# 1985–86 New Jersey Devils season

The 1985–86 New Jersey Devils season was the 12th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and fourth season since the franchise relocated from Colorado prior to the 1982–83 NHL season. Kirk Muller making the All-Star Game was the highlight of the season for the Devils, as they finished in last place in their division and conference, good for the third-worst record in the league. This was the franchise's eighth consecutive season out of the playoffs.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 53 | 23 | 4 | 335 | 241 | 110 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 50 | 23 | 7 | 315 | 272 | 107 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 39 | 29 | 12 | 327 | 284 | 90 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 36 | 38 | 6 | 280 | 276 | 78 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 34 | 38 | 8 | 313 | 305 | 76 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 28 | 49 | 3 | 300 | 374 | 59 |
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
1985–86 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
New Jersey
—2−52−53−42−4−11−610−24−1
N.Y. Islanders
5−2—3−3−14−35−1−13−420−13−2
N.Y. Rangers
5−23−3−1—1−62−4−13−3−114−18−3
Philadelphia
4−33−46−1—6−0−15−224−10−1
Pittsburgh
4−2−11−5−14−2−10–6−1—1−610−21−4
Washington
6−14−33−3−12–56−1—21−13−1
Vs. Adams Division
1985–86 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
New Jersey
0−31−21−21−22−15−10−0
N.Y. Islanders
1−0−21−22−11−21−26−7−2
N.Y. Rangers
2−10−31−22−0−10−2−15−8−2
Philadelphia
2−11−23−02−11−1−19−5−1
Pittsburgh
1−22−0−11−20−2−11−1−15−7−3
Washington
2−0−11−1−12−0−12−0−13−010−1−4
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1985–86 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
New Jersey
2−12−0−11−21−21−27−7−1
N.Y. Islanders
0−2−13−00−2−11−1−13−07−5−3
N.Y. Rangers
0−33−01−21−1−12−17−7−1
Philadelphia
2−0−12−12−0−12−12−110−3−2
Pittsburgh
1−1−12−13−02−13−011−3−1
Washington
2−12−12−13−02−111−4−0
Vs. Smythe Division
1985–86 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
New Jersey
0−2−10−32−12−12−16−8−1
N.Y. Islanders
1−1−10−1−22−11−1−12−0−16−4−5
N.Y. Rangers
1−22−12−13−02−110−5−0
Philadelphia
2−11−23−02−12−110−5−0
Pittsburgh
1−21−22−12−12−18−7−0
Washington
0−33−02−12−0−11−1−18−5−2 :

## Schedule and results

| # | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 10, 1985 | 6–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (season) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 12, 1985 | 4–1 | Washington Capitals (season) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | W | October 13, 1985 | 3–2 OT | @ New York Rangers (season) | 3–0–0 |
| 4 | L | October 17, 1985 | 3–4 OT | Hartford Whalers (season) | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | L | October 19, 1985 | 3–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (season) | 3–2–0 |
| 6 | L | October 23, 1985 | 1–5 | @ New York Rangers (season) | 3–3–0 |
| 7 | L | October 24, 1985 | 4–6 | Chicago Black Hawks (season) | 3–4–0 |
| 8 | W | October 26, 1985 | 5–2 | Los Angeles Kings (season) | 4–4–0 |
| 9 | L | October 29, 1985 | 4–6 | Boston Bruins (season) | 4–5–0 |
| 10 | T | October 31, 1985 | 2–2 OT | Detroit Red Wings (season) | 4–5–1 |
| 11 | W | November 2, 1985 | 6–5 OT | New York Rangers (season) | 5–5–1 |
| 12 | L | November 6, 1985 | 2–5 | Calgary Flames (season) | 5–6–1 |
| 13 | W | November 8, 1985 | 5–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (season) | 6–6–1 |
| 14 | L | November 9, 1985 | 2–3 | @ New York Islanders (season) | 6–7–1 |
| 15 | L | November 15, 1985 | 3–5 | @ Winnipeg Jets (season) | 6–8–1 |
| 16 | L | November 16, 1985 | 2–7 | @ Calgary Flames (season) | 6–9–1 |
| 17 | W | November 19, 1985 | 6–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (season) | 7–9–1 |
| 18 | W | November 22, 1985 | 6–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (season) | 8–9–1 |
| 19 | L | November 23, 1985 | 2–3 | @ Edmonton Oilers (season) | 8–10–1 |
| 20 | W | November 26, 1985 | 4–3 | Winnipeg Jets (season) | 9–10–1 |
| 21 | L | November 30, 1985 | 2–6 | Washington Capitals (season) | 9–11–1 |
| 22 | L | December 1, 1985 | 2–4 | @ Boston Bruins (season) | 9–12–1 |
| 23 | L | December 4, 1985 | 7–10 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (season) | 9–13–1 |
| 24 | W | December 6, 1985 | 4–1 | Vancouver Canucks (season) | 10–13–1 |
| 25 | W | December 7, 1985 | 5–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (season) | 11–13–1 |
| 26 | W | December 9, 1985 | 6–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (season) | 12–13–1 |
| 27 | L | December 11, 1985 | 2–4 | New York Rangers (season) | 12–14–1 |
| 28 | L | December 14, 1985 | 3–9 | @ Quebec Nordiques (season) | 12–15–1 |
| 29 | L | December 15, 1985 | 2–3 | St. Louis Blues (season) | 12–16–1 |
