# 1980–81 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1980–81 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their 14th in the National Hockey League.

## Regular season
### Division standings

Norris Division :
| | 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 |
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

Norris Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
DET
HFD
LAK
MTL
PIT
Total
Detroit
—0−2−21−31−31−2−13−10−3
Hartford
2−0−2—0−3−11−32−25−8−3
Los Angeles
3−13−0−1—1−30−2−27−6−3
Montreal
3−13−13−1—2−211−5−0
Pittsburgh
2−1−12−22−0−22−2—8−5−3
Vs. Adams Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
MIN
QUE
TOR
Total
Detroit
0−2−20−3−10−2−20−3−13−13−11−6
Hartford
1−1−21−2−11−32−21−1−26−9−5
Los Angeles
2−21−2−14−03−13−0−113−5−2
Montreal
3−13−11−2−11−1−23−111−6−3
Pittsburgh
0−3−10−3−11−32−1−11−2−14−12−4
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Patrick Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
CGY
NYI
NYR
PHI
WSH
Total
Detroit
1−2−10−42−1−11−31−2−15−12−3
Hartford
1−30−2−21−30−3−11−33−14−3
Los Angeles
1−32−23−10−42−1−18−11−1
Montreal
2−1−11−2−12−1−12−1−12−0−29−5−6
Pittsburgh
1−2−12−1−12−1−10−42−1−17−9−4
Vs. Smythe Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
EDM
STL
VAN
WIN
Total
Detroit
1−1−22−1−11−2−10−41−2−13−0−18−10−6
Hartford
0−3−12−1−11−2−10−3−11−1−23−0−17−10−7
Los Angeles
2−0−23−0−12−0−20−2−24−04−015−2−7
Montreal
2−24−02−21−1−22−0−23−114−6−4
Pittsburgh
1−33−11−2−12−20−3−14−011−11−2 :

