# 1989–90 New York Rangers season

The 1989–90 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 64th season. During the regular season, the Rangers led the Patrick Division with 85 points and qualified for the NHL playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs, the Rangers defeated the New York Islanders four games to one and earned a berth in the Patrick Division Finals. There, New York lost to the Washington Capitals in five games.

## Offseason

During the offseason, Gulf+Western, owners of the Rangers, and all MSG properties since 1977, changed their name to Paramount Communications. The new name was chosen in honor of the company's leading subsidiary, the Paramount Pictures film studio.

## Regular season

The Rangers finished the regular season with the most power-play opportunities (442) and the most power-play goals scored (103).

### Final standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 279 | 267 | 85 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 37 | 34 | 9 | 295 | 288 | 83 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 36 | 38 | 6 | 284 | 275 | 78 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 31 | 38 | 11 | 281 | 288 | 73 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 32 | 40 | 8 | 318 | 359 | 72 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 30 | 39 | 11 | 290 | 297 | 71 |
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.
Wales Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Boston Bruins | ADM | 80 | 46 | 25 | 9 | 289 | 232 | 101 |
| 2 | Buffalo Sabres | ADM | 80 | 45 | 27 | 8 | 286 | 248 | 98 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | ADM | 80 | 41 | 28 | 11 | 288 | 234 | 93 |
| 4 | Hartford Whalers | ADM | 80 | 38 | 33 | 9 | 275 | 268 | 85 |
| 5 | New York Rangers | PTK | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 279 | 267 | 85 |
| 6 | New Jersey Devils | PTK | 80 | 37 | 34 | 9 | 295 | 288 | 83 |
| 7 | Washington Capitals | PTK | 80 | 36 | 38 | 6 | 284 | 275 | 78 |
| 8 | New York Islanders | PTK | 80 | 31 | 38 | 11 | 281 | 288 | 73 |
| 9 | Pittsburgh Penguins | PTK | 80 | 32 | 40 | 8 | 318 | 359 | 72 |
| 10 | Philadelphia Flyers | PTK | 80 | 30 | 39 | 11 | 290 | 297 | 71 |
| 11 | Quebec Nordiques | ADM | 80 | 12 | 61 | 7 | 240 | 407 | 31 |
Divisions: PTK – Patrick, ADM – Adams
bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

### Record vs. opponents
#### Vs. Wales Conference

1989–90 NHL records :
| Team | NJD | NYI | NYR | PHI | PIT | WSH | Total |
| New Jersey | — | 4–1–2 | 3–3–1 | 4–2–1 | 4–2–1 | 3–4 | 18–12–5 |
| N.Y. Islanders | 1–4–2 | — | 2–3–2 | 1–4–2 | 3–3–1 | 4–3 | 11–17–7 |
| N.Y. Rangers | 3–3–1 | 3–2–2 | — | 5–2 | 1–5–1 | 3–4 | 15–16–4 |
| Philadelphia | 2–4–1 | 4–1–2 | 2–5 | — | 4–3 | 1–5–1 | 13–18–4 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–4–1 | 3–3–1 | 5–1–1 | 3–4 | — | 5–2 | 18–14–3 |
| Washington | 4–3 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 5–1–1 | 2–5 | — | 18–16–1 |
1989–90 NHL records :
| Team | BOS | BUF | HFD | MTL | QUE | Total |
| New Jersey | 1–1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 8–6–1 |
| N.Y. Islanders | 1–1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 7–7–1 |
| N.Y. Rangers | 3–0 | 0–2–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 8–6–1 |
| Philadelphia | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0–1 | 1–1–1 | 5–8–2 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–10–1 |
| Washington | 1–2 | 1–1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 8–6–1 |