| 30 | W | December 17, 1985 | 7–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (season) | 13–16–1 |
| 31 | L | December 19, 1985 | 3–6 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (season) | 13–17–1 |
| 32 | L | December 21, 1985 | 6–7 | @ Hartford Whalers (season) | 13–18–1 |
| 33 | L | December 22, 1985 | 3–8 | Minnesota North Stars (season) | 13–19–1 |
| 34 | L | December 27, 1985 | 3–7 | Montreal Canadiens (season) | 13–20–1 |
| 35 | L | December 28, 1985 | 3–8 | @ Montreal Canadiens (season) | 13–21–1 |
| 36 | L | January 3, 1986 | 2–3 | Washington Capitals (season) | 13–22–1 |
| 37 | L | January 4, 1986 | 3–9 | @ Washington Capitals (season) | 13–23–1 |
| 38 | L | January 6, 1986 | 3–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (season) | 13–24–1 |
| 39 | W | January 8, 1986 | 8–7 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (season) | 14–24–1 |
| 40 | L | January 11, 1986 | 4–8 | Philadelphia Flyers (season) | 14–25–1 |
| 41 | L | January 14, 1986 | 2–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (season) | 14–26–1 |
| 42 | W | January 15, 1986 | 4–3 OT | @ Detroit Red Wings (season) | 15–26–1 |
| 43 | L | January 17, 1986 | 3–4 | Washington Capitals (season) | 15–27–1 |
| 44 | L | January 19, 1986 | 3–6 | Buffalo Sabres (season) | 15–28–1 |
| 45 | L | January 21, 1986 | 3–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (season) | 15–29–1 |
| 46 | T | January 22, 1986 | 6–6 OT | @ Calgary Flames (season) | 15–29–2 |
| 47 | L | January 24, 1986 | 6–7 OT | @ Edmonton Oilers (season) | 15–30–2 |
| 48 | L | January 27, 1986 | 2–6 | @ Minnesota North Stars (season) | 15–31–2 |
| 49 | L | January 29, 1986 | 1–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (season) | 15–32–2 |
| 50 | L | February 1, 1986 | 4–5 | @ Washington Capitals (season) | 15–33–2 |
| 51 | L | February 2, 1986 | 2–3 OT | New York Islanders (season) | 15–34–2 |
| 52 | L | February 6, 1986 | 4–6 | Edmonton Oilers (season) | 15–35–2 |
| 53 | L | February 8, 1986 | 0–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (season) | 15–36–2 |
| 54 | W | February 9, 1986 | 6–3 | @ Hartford Whalers (season) | 16–36–2 |
| 55 | W | February 13, 1986 | 4–3 | Montreal Canadiens (season) | 17–36–2 |
| 56 | L | February 15, 1986 | 5–6 | @ New York Islanders (season) | 17–37–2 |
| 57 | T | February 16, 1986 | 5–5 OT | Pittsburgh Penguins (season) | 17–37–3 |
| 58 | W | February 20, 1986 | 4–3 OT | Quebec Nordiques (season) | 18–37–3 |
| 59 | L | February 22, 1986 | 2–5 | Los Angeles Kings (season) | 18–38–3 |
| 60 | W | February 26, 1986 | 7–2 | New York Islanders (season) | 19–38–3 |
| 61 | L | March 1, 1986 | 3–8 | @ Boston Bruins (season) | 19–39–3 |
| 62 | W | March 2, 1986 | 6–4 | Winnipeg Jets (season) | 20–39–3 |
| 63 | L | March 4, 1986 | 2–4 | @ Washington Capitals (season) | 20–40–3 |
| 64 | W | March 6, 1986 | 7–2 | Detroit Red Wings (season) | 21–40–3 |
| 65 | W | March 8, 1986 | 7–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (season) | 22–40–3 |
| 66 | L | March 9, 1986 | 3–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (season) | 22–41–3 |
| 67 | L | March 11, 1986 | 3–6 | New York Rangers (season) | 22–42–3 |
| 68 | L | March 13, 1986 | 4–7 | Toronto Maple Leafs (season) | 22–43–3 |
| 69 | L | March 15, 1986 | 1–3 | @ New York Islanders (season) | 22–44–3 |
| 70 | L | March 16, 1986 | 1–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (season) | 22–45–3 |
| 71 | L | March 19, 1986 | 3–7 | Pittsburgh Penguins (season) | 22–46–3 |
| 72 | W | March 21, 1986 | 6–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (season) | 23–46–3 |
| 73 | W | March 22, 1986 | 6–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (season) | 24–46–3 |
| 74 | L | March 25, 1986 | 4–5 | New York Rangers (season) | 24–47–3 |
| 75 | W | March 27, 1986 | 1–0 | St. Louis Blues (season) | 25–47–3 |
| 76 | W | March 29, 1986 | 3–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (season) | 26–47–3 |
| 77 | L | March 31, 1986 | 0–9 | @ New York Rangers (season) | 26–48–3 |
| 78 | W | April 2, 1986 | 6–5 | Quebec Nordiques (season) | 27–48–3 |
| 79 | L | April 5, 1986 | 1–7 | @ New York Islanders (season) | 27–49–3 |
| 80 | W | April 6, 1986 | 9–7 | New York Islanders (season) | 28–49–3 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Greg Adams | LW | 78 | 35 | 42 | 77 | 30 | -7 | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Kirk Muller | LW | 77 | 25 | 41 | 66 | 45 | -20 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Mel Bridgman | C | 78 | 23 | 40 | 63 | 80 | -1 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Mark Johnson | C | 80 | 21 | 41 | 62 | 16 | -13 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| John MacLean | RW | 74 | 21 | 36 | 57 | 112 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Pat Verbeek | RW | 76 | 25 | 28 | 53 | 79 | -24 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Doug Sulliman | RW | 73 | 21 | 22 | 43 | 20 | -10 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
