1980-81_NHL_season
1980–81 NHL season
National Hockey League season
The 1980–81 NHL season was the 64th season of the National Hockey League. The New York Islanders were the top regular season team and the top playoff team, winning their second consecutive Stanley Cup by defeating the Minnesota North Stars in five games.
| 1980–81 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 9, 1980 – May 21, 1981 |
| Number of games | 80 |
| Number of teams | 21 |
| TV partner(s) | CBC, SRC (Canada) USA, ESPN (United States) |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Doug Wickenheiser |
| Picked by | Montreal Canadiens |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | New York Islanders |
| Season MVP | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
| Top scorer | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
| Playoffs | |
| Playoffs MVP | Butch Goring (Islanders) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | New York Islanders |
| Runners-up | Minnesota North Stars |
| NHL seasons | |
← 1979–80 1981–82 → | |
This was the first season that the Calgary Flames played in Calgary, Alberta. Previously, they were the Atlanta Flames and played in Atlanta.
The season featured notable individual scoring milestones.
Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers broke Bobby Orr's single season assist record, scoring 109 assists, and Phil Esposito's point record, scoring 164 points. He won his second of an unmatched eight straight Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player
Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders became only the second man in NHL history to score 50 goals in his first 50 games. In the 50th game, played at his home rink, he had 48 goals going into the 3rd and final period (before the advent of overtime games). Bossy admitted being so embarrassed and upset that he contemplated not going out on the ice for the final period. However, Bossy got his 49th goal with 5:15 left to go in the game and the 50th with 1:50 remaining, sending the Nassau Coliseum into a delirium. Maurice Richard, the only other man to accomplish this feat, was on hand to congratulate Bossy.
Bossy's Islanders finished as regular season champions with 110 points with the St. Louis Blues finishing a close second at 107 points.
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
Prince of Wales Conference
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 39 | 20 | 21 | 327 | 250 | 99 |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 37 | 30 | 13 | 316 | 272 | 87 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 35 | 28 | 17 | 291 | 263 | 87 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 30 | 32 | 18 | 314 | 318 | 78 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 28 | 37 | 15 | 322 | 367 | 71 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 45 | 22 | 13 | 332 | 232 | 103 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 43 | 24 | 13 | 337 | 290 | 99 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 30 | 37 | 13 | 302 | 345 | 73 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 21 | 41 | 18 | 292 | 372 | 60 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 19 | 43 | 18 | 252 | 339 | 56 |
Clarence Campbell Conference
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Islanders | 80 | 48 | 18 | 14 | 355 | 260 | 110 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 41 | 24 | 15 | 313 | 249 | 97 |
| Calgary Flames | 80 | 39 | 27 | 14 | 329 | 298 | 92 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 30 | 36 | 14 | 312 | 317 | 74 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 26 | 36 | 18 | 286 | 317 | 70 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 45 | 18 | 17 | 352 | 281 | 107 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 31 | 33 | 16 | 304 | 315 | 78 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 28 | 32 | 20 | 289 | 301 | 76 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 29 | 35 | 16 | 328 | 327 | 74 |
| Colorado Rockies | 80 | 22 | 45 | 13 | 258 | 344 | 57 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 9 | 57 | 14 | 246 | 400 | 32 |
The Stanley Cup playoffs would see the New York Islanders dominate on their way to winning their second consecutive Stanley Cup. Notably, in the first round against the Maple Leafs, the Isles swept a three-game series, outscoring Toronto 20–4. The Islanders would go on to defeat Edmonton in six games in the quarter-finals, and in the semi-finals, the Islanders swept the Rangers and outscored them 22–8.
In game one of the Edmonton-Montreal series, Wayne Gretzky had five assists. This was a single game playoff record.[2] Another distinction was in the Minnesota North Stars' sweep of the Boston Bruins; the two games the North Stars won in Boston Garden were the first games that the team had won in Boston, either regular season or playoff, since the team had joined the NHL in 1967.
| Preliminary round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | NY Islanders | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Toronto | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | NY Islanders | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Edmonton | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Pittsburgh | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | NY Islanders | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | NY Rangers | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Montreal | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Edmonton | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Louis | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | NY Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Los Angeles | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | NY Rangers | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | NY Islanders | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Minnesota | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Buffalo | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Vancouver | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Buffalo | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Minnesota | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Quebec | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Calgary | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Minnesota | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Calgary | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Chicago | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Calgary | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Boston | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Minnesota | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Stanley Cup Finals
The Islanders defeated the Minnesota North Stars in the finals in five games. The Islanders were defeated only three times during the entire four round playoff run.
