# 1980–81 Washington Capitals season

The 1980–81 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals seventh season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

## Regular season
### Final standings

Patrick Division :
| | 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 |
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.
League standings :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – New York Islanders | PTK | 80 | 48 | 18 | 14 | 355 | 260 | 110 |
| 2 | x – St. Louis Blues | SMY | 80 | 45 | 18 | 17 | 352 | 281 | 107 |
| 3 | y – Montreal Canadiens | NRS | 80 | 45 | 22 | 13 | 332 | 232 | 103 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Kings | NRS | 80 | 43 | 24 | 13 | 337 | 290 | 99 |
| 5 | x – Buffalo Sabres | ADM | 80 | 39 | 20 | 21 | 327 | 250 | 99 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Flyers | PTK | 80 | 41 | 24 | 15 | 313 | 249 | 97 |
| 7 | Calgary Flames | PTK | 80 | 39 | 27 | 14 | 329 | 298 | 92 |
| 8 | Boston Bruins | ADM | 80 | 37 | 30 | 13 | 316 | 272 | 87 |
| 9 | Minnesota North Stars | ADM | 80 | 35 | 28 | 17 | 291 | 263 | 87 |
| 10 | Chicago Black Hawks | SMY | 80 | 31 | 33 | 16 | 304 | 315 | 78 |
| 11 | Quebec Nordiques | ADM | 80 | 30 | 32 | 18 | 314 | 318 | 78 |
| 12 | Vancouver Canucks | SMY | 80 | 28 | 32 | 20 | 289 | 301 | 76 |
| 13 | New York Rangers | PTK | 80 | 30 | 36 | 14 | 312 | 317 | 74 |
| 14 | Edmonton Oilers | SMY | 80 | 29 | 35 | 16 | 328 | 327 | 74 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NRS | 80 | 30 | 37 | 13 | 302 | 345 | 73 |
| 16 | Toronto Maple Leafs | ADM | 80 | 28 | 37 | 15 | 322 | 367 | 71 |
| 17 | Washington Capitals | PTK | 80 | 26 | 36 | 18 | 286 | 317 | 70 |
| 18 | Hartford Whalers | NRS | 80 | 21 | 41 | 18 | 292 | 372 | 60 |
| 19 | Colorado Rockies | SMY | 80 | 22 | 45 | 13 | 258 | 344 | 57 |
| 20 | Detroit Red Wings | NRS | 80 | 19 | 43 | 18 | 252 | 339 | 56 |
| 21 | Winnipeg Jets | SMY | 80 | 9 | 57 | 14 | 246 | 400 | 32 |
Divisions: ADM – Adams, NRS – Norris, PTK – Patrick, SMY – Smythe
bold – The top 16 teams in the league qualified for the playoffs, regardless of division or conference. x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and conference and division)

### Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Patrick Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
CGY
NYI
NYR
PHI
WSH
Total
Calgary
—1−1−22−1−12−23−18−5−3
N.Y. Islanders
1−1−2—2−21−2−14−08−5−3
N.Y. Rangers
1−2−12−2—1−1−22−26−7−3
Philadelphia
2−22−1−11−1−2—2−27−6−3
Washington
1−30−42−22−2—5−11−0
Vs. Smythe Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
EDM
STL
VAN
WIN
Total
Calgary
0−1−31−32−1−12−23−13−0−111−8−5
N.Y. Islanders
4−03−12−0−22−0−23−13−0−117−2−5
N.Y. Rangers
2−1−11−32−1−10−42−1−13−110−11−3
Philadelphia
1−1−24−02−23−0−11−2−13−114−6−4
Washington
1−1−23−0−12−1−10−2−21−1−23−0−110−5−9
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
MIN
QUE
TOR
Total
Calgary
3−11−2−12−21−1−22−29−8−3
N.Y. Islanders
2−22−22−0−23−13−112−6−2
N.Y. Rangers
2−21−2−11−1−21−1−22−27−8−5
Philadelphia
2−20−2−22−1−11−2−10−2−25−9−6
Washington
1−2−10−2−20−3−10−43−14−12−4
Vs. Norris Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
DET
HFD
LAK
MTL
PIT
Total
Calgary
2−1−13−13−11−2−12−1−111−6−3
N.Y. Islanders
4−02−0−22−22−1−11−2−111−5−4
N.Y. Rangers
1−2−13−11−31−2−11−2−17−10−3
Philadelphia
3−13−0−14−01−2−14−015−3−2
Washington
2−1−13−11−2−10−2−21−2−17−8−5 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 10, 1980 | 4–1 | Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | L | October 12, 1980 | 1–2 | New York Islanders (1980–81) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | T | October 15, 1980 | 3–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | W | October 18, 1980 | 8–2 | New York Rangers (1980–81) | 2–1–1 |
| 5 | L | October 19, 1980 | 4–8 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) | 2–2–1 |
| 6 | W | October 21, 1980 | 2–0 | Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) | 3–2–1 |
| 7 | L | October 24, 1980 | 2–3 | St. Louis Blues (1980–81) | 3–3–1 |
| 8 | T | October 25, 1980 | 3–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) | 3–3–2 |
| 9 | L | October 29, 1980 | 2–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) | 3–4–2 |
| 10 | T | October 30, 1980 | 5–5 | @ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) | 3–4–3 |
| 11 | T | November 1, 1980 | 2–2 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) | 3–4–4 |
| 12 | T | November 2, 1980 | 4–4 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) | 3–4–5 |
| 13 | L | November 5, 1980 | 3–5 | Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) | 3–5–5 |
| 14 | T | November 8, 1980 | 3–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) | 3–5–6 |
| 15 | T | November 9, 1980 | 3–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) | 3–5–7 |
| 16 | W | November 12, 1980 | 3–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) | 4–5–7 |
| 17 | W | November 15, 1980 | 8–4 | @ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) | 5–5–7 |
| 18 | L | November 18, 1980 | 2–6 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) | 5–6–7 |
| 19 | W | November 20, 1980 | 4–2 | Calgary Flames (1980–81) | 6–6–7 |
| 20 | T | November 22, 1980 | 2–2 | Boston Bruins (1980–81) | 6–6–8 |
| 21 | T | November 26, 1980 | 7–7 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) | 6–6–9 |
| 22 | W | November 28, 1980 | 6–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) | 7–6–9 |
| 23 | W | November 29, 1980 | 7–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) | 8–6–9 |
| 24 | T | December 3, 1980 | 3–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) | 8–6–10 |
| 25 | W | December 6, 1980 | 8–6 | Colorado Rockies (1980–81) | 9–6–10 |
| 26 | L | December 7, 1980 | 3–7 | @ Boston Bruins (1980–81) | 9–7–10 |
| 27 | L | December 9, 1980 | 2–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) | 9–8–10 |
| 28 | L | December 10, 1980 | 2–6 | @ New York Rangers (1980–81) | 9–9–10 |
| 29 | L | December 12, 1980 | 2–6 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) | 9–10–10 |
| 30 | L | December 14, 1980 | 4–5 | Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) | 9–11–10 |
| 31 | W | December 17, 1980 | 5–2 | Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) | 10–11–10 |
| 32 | L | December 20, 1980 | 2–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) | 10–12–10 |
| 33 | W | December 21, 1980 | 6–0 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) | 11–12–10 |
| 34 | W | December 26, 1980 | 7–3 | New York Rangers (1980–81) | 12–12–10 |
| 35 | L | December 27, 1980 | 4–7 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) | 12–13–10 |
| 36 | T | December 30, 1980 | 3–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) | 12–13–11 |
| 37 | W | December 31, 1980 | 5–3 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) | 13–13–11 |
| 38 | L | January 3, 1981 | 0–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) | 13–14–11 |
| 39 | L | January 4, 1981 | 1–8 | Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) | 13–15–11 |
| 40 | L | January 7, 1981 | 3–6 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) | 13–16–11 |
| 41 | L | January 8, 1981 | 0–6 | @ Calgary Flames (1980–81) | 13–17–11 |
| 42 | L | January 10, 1981 | 2–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) | 13–18–11 |
| 43 | W | January 12, 1981 | 2–1 | @ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) | 14–18–11 |
| 44 | W | January 15, 1981 | 3–0 | Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) | 15–18–11 |
| 45 | L | January 17, 1981 | 4–6 | @ New York Islanders (1980–81) | 15–19–11 |
| 46 | W | January 18, 1981 | 3–2 | Hartford Whalers (1980–81) | 16–19–11 |
| 47 | L | January 21, 1981 | 1–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) | 16–20–11 |
| 48 | L | January 24, 1981 | 4–7 | Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) | 16–21–11 |
| 49 | W | January 27, 1981 | 4–3 | Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) | 17–21–11 |
| 50 | W | January 29, 1981 | 3–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) | 18–21–11 |
| 51 | T | January 31, 1981 | 4–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) | 18–21–12 |
| 52 | W | February 1, 1981 | 7–4 | Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) | 19–21–12 |
| 53 | T | February 3, 1981 | 3–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) | 19–21–13 |
| 54 | L | February 5, 1981 | 2–5 | @ Calgary Flames (1980–81) | 19–22–13 |
| 55 | T | February 7, 1981 | 4–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) | 19–22–14 |
| 56 | L | February 12, 1981 | 3–6 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) | 19–23–14 |
| 57 | L | February 14, 1981 | 1–6 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) | 19–24–14 |
| 58 | T | February 18, 1981 | 5–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) | 19–24–15 |
| 59 | L | February 21, 1981 | 4–6 | @ New York Rangers (1980–81) | 19–25–15 |
| 60 | L | February 22, 1981 | 7–11 | Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) | 19–26–15 |
| 61 | T | February 25, 1981 | 2–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) | 19–26–16 |
| 62 | L | February 26, 1981 | 5–7 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) | 19–27–16 |
| 63 | L | February 28, 1981 | 4–7 | @ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) | 19–28–16 |
| 64 | L | March 3, 1981 | 3–6 | Calgary Flames (1980–81) | 19–29–16 |
| 65 | L | March 4, 1981 | 4–7 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) | 19–30–16 |
| 66 | W | March 8, 1981 | 7–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) | 20–30–16 |
| 67 | W | March 10, 1981 | 4–3 | Colorado Rockies (1980–81) | 21–30–16 |
| 68 | W | March 11, 1981 | 5–2 | @ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) | 22–30–16 |
| 69 | L | March 13, 1981 | 1–7 | Boston Bruins (1980–81) | 22–31–16 |
| 70 | L | March 14, 1981 | 3–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) | 22–32–16 |
| 71 | L | March 18, 1981 | 4–6 | Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) | 22–33–16 |
| 72 | T | March 21, 1981 | 3–3 | St. Louis Blues (1980–81) | 22–33–17 |
| 73 | T | March 22, 1981 | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) | 22–33–18 |
| 74 | W | March 24, 1981 | 5–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) | 23–33–18 |
| 75 | W | March 26, 1981 | 2–0 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) | 24–33–18 |
| 76 | L | March 27, 1981 | 3–5 | Hartford Whalers (1980–81) | 24–34–18 |
| 77 | L | March 29, 1981 | 4–5 | New York Islanders (1980–81) | 24–35–18 |
| 78 | W | April 2, 1981 | 3–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1980–81) | 25–35–18 |
| 79 | L | April 4, 1981 | 1–4 | @ New York Islanders (1980–81) | 25–36–18 |
| 80 | W | April 5, 1981 | 7–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) | 26–36–18 |