## Schedule and results

1980–81 Schedule :
October: 4–5–1 (Home: 2–3–0; Road: 2–2–1), 9 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
1Oct 9Pittsburgh Penguins4–7Philadelphia FlyersThe Spectrum0–1–00
2Oct 11Winnipeg Jets4–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena1–1–02
3Oct 12Pittsburgh Penguins6–3New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV)2–1–04
4Oct 15Hartford Whalers5–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena2–2–04
5Oct 18Buffalo Sabres4–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena2–3–04
6Oct 21Pittsburgh Penguins5–8Toronto Maple LeafsMaple Leaf Gardens2–4–04
7Oct 22St. Louis Blues3–9Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena3–4–06
8Oct 25Calgary Flames8–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena3–5–06
9Oct 29Pittsburgh Penguins1–1Buffalo SabresBuffalo Memorial Auditorium3–5–17
10Oct 31Pittsburgh Penguins6–5Winnipeg JetsWinnipeg Arena4–5–19 :
November: 2–8–3 (Home: 2–6–0; Road: 0–2–3), 7 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
11Nov 1Pittsburgh Penguins3–6Minnesota North StarsMet Center4–6–19
12Nov 3Pittsburgh Penguins4–4Edmonton OilersNorthlands Coliseum4–6–210
13Nov 5Toronto Maple Leafs2–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena4–7–210
14Nov 8Detroit Red Wings3–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena5–7–212
15Nov 9Pittsburgh Penguins4–7Boston BruinsBoston Garden5–8–212
16Nov 12Washington Capitals3–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena5–9–212
17Nov 14Pittsburgh Penguins3–3New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV)5–9–313
18Nov 15Boston Bruins7–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena5–10–313
19Nov 19Minnesota North Stars3–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena5–11–313
20Nov 22Colorado Rockies2–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–11–315
21Nov 26Vancouver Canucks7–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–12–315
22Nov 27Pittsburgh Penguins3–3Boston BruinsBoston Garden6–12–416
23Nov 29New York Rangers4–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–13–416 :
December: 5–6–3 (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 2–5–3), 13 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
24Dec 3Pittsburgh Penguins4–4Toronto Maple LeafsMaple Leaf Gardens6–13–517
25Dec 4Pittsburgh Penguins3–2Montreal CanadiensMontreal Forum7–13–519
26Dec 6Chicago Black Hawks4–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena8–13–521
27Dec 7Pittsburgh Penguins1–10Buffalo SabresBuffalo Memorial Auditorium8–14–521
28Dec 10Montreal Canadiens3–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena9–14–523
29Dec 12Pittsburgh Penguins6–2Washington CapitalsCapital Centre10–14–525
30Dec 13Philadelphia Flyers6–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena10–15–525
31Dec 17Pittsburgh Penguins3–3Los Angeles KingsThe Forum10–15–626
32Dec 19Pittsburgh Penguins4–10Vancouver CanucksPacific Coliseum10–16–626
33Dec 20Pittsburgh Penguins3–3Calgary FlamesStampede Corral10–16–727
34Dec 23Pittsburgh Penguins3–6St. Louis BluesThe Checkerdome10–17–727
35Dec 26Pittsburgh Penguins7–9Hartford WhalersXL Center10–18–727
36Dec 27Quebec Nordiques4–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena11–18–729
37Dec 31Pittsburgh Penguins1–3Detroit Red WingsJoe Louis Arena11–19–729 :
January: 6–6–1 (Home: 6–2–1; Road: 0–4–0), 13 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
38Jan 3Detroit Red Wings4–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena12–19–731
39Jan 4Pittsburgh Penguins2–3Chicago Black HawksChicago Stadium12–20–731
40Jan 7New York Islanders3–7Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena13–20–733
41Jan 8Pittsburgh Penguins2–4Montreal CanadiensMontreal Forum13–21–733
42Jan 10Chicago Black Hawks5–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena13–22–733
43Jan 13Pittsburgh Penguins3–6New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum13–23–733
44Jan 14St. Louis Blues3–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena14–23–735
45Jan 17Los Angeles Kings4–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena15–23–737
46Jan 21Philadelphia Flyers5–0Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena15–24–737
47Jan 24Calgary Flames3–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena16–24–739
48Jan 27Pittsburgh Penguins1–7St. Louis BluesThe Checkerdome16–25–739
49Jan 28Minnesota North Stars1–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena17–25–741
50Jan 31Washington Capitals4–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena17–25–842 :
February: 7–5–1 (Home: 5–1–1; Road: 2–4–0), 15 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
51Feb 2Pittsburgh Penguins4–8Chicago Black HawksChicago Stadium17–26–842
52Feb 4Pittsburgh Penguins3–2Winnipeg JetsWinnipeg Arena18–26–844
53Feb 6Pittsburgh Penguins4–6Colorado RockiesMcNichols Sports Arena18–27–844
54Feb 7Pittsburgh Penguins4–5Calgary FlamesStampede Corral18–28–844
55Feb 12New York Islanders3–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena19–28–846
56Feb 14Vancouver Canucks2–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena19–28–947
57Feb 17Pittsburgh Penguins1–4Philadelphia FlyersThe Spectrum19–29–947
58Feb 19Hartford Whalers2–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena20–29–949
59Feb 21Buffalo Sabres6–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena20–30–949
60Feb 22Colorado Rockies4–9Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena21–30–951
61Feb 25Winnipeg Jets3–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena22–30–953
62Feb 26Pittsburgh Penguins7–5Washington CapitalsCapital Centre23–30–955
63Feb 28New York Rangers4–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena24–30–957 :
March: 5–6–3 (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 2–4–2), 13 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
64Mar 2Pittsburgh Penguins5–4Quebec NordiquesQuebec Coliseum25–30–959
65Mar 4Los Angeles Kings5–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena26–30–961
66Mar 7Pittsburgh Penguins5–8Minnesota North StarsMet Center26–31–961
67Mar 8Edmonton Oilers4–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena27–31–963
68Mar 11Montreal Canadiens2–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena27–32–963
69Mar 14Quebec Nordiques3–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena27–32–1064
70Mar 16Pittsburgh Penguins6–7Edmonton OilersNorthlands Coliseum27–33–1064
71Mar 17Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Vancouver CanucksPacific Coliseum27–34–1064
72Mar 19Pittsburgh Penguins4–4Los Angeles KingsThe Forum27–34–1165
73Mar 21Pittsburgh Penguins3–1Colorado RockiesMcNichols Sports Arena28–34–1167
74Mar 25Toronto Maple Leafs2–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena29–34–1169
75Mar 28Pittsburgh Penguins4–4New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum29–34–1270
76Mar 29Edmonton Oilers5–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena29–35–1270
77Mar 31Pittsburgh Penguins1–5Quebec NordiquesQuebec Coliseum29–36–1270 :
April: 1–1–1 (Home: 0–1–0; Road: 1–0–1), 3 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
78Apr 2Pittsburgh Penguins1–1Detroit Red WingsJoe Louis Arena29–36–1371
79Apr 4Boston Bruins5–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena29–37–1371
80Apr 5Pittsburgh Penguins5–4Hartford WhalersXL Center30–37–1373 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Playoffs

The Penguins lost in the Preliminary round (3–2) versus the St. Louis Blues.
* St. Louis won series 3–2

