# 1985–86 New York Rangers season

The 1985–86 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 60th season. The highlight of the season was participating in the Prince of Wales Conference Finals.

## 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

1985-86 Game Log :
October: 5-4-0 (Home: 5-1-0; Road: 0-3-0)
GameOctoberOpponentScoreRecord
110Washington Capitals4 – 21–0–0
212@ Hartford Whalers8 – 21–1–0
313New Jersey Devils3 – 2 OT1–2–0
416@ Los Angeles Kings4 – 31–3–0
519@ New York Islanders5 – 41–4–0
620Vancouver Canucks4 – 32–4–0
723New Jersey Devils5 – 13–4–0
825Los Angeles Kings5 – 04–4–0
927Boston Bruins2 – 15–4–0 :
November: 6-8-1 (Home: 2-5-0; Road: 4-3-1)
GameNovemberOpponentScoreRecord
102@ New Jersey Devils6 – 5 OT5–5–0
114@ Pittsburgh Penguins4 – 26–5–0
126Philadelphia Flyers5 – 26–6–0
138@ Winnipeg Jets7 – 37–6–0
149@ Minnesota North Stars4 – 3 OT7–7–0
1511Chicago Black Hawks5 – 4 OT7–8–0
1613Montreal Canadiens5 – 28–8–0
1716@ Montreal Canadiens2 – 2 OT8–8–1
1817Edmonton Oilers3 – 2 OT8–9–1
1920Toronto Maple Leafs7 – 39–9–1
2023@ New York Islanders5 – 010–9–1
2124New York Islanders4 – 3 OT10–10–1
2227Calgary Flames5 – 210–11–1
2329@ Washington Capitals5 – 211–11–1
2430@ Pittsburgh Penguins5 – 411–12–1 :
December: 6-7-1 (Home: 4-3-1; Road: 2-4-0)
GameDecemberOpponentScoreRecord
252Pittsburgh Penguins6 – 011–13–1
264Winnipeg Jets7 – 412–13–1
277@ Philadelphia Flyers4 – 012–14–1
288Philadelphia Flyers3 – 113–14–1
2911@ New Jersey Devils4 – 214–14–1
3014@ Boston Bruins4 – 214–15–1
3115Pittsburgh Penguins5 – 214–16–1
3218Buffalo Sabres5 – 414–17–1
3320New York Islanders2 – 2 OT14–17–2
3421@ New York Islanders5 – 415–17–2
3523Detroit Red Wings10 – 216–17–2
3626@ Buffalo Sabres6 – 116–18–2
3728@ Minnesota North Stars3 – 116–19–2
3829Washington Capitals6 – 517–19–2 :
January: 5-6-2 (Home: 1-3-1; Road: 4-3-1)
GameJanuaryOpponentScoreRecord
391@ Washington Capitals3 – 017–20–2
405Quebec Nordiques5 – 417–21–2
4110Montreal Canadiens6 – 418–21–2
4212St. Louis Blues2 – 2 OT18–21–3
4314@ Vancouver Canucks2 – 119–21–3
4415@ Los Angeles Kings4 – 320–21–3
4518@ Edmonton Oilers5 – 421–21–3
4620Hartford Whalers5 – 021–22–3
4722@ Toronto Maple Leafs4 – 222–22–3
4823Quebec Nordiques4 – 022–23–3
4927@ Quebec Nordiques6 – 6 OT22–23–4
5029@ Chicago Black Hawks5 – 422–24–4
5131@ Buffalo Sabres5 – 322–25–4 :
February: 8-2-0 (Home: 5-0-0; Road: 3-2-0)
GameFebruaryOpponentScoreRecord
521@ Hartford Whalers3 – 123–25–4
535@ St. Louis Blues4 – 323–26–4
548@ Boston Bruins3 – 224–26–4
5512Vancouver Canucks5 – 225–26–4
5614@ Detroit Red Wings7 – 526–26–4
5716Detroit Red Wings3 – 127–26–4
5820St. Louis Blues3 – 228–26–4
5924Minnesota North Stars5 – 129–26–4
6025@ Toronto Maple Leafs7 – 329–27–4
6127Pittsburgh Penguins8 – 330–27–4 :
March: 6-9-1 (Home: 3-4-0; Road: 3-5-1)
GameMarchOpponentScoreRecord
621@ Washington Capitals4 – 030–28–4
632Washington Capitals4 – 230–29–4
645@ Winnipeg Jets4 – 130–30–4
656@ Calgary Flames5 – 231–30–4
669Philadelphia Flyers4 – 131–31–4
6711@ New Jersey Devils6 – 332–31–4
6812Calgary Flames3 – 232–32–4
6915@ Pittsburgh Penguins2 – 2 OT32–32–5
7016New York Islanders3 – 133–32–5
7118@ New York Islanders6 – 233–33–5
7222@ Philadelphia Flyers4 – 233–34–5
7323Chicago Black Hawks5 – 333–35–5
7425@ New Jersey Devils5 – 434–35–5
7528Edmonton Oilers4 – 235–35–5
7629@ Philadelphia Flyers8 – 235–36–5
7731New Jersey Devils9 – 036–36–5 :
April: 0-2-1 (Home: 0-2-0; Road: 0-0-1)
GameAprilOpponentScoreRecord
782Philadelphia Flyers3 – 236–37–5
795@ Washington Capitals4 – 4 OT36–37–6
806Pittsburgh Penguins5 – 4 OT36–38–6 :