New York Islanders vs. Minnesota North Stars
| May 12 | Minnesota North Stars | 3–6 | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap |
| May 14 | Minnesota North Stars | 3–6 | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap |
| May 17 | New York Islanders | 7–5 | Minnesota North Stars | Met Center | Recap |
| May 19 | New York Islanders | 2–4 | Minnesota North Stars | Met Center | Recap |
| May 21 | Minnesota North Stars | 1–5 | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap |
| New York won series 4–1 | |
All-Star teams
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 55 | 109 | 164 | 28 |
| Marcel Dionne | Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 58 | 77 | 135 | 70 |
| Kent Nilsson | Calgary Flames | 80 | 49 | 82 | 131 | 26 |
| Mike Bossy | New York Islanders | 79 | 68 | 51 | 119 | 32 |
| Dave Taylor | Los Angeles Kings | 72 | 47 | 65 | 112 | 130 |
| Peter Stastny | Quebec Nordiques | 77 | 39 | 70 | 109 | 37 |
| Charlie Simmer | Los Angeles Kings | 65 | 56 | 49 | 105 | 62 |
| Mike Rogers | Hartford Whalers | 80 | 40 | 65 | 105 | 32 |
| Bernie Federko | St. Louis Blues | 78 | 31 | 73 | 104 | 47 |
| Jacques Richard | Quebec Nordiques | 78 | 52 | 51 | 103 | 39 |
| Rick Middleton | Boston Bruins | 80 | 44 | 59 | 103 | 16 |
| Bryan Trottier | New York Islanders | 73 | 31 | 72 | 103 | 74 |
Source: NHL.[3]
Leading goaltenders
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Sevigny | Montreal | 33 | 1777 | 71 | 2 | 2.40 | .908 |
| Rick St. Croix | Philadelphia | 27 | 1567 | 65 | 2 | 2.49 | .913 |
| Don Edwards | Buffalo | 45 | 2700 | 133 | 3 | 2.96 | .898 |
| Pete Peeters | Philadelphia | 40 | 2333 | 115 | 2 | 2.96 | .897 |
| Bob Sauve | Buffalo | 35 | 2100 | 111 | 2 | 3.17 | .880 |
| Don Beaupre | Minnesota | 44 | 2585 | 138 | 0 | 3.20 | .889 |
| Glenn Resch | New York Islanders/Colorado | 40 | 2266 | 121 | 3 | 3.20 | .891 |
| Reggie Lemelin | Calgary | 29 | 1629 | 88 | 2 | 3.24 | .902 |
| Gilles Meloche | Minnesota | 38 | 2215 | 120 | 2 | 3.25 | .889 |
| Mario Lessard | Los Angeles | 64 | 3746 | 203 | 2 | 3.25 | .893 |
Patrick Division
- Calgary Flames: Al MacNeil
- New York Islanders: Al Arbour
- New York Rangers: Fred Shero and Craig Patrick
- Philadelphia Flyers: Pat Quinn
- Washington Capitals: Gary Green
Adams Division
- Boston Bruins: Gerry Cheevers
- Buffalo Sabres: Scotty Bowman
- Minnesota North Stars: Glen Sonmor
- Quebec Nordiques: Maurice Filion and Michel Bergeron
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Joe Crozier
Norris Division
- Detroit Red Wings: Wayne Maxner
- Hartford Whalers: Don Blackburn
- Los Angeles Kings: Bob Berry
- Montreal Canadiens: Claude Ruel
- Pittsburgh Penguins: Eddie Johnston
Smythe Division
- Chicago Black Hawks: Keith Magnuson
- Colorado Rockies: Bill MacMillan
- Edmonton Oilers: Bryan Watson
- St. Louis Blues: Red Berenson
- Vancouver Canucks: Harry Neale
- Winnipeg Jets: Mike Smith and Tom Watt
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1980–81 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Barry Pederson, Boston Bruins
- Steve Kasper, Boston Bruins
- Denis Savard, Chicago Black Hawks
- Steve Larmer, Chicago Black Hawks
- Andy Moog, Edmonton Oilers
- Charlie Huddy, Edmonton Oilers
- Glenn Anderson, Edmonton Oilers
- Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers
- Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers
- Larry Murphy, Los Angeles Kings
- Dino Ciccarelli, Minnesota North Stars
- Don Beaupre, Minnesota North Stars
- Neal Broten, Minnesota North Stars
- Doug Wickenheiser, Montreal Canadiens
- Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens
- Rick Wamsley, Montreal Canadiens
- Brent Sutter, New York Islanders
- Rollie Melanson, New York Islanders
- Tim Kerr, Philadelphia Flyers
- Mike Bullard, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Anton Stastny, Quebec Nordiques
- Peter Stastny, Quebec Nordiques
- Dale Hunter, Quebec Nordiques
- Paul MacLean, St. Louis Blues
- Dave Babych, Winnipeg Jets
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1980–81 (listed with their last team):
- Jean Ratelle, Boston Bruins
- Terry Harper, Colorado Rockies
- Pete Mahovlich, Detroit Red Wings
- Tom Bladon, Detroit Red Wings
- Phil Esposito, New York Rangers
- Walt Tkaczuk, New York Rangers
- Ron Ellis, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Dennis Kearns, Vancouver Canucks
- Bobby Schmautz, Vancouver Canucks
- Dennis Ververgaert, Washington Capitals
- Guy Charron, Washington Capitals
- Wayne Stephenson, Washington Capitals
- Jude Drouin, Winnipeg Jets
Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games.
This was the first season that U.S. national broadcasts were only on cable television. ESPN and USA continued to carry slates of regular season and playoff games for the second consecutive season.
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, New York: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
- Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
- Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
- Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
- "1980-81 NHL Playoff Results". hockeyDB.com.
- Notes
- Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
- Jenish, D'Arcy (2009). The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory. Doubleday. p. 243. ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0.
- Dinger 2011, p. 152.