1989–90 New York Rangers season

The 1989–90 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 64th season. During the regular season, the Rangers led the Patrick Division with 85 points and qualified for the NHL playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs, the Rangers defeated the New York Islanders four games to one and earned a berth in the Patrick Division Finals. There, New York lost to the Washington Capitals in five games.^[1]

1989–90 New York Rangers
Patrick Division champions
Division	1st Patrick
Conference	T-4th Wales
1989–90 record	36–31–13
Home record	20–11–9
Road record	16–20–4
Goals for	279
Goals against	267
Team information
General manager	Neil Smith
Coach	Roger Neilson
Captain	Kelly Kisio
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Team leaders
Goals	John Ogrodnick (43)
Assists	Brian Leetch (45)
Points	John Ogrodnick (74)
Penalty minutes	Troy Mallette (305)
Wins	John Vanbiesbrouck (19)
Goals against average	Mike Richter (3.00)
← 1988–89 1990–91 →

Offseason

During the offseason, Gulf+Western, owners of the Rangers, and all MSG properties since 1977,^[2] changed their name to Paramount Communications. The new name was chosen in honor of the company's leading subsidiary, the Paramount Pictures film studio.^[3]

Regular season

The Rangers finished the regular season with the most power-play opportunities (442) and the most power-play goals scored (103).^[4]

Final standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
New York Rangers	80	36	31	13	279	267	85
New Jersey Devils	80	37	34	9	295	288	83
Washington Capitals	80	36	38	6	284	275	78
New York Islanders	80	31	38	11	281	288	73
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	32	40	8	318	359	72
Philadelphia Flyers	80	30	39	11	290	297	71

^[5]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.

Wales Conference^[6]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Boston Bruins	ADM	80	46	25	9	289	232	101
2	Buffalo Sabres	ADM	80	45	27	8	286	248	98
3	Montreal Canadiens	ADM	80	41	28	11	288	234	93
4	Hartford Whalers	ADM	80	38	33	9	275	268	85
5	New York Rangers	PTK	80	36	31	13	279	267	85
6	New Jersey Devils	PTK	80	37	34	9	295	288	83
7	Washington Capitals	PTK	80	36	38	6	284	275	78
8	New York Islanders	PTK	80	31	38	11	281	288	73
9	Pittsburgh Penguins	PTK	80	32	40	8	318	359	72
10	Philadelphia Flyers	PTK	80	30	39	11	290	297	71
11	Quebec Nordiques	ADM	80	12	61	7	240	407	31

Divisions: PTK – Patrick, ADM – Adams

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Patrick Division 1989–90 NHL records[7] Team NJD NYI NYR PHI PIT WSH Total New Jersey — 4–1–2 3–3–1 4–2–1 4–2–1 3–4 18–12–5 N.Y. Islanders 1–4–2 — 2–3–2 1–4–2 3–3–1 4–3 11–17–7 N.Y. Rangers 3–3–1 3–2–2 — 5–2 1–5–1 3–4 15–16–4 Philadelphia 2–4–1 4–1–2 2–5 — 4–3 1–5–1 13–18–4 Pittsburgh 2–4–1 3–3–1 5–1–1 3–4 — 5–2 18–14–3 Washington 4–3 3–4 4–3 5–1–1 2–5 — 18–16–1

Vs. Adams Division 1989–90 NHL records Team BOS BUF HFD MTL QUE Total New Jersey 1–1–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 3–0 8–6–1 N.Y. Islanders 1–1–1 3–0 1–2 1–2 1–2 7–7–1 N.Y. Rangers 3–0 0–2–1 2–1 0–3 3–0 8–6–1 Philadelphia 0–3 1–2 1–2 2–0–1 1–1–1 5–8–2 Pittsburgh 1–2 0–3 0–2–1 1–2 2–1 4–10–1 Washington 1–2 1–1–1 1–2 2–1 3–0 8–6–1

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Norris Division 1989–90 NHL records Team CHI DET MIN STL TOR Total New Jersey 2–1 1–1–1 1–2 2–1 1–2 7–7–1 N.Y. Islanders 1–2 1–1–1 1–2 1–2 3–0 7–7–1 N.Y. Rangers 1–0–2 2–0–1 1–1–1 0–2–1 1–1–1 5–4–6 Philadelphia 0–3 0–1–2 2–1 2–1 2–1 6–7–2 Pittsburgh 0–3 2–0–1 1–1–1 0–3 1–2 4–9–2 Washington 1–2 3–0 3–0 0–2–1 1–2 8–6–1