## Playoffs

Key: Win Loss
1986 Stanley Cup playoffs :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Mike Ridley | 80 | 22 | 43 | 65 | 0 | 69 |
| Reijo Ruotsalainen | 80 | 17 | 42 | 59 | 22 | 47 |
| Tomas Sandstrom | 73 | 25 | 29 | 54 | -4 | 109 |
| Ron Greschner | 78 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 9 | 104 |
| Bob Brooke | 79 | 24 | 20 | 44 | 6 | 111 |
| James Patrick | 75 | 14 | 29 | 43 | 14 | 88 |
| Mark Pavelich | 59 | 20 | 20 | 40 | -3 | 82 |
| Mark Osborne | 62 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 5 | 80 |
| Raimo Helminen | 66 | 10 | 30 | 40 | -1 | 10 |
| Kelly Miller | 74 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 3 | 52 |
| Brian MacLellan$^†$ | 51 | 11 | 21 | 32 | -20 | 47 |
| Don Maloney | 68 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 18 | 56 |
| Pierre Larouche | 28 | 20 | 7 | 27 | -6 | 4 |
| Peter Sundstrom | 53 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 7 | 12 |
| Jan Erixon | 31 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 12 | 4 |
| Tom Laidlaw | 68 | 6 | 12 | 18 | -3 | 103 |
| Willie Huber | 70 | 7 | 8 | 15 | -11 | 85 |
| Mike Allison | 28 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 4 | 22 |
| Barry Beck | 25 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 24 |
| Grant Ledyard$^‡$ | 27 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -7 | 20 |
| Dave Gagner | 32 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 19 |
| Larry Melnyk$^†$ | 46 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 65 |
| George McPhee | 30 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 63 |
| Steve Patrick$^‡$ | 28 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -7 | 37 |
| Mike McEwen$^‡$ | 16 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -4 | 8 |
| Wilf Paiement$^†$ | 8 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 13 |
| Rob Whistle | 32 | 4 | 2 | 6 | -1 | 10 |
| Chris Jensen | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Mike Rogers$^‡$ | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Jim Wiemer | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Bob Crawford$^†$ | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| Steve Richmond$^‡$ | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 63 |
| Randy Heath | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kjell Samuelsson | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 10 |
| Tony Feltrin | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 21 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Pierre Larouche | 16 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 2 |
| Bob Brooke | 16 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 28 |
| Mike Ridley | 16 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 26 |
| Wilf Paiement | 16 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 45 |
| Tomas Sandstrom | 16 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 20 |
| Reijo Ruotsalainen | 16 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 6 |
| Kelly Miller | 16 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 |
| Brian MacLellan | 16 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 15 |
| James Patrick | 16 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 34 |
| Willie Huber | 16 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 16 |
| Mark Osborne | 15 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 26 |
| Ron Greschner | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 11 |
| Larry Melnyk | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 46 |
| Don Maloney | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 31 |
| Mike Allison | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 38 |
| Tom Laidlaw | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| Kjell Samuelsson | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Bob Crawford | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Jim Wiemer | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Jan Erixon | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Rob Whistle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| George McPhee | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Peter Sundstrom | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Raimo Helminen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO |
| John Vanbiesbrouck | 61 | 3326 | 31 | 21 | 5 | 184 | 3.32 | 1809 | .887 | 3 |
| Glen Hanlon | 23 | 1170 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 65 | 3.33 | 673 | .893 | 0 |
| Terry Kleisinger | 4 | 191 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 4.40 | 123 | .872 | 0 |
| Ron Scott | 4 | 156 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 4.23 | 67 | .804 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO |
| John Vanbiesbrouck | 16 | 899 | 8 | 8 | 49 | 3.27 | 477 | .897 | 1 |
| Glen Hanlon | 3 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4.80 | 32 | .813 | 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.
    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

New York's picks at the 1985 NHL Entry Draft in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 7 | Ulf Dahlén | RW | Sweden | Ostersund (Sweden) |
| 2 | 28 | Mike Richter | G | United States | Northwood School (New York) |
| 3 | 49 | Sam Lindstahl | G | Sweden | Södertälje SK (Allsvenskan) |
| 4 | 70 | Pat Janostin | D | Canada | Notre Dame H.S. (Sask.) |
| 5 | 91 | Brad Stepan | LW | Canada | St. Paul Suburban H.S. (Minnesota) |
| 6 | 112 | Brian McReynolds | C | Canada | Orillia Travelways (OHA-A) |
| 7 | 133 | Neil Pilon | D | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 8 | 154 | Larry Bernard | LW | Canada | Seattle Breakers (WHL) |
| 9 | 175 | Stephane Brochu | D | Canada | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) |
| 10 | 196 | Steve Nemeth | RW | Canada | Lethbridge Broncos (WHL) |
| 11 | 217 | Robert Burakovsky | RW | Sweden | Leksands IF (Allsvenskan) |
| 12 | 238 | Rudy Poeschek | D | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |

## Awards and records

* John Vanbiesbrouck, Vezina Trophy
* John Vanbiesbrouck, goaltender, NHL first team All-Star