| Peter McNab | C | 71 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 14 | -11 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Broten | LW/C | 66 | 18 | 25 | 43 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Rich Preston | RW | 76 | 19 | 22 | 41 | 65 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Paul Gagne | LW | 47 | 19 | 19 | 38 | 14 | -15 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Joe Cirella | D | 66 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 147 | -12 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Higgins | RW | 59 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 47 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Uli Hiemer | D | 50 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 61 | -1 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Perry Anderson | LW | 51 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 91 | -7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Pichette | D | 33 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 22 | -11 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Bruce Driver | D | 40 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 32 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Craig Wolanin | D | 44 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 74 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Lewis | D | 69 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 81 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan Ludvig | RW | 42 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 63 | -16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Daneyko | D | 44 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Velischek | D | 47 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 39 | -20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Russell | D | 30 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 51 | -17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Lorimer | D | 46 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 52 | -13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alain Chevrier | G | 37 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Dorion | C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Conacher | LW | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Dietrich | D | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Billington | G | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murray Brumwell | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan Hepple | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kirk McLean | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glenn Resch | G | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam St. Laurent | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Allan Stewart | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Alain Chevrier | 1862 | 37 | 11 | 18 | 2 | 143 | 4.61 | 0 | 951 | 808 | .850 |
| Glenn Resch | 1769 | 31 | 10 | 20 | 0 | 126 | 4.27 | 0 | 885 | 759 | .858 |
| Craig Billington | 901 | 18 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 77 | 5.13 | 0 | 482 | 405 | .840 |
| Sam St. Laurent | 188 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4.15 | 1 | 111 | 98 | .883 |
| Kirk McLean | 111 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 5.95 | 0 | 59 | 48 | .814 |
| Team: | 4831 | 80 | 28 | 49 | 3 | 370 | 4.60 | 1 | 2488 | 2118 | .851 |
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; SA=Shots against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Draft picks

New Jersey's draft picks at the 1985 NHL Entry Draft.
| Rd # | Pick # | Player | Nat | Pos | Team (League) |
| 1 | 3 | Craig Wolanin | United States | D | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 2 | 24 | Sean Burke | Canada | G | Toronto Marlboros (OHL) |
| 2 | 32 | Eric Weinrich | United States | D | North Yarmouth Academy (Maine) |
| 3 | 45 | Myles O'Connor | Canada | D | Notre Dame H.S. Hounds (SJHL) |
| 4 | 66 | Greg Polak | United States | LW | Lincoln H.S. (Rhode Island) |
| 5 | 87 | No fifth-round pick | No fifth-round pick | No fifth-round pick | No fifth-round pick |
| 6 | 108 | Bill McMillan | Canada | RW | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 7 | 129 | Kevin Schrader | United States | D | Burnsville H.S. (Minnesota) |
| 8 | 150 | Ed Krayer | United States | LW | St. Paul's H.S. (New Hampshire) |
| 9 | 171 | Jamie Huscroft | Canada | D | Seattle Breakers (WHL) |
| 10 | 192 | Terry Shold | United States | LW | International Falls H.S. (Minnesota) |
| 11 | 213 | Jamie McKinley | Canada | RW | Guelph Platers (OHL) |
| 12 | 234 | David Williams | United States | D | Choate H.S. (Connecticut) |