Vs. Smythe Division 1989–90 NHL records Team CGY EDM LAK VAN WIN Total New Jersey 0–3 1–0–2 2–1 0–3 1–2 4–9–2 N.Y. Islanders 0–3 0–1–2 2–1 2–1 2–1 6–7–2 N.Y. Rangers 1–2 2–0–1 1–2 3–0 1–1–1 8–5–2 Philadelphia 1–1–1 1–2 3–0 0–1–2 1–2 6–6–3 Pittsburgh 0–2–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 2–0–1 6–7–2 Washington 1–0–2 1–2 0–3 0–2–1 0–3 2–10–3

Schedule and results

1989–90 regular season[8]
October: 8–2–3 (home: 4–1–3; road: 4–1–0) Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 1 October 6 @ Winnipeg 4–1 1–0–0 2 2 October 8 @ Chicago 5–3 2–0–0 4 3 October 11 Calgary 5–4 3–0–0 6 4 October 13 @ Washington 4–7 3–1–0 6 5 October 15 Pittsburgh 4–2 4–1–0 8 6 October 17 Chicago 3–3 OT 4–1–1 9 7 October 19 Hartford 7–3 5–1–1 11 8 October 21 @ Philadelphia 3–1 6–1–1 13 9 October 23 Vancouver 5–3 7–1–1 15 10 October 25 7:35 p.m. EDT Edmonton 3–3 OT Froese Madison Square Garden 15,501 7–1–2 16 11 October 27 N.Y. Islanders 5–5 OT 7–1–3 17 12 October 28 @ N.Y. Islanders 4–1 8–1–3 19 13 October 30 Philadelphia 1–3 8–2–3 19
November: 5–7–1 (home: 4–1–1; road: 1–6–0) Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 14 November 2 Quebec 6–1 9–2–3 21 15 November 4 @ Montreal 2–3 9–3–3 21 16 November 6 Detroit 6–1 10–3–3 23 17 November 8 Montreal 2–3 10–4–3 23 18 November 12 N.Y. Islanders 4–2 11–4–3 25 19 November 14 @ Pittsburgh 0–6 11–5–3 25 20 November 17 @ New Jersey 4–5 OT 11–6–3 25 21 November 18 @ Hartford 3–2 12–6–3 27 22 November 20 Winnipeg 3–3 OT 12–6–4 28 23 November 22 @ Buffalo 1–4 12–7–4 28 24 November 25 @ Toronto 4–7 12–8–4 28 25 November 26 Quebec 3–1 13–8–4 30 26 November 29 @ Winnipeg 4–5 13–9–4 30
December: 2–9–3 (home: 1–4–2; road: 1–5–1) Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 27 December 1 @ Vancouver 4–3 14–9–4 32 28 December 2 @ Los Angeles 0–6 14–10–4 32 29 December 6 New Jersey 5–3 15–10–4 34 30 December 9 @ N.Y. Islanders 0–0 OT 15–10–5 35 31 December 10 Philadelphia 2–4 15–11–5 35 32 December 13 St. Louis 1–3 15–12–5 35 33 December 16 @ N.Y. Islanders 3–4 15–13–5 35 34 December 17 Montreal 0–2 15–14–5 35 35 December 20 Buffalo 2–2 OT 15–14–6 36 36 December 23 @ Washington 2–3 15–15–6 36 37 December 26 New Jersey 4–4 OT 15–15–7 37 38 December 27 @ Pittsburgh 4–7 15–16–7 37 39 December 29 @ New Jersey 2–3 15–17–7 37 40 December 31 Pittsburgh 4–5 15–18–7 37
January: 5–4–3 (home: 2–1–2; road: 3–3–1) Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 41 January 3 Washington 2–1 16–18–7 39 42 January 4 @ Minnesota 2–8 16–19–7 39 43 January 6 @ St. Louis 3–4 16–20–7 39 44 January 8 Pittsburgh 5–7 16–21–7 39 45 January 10 Chicago 2–2 OT 16–21–8 40 46 January 13 @ Boston 3–2 17–21–8 42 47 January 14 Philadelphia 4–3 OT 18–21–8 43 48 January 18 @ Pittsburgh 3–3 OT 18–21–9 44 49 January 23 9:35 p.m. EST @ Edmonton 4–3 Richter Northlands Coliseum 17,101 19–21–9 46 50 January 25 @ Calgary 5–8 19–22–9 46 51 January 27 @ Los Angeles 3–1 20–22–9 48 52 January 31 St. Louis 2–2 OT 20–22–10 49
February: 9–3–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 4–1–1) Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 53 February 3 @ Boston 2–1 21–22–10 51 54 February 4 Minnesota 4–3 22–22–10 53 55 February 7 7:35 p.m. EST Edmonton 5–2 Vanbiesbrouck Madison Square Garden 16,227 23–22–10 55 56 February 9 @ Buffalo 2–3 23–23–10 55 57 February 11 Calgary 2–5 23–24–10 55 58 February 13 @ Philadelphia 4–3 24–24–10 57 59 February 14 Pittsburgh 3–4 OT 24–25–10 57 60 February 16 @ New Jersey 2–1 25–25–10 59 61 February 19 New Jersey 4–3 OT 26–25–10 61 62 February 21 @ Detroit 4–4 OT 26–25–11 62 63 February 23 @ Washington 6–3 27–25–11 64 64 February 26 Boston 6–1 28–25–11 66 65 February 28 Washington 3–2 29–25–11 68
March: 7–5–2 (home: 4–1–1; road: 3–4–1) Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 66 March 2 N.Y. Islanders 6–3 30–25–11 70 67 March 3 @ Hartford 4–6 30–26–11 70 68 March 5 Detroit 3–2 31–26–11 72 69 March 8 @ Philadelphia 7–5 32–26–11 74 70 March 10 @ Minnesota 2–2 OT 32–26–12 75 71 March 12 Los Angeles 2–6 32–27–12 75 72 March 14 @ Toronto 8–2 33–27–12 77 73 March 17 @ N.Y. Islanders 3–6 33–28–12 77 74 March 18 Vancouver 5–2 34–28–12 79 75 March 21 Toronto 5–5 OT 34–28–13 80 76 March 25 Philadelphia 7–3 35–28–13 82 77 March 27 @ Quebec 7–4 36–28–13 84 78 March 29 @ New Jersey 4–6 36–29–13 84 79 March 31 @ Washington 1–2 36–30–13 84
April: 0–1–0 (home: 0–1–0; road: 0–0–0) Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 80 April 1 Washington 2–3 36–31–13 84
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