#### Vs. Campbell Conference

1989–90 NHL records :
| Team | CHI | DET | MIN | STL | TOR | Total |
| New Jersey | 2–1 | 1–1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 7–7–1 |
| N.Y. Islanders | 1–2 | 1–1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 7–7–1 |
| N.Y. Rangers | 1–0–2 | 2–0–1 | 1–1–1 | 0–2–1 | 1–1–1 | 5–4–6 |
| Philadelphia | 0–3 | 0–1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 6–7–2 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–3 | 2–0–1 | 1–1–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 4–9–2 |
| Washington | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–2–1 | 1–2 | 8–6–1 |
1989–90 NHL records :
| Team | CGY | EDM | LAK | VAN | WIN | Total |
| New Jersey | 0–3 | 1–0–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 4–9–2 |
| N.Y. Islanders | 0–3 | 0–1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 6–7–2 |
| N.Y. Rangers | 1–2 | 2–0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1–1 | 8–5–2 |
| Philadelphia | 1–1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1–2 | 1–2 | 6–6–3 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0–1 | 6–7–2 |
| Washington | 1–0–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–2–1 | 0–3 | 2–10–3 |

## Schedule and results

1989–90 Game Log :
October: 8–2–3 (Home: 4–1–3; Road: 4–1–0)
GameOctoberOpponentScoreRecord
16@ Winnipeg Jets4–11–0–0
28@ Chicago Blackhawks5–32–0–0
311Calgary Flames5–43–0–0
413@ Washington Capitals7–43–1–0
515Pittsburgh Penguins4–24–1–0
617Chicago Blackhawks3 – 3 OT4–1–1
719Hartford Whalers7–35–1–1
821@ Philadelphia Flyers3–16–1–1
923Vancouver Canucks5–37–1–1
1025Edmonton Oilers3 – 3 OT7–1–2
1127New York Islanders5 – 5 OT7–1–3
1228@ New York Islanders4–18–1–3
1330Philadelphia Flyers3–18–2–3 :
November: 5–7–1 (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 1–6–0)
GameNovemberOpponentScoreRecord
142Quebec Nordiques6–19–2–3
154@ Montreal Canadiens3–29–3–3
166Detroit Red Wings6–110–3–3
178Montreal Canadiens3–210–4–3
1812New York Islanders4–211–4–3
1914@ Pittsburgh Penguins6–011–5–3
2017@ New Jersey Devils5 – 4 OT11–6–3
2118@ Hartford Whalers3–212–6–3
2220Winnipeg Jets3 – 3 OT12–6–4
2322@ Buffalo Sabres4–112–7–4
2425@ Toronto Maple Leafs7–412–8–4
2526Quebec Nordiques3–113–8–4
2629@ Winnipeg Jets5–413–9–4 :
December: 2–9–3 (Home: 1–4–2; Road: 1–5–1)
GameDecemberOpponentScoreRecord
271@ Vancouver Canucks4–314–9–4
282@ Los Angeles Kings6–014–10–4
296New Jersey Devils5–315–10–4
309@ New York Islanders0 – 0 OT15–10–5
3110Philadelphia Flyers4–215–11–5
3213St. Louis Blues3–115–12–5
3316@ New York Islanders4–315–13–5
3417Montreal Canadiens2–015–14–5
3520Buffalo Sabres2 – 2 OT15–14–6
3623@ Washington Capitals3–215–15–6
3726New Jersey Devils4 – 4 OT15–15–7
3827@ Pittsburgh Penguins7–415–16–7
3929@ New Jersey Devils3–215–17–7
4031Pittsburgh Penguins5–415–18–7 :
January: 5–4–3 (Home: 2–1–2; Road: 3–3–1)
GameJanuaryOpponentScoreRecord
413Washington Capitals2–116–18–7
424@ Minnesota North Stars8–216–19–7
436@ St. Louis Blues4–316–20–7
448Pittsburgh Penguins7–516–21–7
4510Chicago Blackhawks2 – 2 OT16–21–8
4613@ Boston Bruins3–217–21–8
4714Philadelphia Flyers4 – 3 OT18–21–8
4818@ Pittsburgh Penguins3 – 3 OT18–21–9
4923@ Edmonton Oilers4–319–21–9
5025@ Calgary Flames8–519–22–9
5127@ Los Angeles Kings3–120–22–9
5231St. Louis Blues2 – 2 OT20–22–10 :
February: 9–3–1 (Home: 5–2–0; Road: 4–1–1)
GameFebruaryOpponentScoreRecord
533@ Boston Bruins2–121–22–10
544Minnesota North Stars4–322–22–10
557Edmonton Oilers5–223–22–10
569@ Buffalo Sabres3–223–23–10
5711Calgary Flames5–223–24–10
5813@ Philadelphia Flyers4–324–24–10
5914Pittsburgh Penguins4 – 3 OT24–25–10
6016@ New Jersey Devils2–125–25–10
6119New Jersey Devils4 – 3 OT26–25–10
6221@ Detroit Red Wings4 – 4 OT26–25–11
6323@ Washington Capitals6–327–25–11
6426Boston Bruins6–128–25–11
6528Washington Capitals3–229–25–11 :
March: 7–5–2 (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 3–4–1)
GameMarchOpponentScoreRecord
662New York Islanders6–330–25–11
673@ Hartford Whalers6–430–26–11
685Detroit Red Wings3–231–26–11
698@ Philadelphia Flyers7–532–26–11
7010@ Minnesota North Stars2 – 2 OT32–26–12
7112Los Angeles Kings6–232–27–12
7214@ Toronto Maple Leafs8–233–27–12
7317@ New York Islanders6–333–28–12
7418Vancouver Canucks5–234–28–12
7521Toronto Maple Leafs5 – 5 OT34–28–13
7625Philadelphia Flyers7–335–28–13
7727@ Quebec Nordiques7–436–28–13
7829@ New Jersey Devils6–436–29–13
7931@ Washington Capitals2–136–30–13 :
April: 0–1–0 (Home: 0–1–0; Road: 0-0-0)
GameAprilOpponentScoreRecord
801Washington Capitals3–236–31–13 :

