12 1 Calgary Flames 4–2 4–8–0 13 4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 6–3 4–9–0 14 5 @ Philadelphia Flyers 6–2 5–9–0 15 7 @ Washington Capitals 3–1 6–9–0 16 11 Buffalo Sabres 7–3 7–9–0 17 13 @ Buffalo Sabres 3–3 7–9–1 18 15 Edmonton Oilers 5–3 7–10–1 19 18 Philadelphia Flyers 5–2 8–10–1 20 21 @ New York Islanders 4–3 8–11–1 21 22 New York Islanders 7–2 8–12–1 22 25 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–3 8–12–2 23 28 @ Quebec Nordiques 7–4 8–13–2 24 29 Quebec Nordiques 4–4 8–13–3
December: 7–4–2 (home: 4–4–0; road: 3–0–2) Game December Opponent Score Record 25 2 @ Los Angeles Kings 4–3 9–13–3 26 5 @ Colorado Rockies 2–1 10–13–3 27 6 Hartford Whalers 5–3 10–14–3 28 9 Boston Bruins 4–3 10–15–3 29 12 @ Philadelphia Flyers 5–3 11–15–3 30 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–4 12–15–3 31 16 Philadelphia Flyers 7–3 12–16–3 32 19 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 12–16–4 33 20 Washington Capitals 3–2 12–17–4 34 23 Winnipeg Jets 5–2 13–17–4 35 26 @ Washington Capitals 4–4 13–17–5 36 27 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3 14–17–5 37 30 New York Islanders 6–4 15–17–5
January: 9–3–2 (home: 4–1–1; road: 5–2–1) Game January Opponent Score Record 38 2 @ Montreal Canadiens 6–5 16–17–5 39 3 Washington Capitals 4–3 16–18–5 40 7 Vancouver Canucks 4–1 17–18–5 41 9 Chicago Black Hawks 7–5 18–18–5 42 11 Minnesota North Stars 5–3 19–18–5 43 13 @ Minnesota North Stars 2–0 20–18–5 44 15 @ Winnipeg Jets 4–4 20–18–6 45 18 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 6–2 20–19–6 46 20 New York Islanders 3–2 21–19–6 47 23 @ New York Islanders 6–1 21–20–6 48 24 Washington Capitals 4–4 21–20–7 49 27 @ Washington Capitals 5–4 22–20–7 50 29 @ Colorado Rockies 5–2 23–20–7 51 31 @ Los Angeles Kings 6–3 24–20–7
February: 6–3–3 (home: 2–2–1; road: 4–1–2) Game February Opponent Score Record 52 2 @ Vancouver Canucks 4–3 25–20–7 53 4 @ Calgary Flames 4–4 25–20–8 54 7 @ Edmonton Oilers 8–4 25–21–8 55 10 @ St. Louis Blues 3–3 25–21–9 56 13 @ Hartford Whalers 3–2 26–21–9 57 14 Quebec Nordiques 5–2 27–21–9 58 17 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3 28–21–9 59 18 Colorado Rockies 4–4 28–21–10 60 21 Montreal Canadiens 4–2 28–22–10 61 24 Chicago Black Hawks 6–4 29–22–10 62 27 @ Boston Bruins 6–4 30–22–10 63 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 30–23–10
March: 9–3–3 (home: 4–1–2; road: 5–2–1) Game March Opponent Score Record 64 3 Calgary Flames 4–2 31–23–10 65 4 @ Philadelphia Flyers 4–4 31–23–11 66 6 @ New York Islanders 6–4 31–24–11 67 8 Detroit Red Wings 6–3 32–24–11 68 10 Philadelphia Flyers 5–5 32–24–12 69 11 @ Detroit Red Wings 4–1 33–24–12 70 14 Washington Capitals 5–5 33–24–13 71 17 Philadelphia Flyers 5–2 34–24–13 72 20 @ Washington Capitals 4–3 35–24–13 73 21 St. Louis Blues 8–5 36–24–13 74 24 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 7–2 37–24–13 75 26 @ Buffalo Sabres 8–5 38–24–13 76 28 @ Philadelphia Flyers 3–1 38–25–13 77 29 New York Islanders 7–3 38–26–13 78 31 @ Chicago Black Hawks 4–1 39–26–13
April: 0–1–1 (home: 0–1–0; road: 0–0–1) Game April Opponent Score Record 79 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–5 39–27–13 80 3 @ Hartford Whalers 3–3 39–27–14
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