Main article: 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs

1990 Stanley Cup playoffs[8]
Division semifinals vs. (P4) New York Islanders – N.Y. Rangers win 4–1 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Attendance Series 1 April 5 N.Y. Islanders 1–2 N.Y. Rangers 16,651 Rangers lead series 1–0 2 April 7 N.Y. Islanders 2–5 N.Y. Rangers 16,651 Rangers lead series 2–0 3 April 9 N.Y. Rangers 3–4 N.Y. Islanders 2OT 16,297 Rangers lead series 2–1 4 April 11 N.Y. Rangers 6–1 N.Y. Islanders 16,297 Rangers lead series 3–1 5 April 13 N.Y. Islanders 5–6 N.Y. Rangers 16,651 Rangers win series 4–1
Division Finals vs. (P3) Washington Capitals – Washington wins 4–1 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Attendance Series 1 April 19 Washington 3–7 N.Y. Rangers 16,651 Rangers lead series 1–0 2 April 21 Washington 6–3 N.Y. Rangers 16,651 Series tied 1–1 3 April 23 N.Y. Rangers 1–7 Washington 18,011 Washington leads series 2–1 4 April 25 N.Y. Rangers 3–4 Washington OT 18,130 Washington leads series 3–1 5 April 27 Washington 2–1 N.Y. Rangers OT 16,651 Washington wins series 4–1
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM John Ogrodnick 80 43 31 74 11 44 Brian Mullen 76 27 41 68 7 42 Darren Turcotte 76 32 34 66 3 32 Kelly Kisio 68 22 44 66 11 105 James Patrick 73 14 43 57 4 50 Brian Leetch 72 11 45 56 −18 26 Tomas Sandstrom‡ 48 19 19 38 −10 100 Bernie Nicholls† 32 12 25 37 −3 20 Ulf Dahlen‡ 63 18 18 36 −4 30 Troy Mallette 79 13 16 29 −8 305 Carey Wilson 41 9 17 26 4 57 Tony Granato‡ 37 7 18 25 1 77 Mike Gartner† 12 11 5 16 4 6 Mark Hardy 54 0 15 15 4 94 Miloslav Horava 45 4 10 14 10 26 Kris King 68 6 7 13 2 286 Mark Janssens 80 5 8 13 −26 161 Jan Erixon 58 4 9 13 −17 8 Randy Moller 60 1 12 13 −1 139 David Shaw 22 2 10 12 −3 22 Ron Greschner 55 1 9 10 −7 53 Lindy Ruff 56 3 6 9 −10 80 Paul Broten 32 5 3 8 −4 26 Jeff Bloemberg 28 3 3 6 −8 25 Dave Archibald† 19 2 3 5 0 6 Kevin Miller 16 0 5 5 −1 2 Normand Rochefort 31 3 1 4 2 24 Chris Nilan 25 1 2 3 −8 59 Rick Bennett 6 1 0 1 −4 5 Corey Millen 4 0 0 0 −2 2 Todd Charlesworth 7 0 0 0 −3 6 Rudy Poeschek 15 0 0 0 −1 55