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Rick Kehoe | 80 | 55 | 33 | 88 | –9 | 6 |
| Randy Carlyle | 76 | 16 | 67 | 83 | –16 | 136 |
| Paul Gardner | 62 | 34 | 40 | 74 | –5 | 59 |
| Peter Lee | 80 | 30 | 34 | 64 | 0 | 86 |
| Rod Schutt | 80 | 25 | 35 | 60 | –13 | 55 |
| Mario Faubert | 72 | 8 | 44 | 52 | –18 | 188 |
| Greg Malone | 62 | 21 | 29 | 50 | –14 | 68 |
| Ross Lonsberry | 80 | 17 | 33 | 50 | –3 | 76 |
| George Ferguson | 79 | 25 | 18 | 43 | –30 | 42 |
| Ron Stackhouse | 74 | 6 | 29 | 35 | –11 | 86 |
| Mark Johnson | 73 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 4 | 50 |
| Gregg Sheppard | 47 | 11 | 17 | 28 | –13 | 49 |
| Paul Baxter | 51 | 5 | 14 | 19 | –11 | 204 |
| Pat Hughes$^‡$ | 58 | 10 | 9 | 19 | –9 | 161 |
| Russ Anderson | 34 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 12 | 112 |
| Errol Thompson$^†$ | 34 | 6 | 8 | 14 | –9 | 12 |
| Gary McAdam$^‡$ | 34 | 3 | 9 | 12 | –16 | 30 |
| Nick Libett | 43 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 4 |
| Orest Kindrachuk | 13 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 34 |
| Pat Price$^†$ | 13 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 33 |
| Marc Chorney | 8 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 14 |
| Jim Hamilton | 20 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 18 |
| Paul Marshall$^‡$ | 13 | 3 | 0 | 3 | –7 | 4 |
| Mike Bullard | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | –1 | 19 |
| Dave Burrows$^†$ | 53 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –13 | 28 |
| Gilles Lupien$^‡$ | 31 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –15 | 34 |
| Gary Rissling | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | –4 | 143 |
| Bennett Wolf | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –1 | 94 |
| Kim Davis$^‡$ | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | –3 | 4 |
| Tony Feltrin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –3 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 302 | 499 | 801 | — | 1,849 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Randy Carlyle | 5 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| George Ferguson | 5 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 9 |
| Gregg Sheppard | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Rodney Schutt | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 16 |
| Mike Bullard | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Malone | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 16 |
| Peter Lee | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Rick Kehoe | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Johnson | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Pat Price | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 21 |
| Mario Faubert | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Ron Stackhouse | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Paul Gardner | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Paul Baxter | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 |
| Gary Rissling | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Marc Chorney | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Ross Lonsberry | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dave Burrows | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Hamilton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 21 | 38 | 59 | — | 137 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | W | L | T | GA | SO |
| Gregory Millen | 63 | 25 | 27 | 10 | 258 | 0 |
| Nick Ricci | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| Robert Holland | 10 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 45 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 30 | 37 | 13 | 338 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | W | L | T | GA | SO |
| Gregory Millen | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 2 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

## Awards and records

* Ron Stackhouse became the first defenseman to score 300 points for the Penguins. He did so in a 7–9 loss to Hartford on November 26.
* Randy Carlyle established a new franchise record for goals (16), assists (67) and points (83) by a defenseman in a season. He topped the previous highs of 15 goals (held by Ron Stackhouse and Darryl Edestrand), 60 assists and 71 points (both held by Ron Stackhouse).
* Rick Kehoe established a new franchise record for goals in a season with 55. He topped the previous high of 53 held by Pierre Larouche.

## Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1980–81 season:

### Trades

| September 26, 1980 | To Montreal Canadiens Canadiens option to swap 1983 3rd round picks | To Pittsburgh Penguins Gilles Lupien Canadiens option to swap 1983 3rd round picks |
| November 18, 1980 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Kim Davis Paul Marshall | To Pittsburgh Penguins Dave Burrows Paul Gardner |
| January 2, 1981 | To Washington Capitals 1981 5th round pick | To Pittsburgh Penguins Gary Rissling |
| January 8, 1981 | To Detroit Red Wings Gary McAdam | To Pittsburgh Penguins Errol Thompson |
| February 20, 1981 | To Hartford Whalers Gilles Lupien | To Pittsburgh Penguins 1981 6th round pick |
| March 10, 1981 | To Edmonton Oilers Pat Hughes | To Pittsburgh Penguins Pat Price |

### Additions and subtractions

Additions :
| Player | Former team | Via |
| Paul Baxter | Quebec Nordiques | free agency (1980-08-07) |
Subtractions :
| Player | New team | Via |
| Tom Bladon | Edmonton Oilers | free agency (1980-07-10) |
| Kim Clackson | Quebec Nordiques | compensation for signing of Paul Baxter (1980-08-07) |

## Draft picks

The 1980 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 11, 1980, in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 9 | Michael Bullard | Center | Canada | Brantford Alexanders (OHA) |
| 3 | 51 | Randy Boyd | Defense | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHA) |
| 4 | 72 | Tony Feltrin | Defense | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WHL) |
| 5 | 93 | Douglas Shedden | Center | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHA) |
| 6 | 114 | Pat Graham | Left Wing | Canada | Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA) |
| 8 | 156 | Robert Geale | Center | Canada | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) |
| 9 | 177 | Brian Lundberg | Defense | Canada | U. of Michigan (NCAA) |
| 10 | 198 | Steve McKenzie | Defense | Canada | St. Albert Saints (AJHL) |