# 1980–81 St. Louis Blues season

The 1980–81 St. Louis Blues season was the 14th for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri. The Blues won the Smythe Division for the first time in four seasons, with a record of 45 wins, 18 losses and 17 ties, good for 107 points, and second place overall in the entire NHL. This was the first time that the Blues had ever accumulated 100 or more points in a season. The Blues defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in a five-game preliminary round, before losing the quarter-finals in six games to the New York Rangers.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Smythe Division :
| | 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 |
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

Smythe Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Smythe Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
EDM
STL
VAN
WIN
Total
Chicago
—2−21−31−2−12−23−19−10−1
Colorado
2−2—3−0−11−30−2−21−2−17−9−4
Edmonton
3−10−3−1—1−2−12−24−010−8−2
St. Louis
2−1−13−12−1−1—4−02−0−213−3−4
Vancouver
2−22−0−22−20−4—2−0−28−8−4
Winnipeg
1−32−1−10−40−2−20−2−2—3−12−5
Vs. Patrick Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
CGY
NYI
NYR
PHI
WSH
Total
Chicago
1−0−30−41−2−11−1−21−1−24−8−8
Colorado
3−11−33−10−40−3−17−12−1
Edmonton
1−2−10−2−21−2−12−21−2−15−10−5
St. Louis
2−20−2−24−00−3−12−0−28−7−5
Vancouver
1−31−31−2−12−1−11−1−26−10−4
Winnipeg
0−3−10−3−11−31−30−3−12−15−3
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
MIN
QUE
TOR
Total
Chicago
1−32−22−23−0−11−2−19−9−2
Colorado
1−2−10−3−11−2−12−21−1−25−10−5
Edmonton
1−31−1−21−2−11−32−1−16−10−4
St. Louis
3−13−0−11−2−12−1−13−112−5−3
Vancouver
2−21−1−21−2−11−1−23−0−18−6−6
Winnipeg
0−2−20−40−41−1−22−23−13−4
Vs. Norris Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
DET
HFD
LAK
MTL
PIT
Total
Chicago
1−1−23−0−10−2−22−23−19−6−5
Colorado
1−2−11−2−10−3−10−41−33−14−3
Edmonton
2−1−12−1−10−2−22−22−1−18−7−5
St. Louis
4−03−0−12−0−21−1−22−212−3−5
Vancouver
2−1−11−1−20−40−2−23−0−16−8−6
Winnipeg
0−3−10−3−10−41−30−41−17−2 :

## Schedule and results

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

## Playoffs

Preliminary vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
* St. Louis won series 3–2
Quarterfinals vs. New York Rangers
* New York won series 4–2

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Bernie Federko | C | 78 | 31 | 73 | 104 | 47 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 4 |
| Wayne Babych | RW | 78 | 54 | 42 | 96 | 93 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 7 |
| Blake Dunlop | C | 80 | 20 | 67 | 87 | 40 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Jorgen Pettersson | LW | 62 | 37 | 36 | 73 | 24 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| Brian Sutter | LW | 78 | 35 | 34 | 69 | 232 | 12 | 17 | 0 | 4 |
| Mike Zuke | C | 74 | 24 | 44 | 68 | 57 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Perry Turnbull | C | 75 | 34 | 22 | 56 | 209 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Tony Currie | RW | 61 | 23 | 32 | 55 | 38 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Blair Chapman | RW | 55 | 20 | 26 | 46 | 41 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Larry Patey | C | 80 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 107 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| Rick Lapointe | D | 80 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 124 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Joe Micheletti | D | 63 | 4 | 27 | 31 | 53 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Brownschidle | D | 71 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Mike Crombeen | RW | 66 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 58 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bill Stewart | D | 60 | 2 | 21 | 23 | 114 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ed Kea | D | 74 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 60 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ralph Klassen | C | 66 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 23 | -5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Craig Norwich | D | 23 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Gerry Hart | D | 63 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 132 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Maxwell | D | 40 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 137 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hartland Monahan | RW | 25 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ed Staniowski | G | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Heinz | G | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Hess | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dick Lamby | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chuck Lefley | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Liut | G | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul MacLean | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Mike Liut | 3570 | 61 | 33 | 14 | 13 | 199 | 3.34 | 1 |
| Ed Staniowski | 1010 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 72 | 4.28 | 0 |
| Rick Heinz | 220 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2.18 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 45 | 18 | 17 | 279 | 3.49 | 1 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Bernie Federko | C | 11 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Tony Currie | RW | 11 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Micheletti | D | 11 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Sutter | LW | 11 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 77 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Zuke | C | 11 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jorgen Pettersson | LW | 11 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Blair Chapman | RW | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Patey | C | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Lapointe | D | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Crombeen | RW | 11 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ed Kea | D | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Brownschidle | D | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blake Dunlop | C | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Babych | RW | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ralph Klassen | C | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Stewart | D | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Maxwell | D | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Hart | D | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Liut | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul MacLean | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hartland Monahan | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Mike Liut | 685 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 50 | 4.38 | 0 |
| Team: | 685 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 50 | 4.38 | 0 |
    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;

## Draft picks

St. Louis'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 | 12 | Rik Wilson | United States | Kingston Canadians (OHA) |
| 3 | 54 | Jim Pavese | United States | Kitchener Rangers (OHA) |
| 4 | 75 | Bob Brooke | United States | Yale University (ECAC) |
| 5 | 96 | Alain Lemieux | Canada | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 117 | Perry Anderson | Canada | Kingston Canadians (OMJHL) |
| 7 | 138 | Roger Hagglund | Sweden | Umeå (Sweden) |
| 8 | 159 | Pat Rabbitt | Canada | Billings Bighorns (WHL) |
| 9 | 180 | Peter Lindgren | Sweden | Hammarby (Sweden) |
| 10 | 201 | John Smyth | Canada | Calgary Wranglers (WHL) |