## Playoffs

Key: Win Loss
1990 Stanley Cup Playoffs :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| John Ogrodnick | 80 | 43 | 31 | 74 | 11 | 44 |
| Brian Mullen | 76 | 27 | 41 | 68 | 7 | 42 |
| Darren Turcotte | 76 | 32 | 34 | 66 | 3 | 32 |
| Kelly Kisio | 68 | 22 | 44 | 66 | 11 | 105 |
| James Patrick | 73 | 14 | 43 | 57 | 4 | 50 |
| Brian Leetch | 72 | 11 | 45 | 56 | −18 | 26 |
| Tomas Sandstrom$^‡$ | 48 | 19 | 19 | 38 | −10 | 100 |
| Bernie Nicholls$^†$ | 32 | 12 | 25 | 37 | −3 | 20 |
| Ulf Dahlen$^‡$ | 63 | 18 | 18 | 36 | −4 | 30 |
| Troy Mallette | 79 | 13 | 16 | 29 | −8 | 305 |
| Carey Wilson | 41 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 4 | 57 |
| Tony Granato$^‡$ | 37 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 1 | 77 |
| Mike Gartner$^†$ | 12 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 4 | 6 |
| Mark Hardy | 54 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 4 | 94 |
| Miloslav Horava | 45 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 26 |
| Kris King | 68 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 286 |
| Mark Janssens | 80 | 5 | 8 | 13 | −26 | 161 |
| Jan Erixon | 58 | 4 | 9 | 13 | −17 | 8 |
| Randy Moller | 60 | 1 | 12 | 13 | −1 | 139 |
| David Shaw | 22 | 2 | 10 | 12 | −3 | 22 |
| Ron Greschner | 55 | 1 | 9 | 10 | −7 | 53 |
| Lindy Ruff | 56 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −10 | 80 |
| Paul Broten | 32 | 5 | 3 | 8 | −4 | 26 |
| Jeff Bloemberg | 28 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −8 | 25 |
| Dave Archibald$^†$ | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| Kevin Miller | 16 | 0 | 5 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
| Normand Rochefort | 31 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 24 |
| Chris Nilan | 25 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −8 | 59 |
| Rick Bennett | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −4 | 5 |
| Corey Millen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| Todd Charlesworth | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 6 |
| Rudy Poeschek | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 55 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Bernie Nicholls | 10 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 16 |
| James Patrick | 10 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 0 |
| Kelly Kisio | 10 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
| John Ogrodnick | 10 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| Mike Gartner | 10 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 12 |
| Randy Moller | 10 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 32 |
| Darren Turcotte | 10 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 |
| Troy Mallette | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 81 |
| Brian Mullen | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Normand Rochefort | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 26 |
| Jeff Bloemberg | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Lindy Ruff | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| Mark Janssens | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| Carey Wilson | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Paul Broten | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Chris Nilan | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| Jan Erixon | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Kris King | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 30 |
| Miloslav Horava | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Mark Hardy | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Kevin Miller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Greschner | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO |
| John Vanbiesbrouck | 47 | 2734 | 19 | 19 | 7 | 154 | 3.38 | 1362 | .887 | 1 |
| Mike Richter | 23 | 1320 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 66 | 3.00 | 686 | .904 | 0 |
| Bob Froese | 15 | 812 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 45 | 3.33 | 355 | .873 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO |
| Mike Richter | 6 | 330 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 3.45 | 181 | .895 | 0 |
| John Vanbiesbrouck | 6 | 298 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 3.02 | 153 | .902 | 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;