Playoffs Player GP G A Pts PIM Bernie Nicholls 10 7 5 12 16 James Patrick 10 3 8 11 0 Kelly Kisio 10 2 8 10 8 John Ogrodnick 10 6 3 9 0 Mike Gartner 10 5 3 8 12 Randy Moller 10 1 6 7 32 Darren Turcotte 10 1 6 7 4 Troy Mallette 10 2 2 4 81 Brian Mullen 10 2 2 4 8 Normand Rochefort 10 2 1 3 26 Jeff Bloemberg 7 0 3 3 5 Lindy Ruff 8 0 3 3 12 Mark Janssens 9 2 1 3 10 Carey Wilson 10 2 1 3 0 Paul Broten 6 1 1 2 2 Chris Nilan 4 0 1 1 19 Jan Erixon 10 1 0 1 2 Kris King 10 0 1 1 30 Miloslav Horava 2 0 1 1 0 Mark Hardy 3 0 1 1 2 Kevin Miller 1 0 0 0 0 Ron Greschner 10 0 0 0 16

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO
John Vanbiesbrouck	47	2734	19	19	7	154	3.38	1362	.887	1
Mike Richter	23	1320	12	5	5	66	3.00	686	.904	0
Bob Froese	15	812	5	7	1	45	3.33	355	.873	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO
Mike Richter	6	330	3	2	19	3.45	181	.895	0
John Vanbiesbrouck	6	298	2	3	15	3.02	153	.902	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.

^[9]

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 1, 1989: the Rangers traded Barry Beck to the Los Angeles Kings for future considerations.^[10]
• September 7, 1989: the Rangers traded Chris McRae and a 5th round draft pick in 1990 to the Detroit Red Wings for Kris King.^[11]
• September 14, 1989: the Rangers acquired Lee Giffin from the Pittsburgh Penguins for future considerations.^[12]
• October 5, 1989: the Rangers traded Michel Petit to the Quebec Nordiques for Randy Moller.^[13]
• November 1, 1989: the Rangers traded Jayson More to the Minnesota North Stars for Dave Archibald.^[14]
• January 20, 1990: the Rangers traded Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato to the Los Angeles Kings for Bernie Nicholls.^[15]
• March 6, 1990: the Rangers traded Ulf Dahlen, a 4th round draft pick in 1990, and future considerations (a 4th round draft pick in 1991) to the Minnesota North Stars for Mike Gartner.^[15][16]

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1989 NHL entry draft in Bloomington, Minnesota at the Met Center.^[17][18]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	20	Steven Rice	RW	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
2	40	Jason Prosofsky	RW	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
3	45	Rob Zamuner	LW	Canada	Guelph Platers (OHL)
3	49	Louie DeBrusk	LW	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
4	67	Jim Cummins	RW	United States	Michigan State University (NCAA)
5	88	Aaron Miller	D	United States	Niagara Scenics (NAHL)
6	118	Joby Messier	D	Canada	Michigan State University (NCAA)
7	139	Greg Leahy	F	United States	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
8	160	Greg Spenrath	D	Canada	Tri-City Americans (WHL)
9	181	Mark Bavis	LW	United States	Cushing Academy (Massachusetts)
10	202	Roman Oksiuta	RW	Soviet Union	Voskresensk Khimik (Russia)
11	223	Steve Locke	D	Canada	Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL)
12	244	Kenneth MacDermid	LW	Canada	Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)

Supplemental Draft

New York's picks at the 1989 NHL supplemental draft.^[19]

Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
Anthony Palumbo	C	Canada	Lake Superior State University (CCHA)