Main article: 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs

Key:   Win   Loss

1982 Stanley Cup playoffs[5]
Division semifinals vs. (P3) Philadelphia Flyers – Rangers win 3–1 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Series 1 April 7 Philadelphia Flyers 4–1 New York Rangers Philadelphia leads series 1–0 2 April 8 Philadelphia Flyers 3–7 New York Rangers Series tied 1–1 3 April 10 New York Rangers 4–3 Philadelphia Flyers New York Rangers lead series 2–1 4 April 11 New York Rangers 7–5 Philadelphia Flyers New York Rangers win series 3–1
Division Division vs. (P1) New York Islanders – Islanders win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Series 1 April 15 New York Rangers 5–4 New York Islanders New York Rangers lead series 1–0 2 April 16 New York Rangers 2–7 New York Islanders Series tied 1–1 3 April 18 New York Islanders 4–3 New York Rangers OT New York Islanders lead series 2–1 4 April 19 New York Islanders 5–3 New York Rangers New York Islanders lead series 3–1 5 April 21 New York Rangers 4–2 New York Islanders New York Islanders lead series 3–2 6 April 23 New York Islanders 5–3 New York Rangers New York Islanders win series 4–2
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM Mike Rogers 80 38 65 103 2 43 Ron Duguay 72 40 36 76 18 82 Mark Pavelich 79 33 43 76 21 67 Ed Johnstone 68 30 28 58 −5 57 Don Maloney 54 22 36 58 9 73 Reijo Ruotsalainen 78 18 38 56 18 27 Dave Maloney 64 13 36 49 2 105 Barry Beck 60 9 29 38 19 111 Dave Silk 64 15 20 35 17 39 Robbie Ftorek† 30 8 24 32 8 24 Mikko Leinonen 53 11 20 31 2 18 Pat Hickey†‡ 53 15 14 29 −15 32 Mike Allison 48 7 15 22 −3 74 Tom Laidlaw 79 3 18 21 7 104 Steve Vickers 34 9 11 20 4 13 Andre Dore 56 4 16 20 10 64 Nick Fotiu 70 8 10 18 −7 151 Ron Greschner 29 5 11 16 −11 16 Rob McClanahan‡ 22 5 9 14 7 10 Dean Talafous 29 6 7 13 −3 8 Jere Gillis‡ 26 3 9 12 −2 16 Carol Vadnais 50 5 6 11 −2 45 Ed Hospodar 41 3 8 11 −8 152 Peter Wallin 40 2 9 11 1 12 Tom Younghans† 47 3 5 8 0 17 Tim Bothwell 13 0 3 3 −5 10 Steve Weeks 49 0 3 3 0 0 Mark Morrison 9 1 1 2 −5 0 Mike Backman 3 0 2 2 7 4 Anders Hedberg 4 0 1 1 −2 0 Lance Nethery‡ 5 0 0 0 −1 0

Playoffs Player GP G A Pts PIM Robbie Ftorek 10 7 4 11 11 Don Maloney 10 5 5 10 10 Reijo Ruotsalainen 10 4 5 9 2 Ed Johnstone 10 2 6 8 25 Rob McClanahan 10 2 5 7 2 Mikko Leinonen 7 1 6 7 20 Mike Rogers 9 1 6 7 2 Dave Silk 9 2 4 6 4 Barry Beck 10 1 5 6 14 Mark Pavelich 6 1 5 6 0 Ron Duguay 10 5 1 6 31 Dave Maloney 10 1 4 5 6 Cam Connor 10 4 0 4 16 Mike Allison 10 1 3 4 18 Tom Laidlaw 10 0 3 3 14 Nick Fotiu 10 0 2 2 6 Andre Dore 10 1 1 2 16 Carol Vadnais 10 1 0 1 4 Gary Burns 4 0 0 0 4 Claude Larose 2 0 0 0 0 Mike Backman 1 0 0 0 2 Tom Younghans 2 0 0 0 0

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO
Steve Weeks	49	2852	23	16	9	179	3.77	1345	.867	1
Eddie Mio	25	1500	13	6	5	89	3.56	767	.884	0
Steve Baker	6	328	1	5	0	33	6.04	163	.798	0
John Davidson	1	60	1	0	0	1	1.00	29	.966	0
John Vanbiesbrouck	1	60	1	0	0	1	1.00	30	.967	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Eddie Mio	8	443	4	3	28	3.79	0
Steve Weeks	4	127	1	2	9	4.25	0
John Davidson	1	33	0	0	3	5.45	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
^‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.

^[6]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Transactions

• September 8, 1981 – Rangers trade Doug Soetaert to the Winnipeg Jets for a 1983 3rd round pick.
• October 2, 1981 – Rangers acquire Mike Rogers from the Hartford Whalers for Chris Kotsopoulos, Doug Sulliman, and Gerry McDonald.
• October 16, 1981 – Rangers acquire Pat Hickey from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 1982 5th round pick.
• October 30, 1981 – Rangers acquire the rights to Tom Younghans from the Minnesota North Stars for cash.
• December 11, 1981 – Rangers acquire Eddie Mio from the Edmonton Oilers for Lance Nethery.
• December 30, 1981 – Rangers acquire Robbie Ftorek and a 1982 8th round pick from the Quebec Nordiques for Jere Gillis and Dean Talafous. Talafous, however, did not report to the Nordiques and an arbitrator awarded Pat Hickey to the Nordiques on March 8, 1982.
• February 2, 1982 – Rangers acquire Rob McClanahan from the Hartford Whalers for a 1982 10th round pick.

^[7]

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1981 NHL entry draft in Montreal, Canada at the Montreal Forum.^[8][9]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	9	James Patrick	D	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (SJHL)
2	30	Jan Erixon	LW	Sweden	Skelleftea AIK (Elitserien)
3	50	Peter Sundstrom	LW	Sweden	Bjorkloven (Elitserien)
3	51	Mark Morrison	C	Canada	Victoria Cougars (WHL)
4	72	John Vanbiesbrouck	G	United States	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
6	114	Eric Magnuson	C	United States	R.P.I. (NCAA)
7	135	Mike Guentzel	D	United States	Greenway (Minn H.S.)
8	156	Ari Lahteenmaki	RW	Finland	HIFK (FNL)
9	177	Paul Reifenberger	C	United States	Anoka High School (Minnesota)
10	198	Mario Proulx	G	Canada	Providence College (NCAA)