## Transactions

* September 1, 1989: the Rangers traded Barry Beck to the Los Angeles Kings for future considerations.
* September 7, 1989: the Rangers traded Chris McRae and a 5th round draft pick in 1990 to the Detroit Red Wings for Kris King.
* September 14, 1989: the Rangers acquired Lee Giffin from the Pittsburgh Penguins for future considerations.
* October 5, 1989: the Rangers traded Michel Petit to the Quebec Nordiques for Randy Moller.
* November 1, 1989: the Rangers traded Jayson More to the Minnesota North Stars for Dave Archibald.
* January 20, 1990: the Rangers traded Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato to the Los Angeles Kings for Bernie Nicholls.
* March 6, 1990: the Rangers traded Ulf Dahlen, a 4th round draft pick in 1990, and future considerations (a 4th round draft pick in 1991) to the Minnesota North Stars for Mike Gartner.

## Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1989 NHL Entry Draft in Bloomington, Minnesota at the Met Center.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 20 | Steven Rice | RW | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 2 | 40 | Jason Prosofsky | RW | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 3 | 45 | Rob Zamuner | LW | Canada | Guelph Platers (OHL) |
| 3 | 49 | Louie DeBrusk | LW | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |
| 4 | 67 | Jim Cummins | RW | United States | Michigan State University (NCAA) |
| 5 | 88 | Aaron Miller | D | United States | Niagara Scenics (NAHL) |
| 6 | 118 | Joby Messier | D | Canada | Michigan State University (NCAA) |
| 7 | 139 | Greg Leahy | F | United States | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) |
| 8 | 160 | Greg Spenrath | D | Canada | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
| 9 | 181 | Mark Bavis | LW | United States | Cushing Academy (Massachusetts) |
| 10 | 202 | Roman Oksiuta | RW | Soviet Union | Voskresensk Khimik (Russia) |
| 11 | 223 | Steve Locke | D | Canada | Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL) |
| 12 | 244 | Kenneth MacDermid | LW | Canada | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) |

### Supplemental Draft

New York's picks at the 1989 NHL Supplemental Draft.
| Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| Anthony Palumbo | C | Canada | Lake Superior State University (CCHA) |