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Dennis Maruk | C | 80 | 50 | 47 | 97 | 87 | -7 | 16 | 2 | 5 |
| Mike Gartner | RW | 80 | 48 | 46 | 94 | 100 | -5 | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| Ryan Walter | C/LW | 80 | 24 | 44 | 68 | 150 | -9 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Kelly | LW | 80 | 26 | 36 | 62 | 157 | -13 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Jean Pronovost | RW | 80 | 22 | 36 | 58 | 61 | -9 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| Bengt-Ake Gustafsson | RW | 72 | 21 | 34 | 55 | 26 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Dennis Ververgaert | RW | 79 | 14 | 27 | 41 | 40 | -5 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Rick Green | D | 65 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 91 | -15 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Darren Veitch | D | 59 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 46 | -12 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Alan Hangsleben | D | 76 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 198 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Tookey | C | 29 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 18 | -6 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Wes Jarvis | C | 55 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 30 | -9 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Paul Mulvey | LW | 55 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 166 | -9 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Guy Charron | C | 47 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 2 | -4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Glen Currie | C | 40 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 16 | -5 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Pat Ribble | D | 67 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 103 | -13 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Rolf Edberg | C | 45 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Howard Walker | D | 64 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 100 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Bouchard | D | 50 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 28 | -18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Smith | D | 40 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 36 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Palmateer | G | 49 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim McTaggart | D | 52 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 185 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yvon Labre | D | 25 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 100 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Lofthouse | RW/C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Errol Rausse | LW | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Archie Henderson | RW | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 28 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Theberge | D | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwayne Lowdermilk | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Parro | G | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rollie Boutin | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Cassolato | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Inness | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jay Johnston | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul MacKinnon | D | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Torrie Robertson | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Stephenson | G | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Mike Palmateer | 2679 | 49 | 18 | 19 | 9 | 172 | 3.85 | 2 |
| Dave Parro | 811 | 18 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 49 | 3.63 | 1 |
| Wayne Stephenson | 1010 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 66 | 3.92 | 1 |
| Rollie Boutin | 120 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 5.50 | 0 |
| Gary Inness | 180 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 26 | 36 | 18 | 307 | 3.84 | 4 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals  MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts;

## Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 5 | Darren Veitch | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 3 | 47 | Dan Miele | Canada | Providence College (NCAA) |
| 3 | 55 | Torrie Robertson | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WHL) |
| 5 | 89 | Timo Blomqvist | Finland | Jokerit (Finland) |
| 6 | 110 | Todd Bidner | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL) |
| 7 | 131 | Frank Perkins | United States | Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) |
| 8 | 152 | Bruce Raboin | Canada | Providence College (ECAC) |
| 9 | 173 | Peter Andersson | Sweden | Luleå (Sweden) |
| 10 | 194 | Tony Camazzola | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |