1978–79 New York Rangers season

The 1978–79 New York Rangers season was the 53rd season for the team in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Rangers finished 3rd in the Patrick Division and lost in the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals to the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 1.
==Off-season==
The Rangers fired their general manager, John Ferguson, and replaced him with Emile Francis. Jean-Guy Talbot was replaced by former Philadelphia Flyers and two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach Fred Shero.
The Rangers chose Don Maloney with their first pick, in the second-round, 26th over-all. Maloney was the younger brother of Dave Maloney, a defenceman with the Rangers. Don Maloney played 28 games for the Rangers during the season.
==Regular Season==
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results 	Regular Season Results
No. 	R 	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	T 	October 12, 1978 	3–3 	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 	0–0–1
2 	W 	October 15, 1978 	4–1 	Colorado Rockies (1978–79) 	1–0–1
3 	T 	October 18, 1978 	3–3 	Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) 	1–0–2
4 	T 	October 19, 1978 	2–2 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) 	1–0–3
5 	L 	October 21, 1978 	3–5 	@ New York Islanders (1978–79) 	1–1–3
6 	W 	October 22, 1978 	5–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) 	2–1–3
7 	W 	October 25, 1978 	6–2 	Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) 	3–1–3
8 	W 	October 28, 1978 	2–1 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 	4–1–3
9 	W 	October 29, 1978 	3–2 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 	5–1–3
10 	W 	November 2, 1978 	3–0 	@ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) 	6–1–3
11 	W 	November 4, 1978 	7–3 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 	7–1–3
12 	W 	November 5, 1978 	5–2 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) 	8–1–3
13 	L 	November 8, 1978 	3–5 	Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) 	8–2–3
14 	W 	November 11, 1978 	2–1 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 	9–2–3
15 	L 	November 12, 1978 	3–5 	New York Islanders (1978–79) 	9–3–3
16 	W 	November 15, 1978 	8–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) 	10–3–3
17 	W 	November 18, 1978 	7–2 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	11–3–3
18 	L 	November 19, 1978 	1–3 	Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 	11–4–3
19 	T 	November 22, 1978 	3–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) 	11–4–4
20 	W 	November 26, 1978 	9–4 	Washington Capitals (1978–79) 	12–4–4
21 	W 	November 29, 1978 	5–3 	@ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 	13–4–4
22 	L 	December 2, 1978 	2–5 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) 	13–5–4
23 	L 	December 3, 1978 	2–3 	Boston Bruins (1978–79) 	13–6–4
24 	W 	December 6, 1978 	7–4 	St. Louis Blues (1978–79) 	14–6–4
25 	W 	December 7, 1978 	5–2 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 	15–6–4
26 	L 	December 9, 1978 	4–5 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) 	15–7–4
27 	L 	December 10, 1978 	0–4 	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 	15–8–4
28 	W 	December 13, 1978 	8–7 	Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 	16–8–4
29 	L 	December 16, 1978 	1–4 	@ Boston Bruins (1978–79) 	16–9–4
30 	L 	December 17, 1978 	1–4 	Boston Bruins (1978–79) 	16–10–4
31 	W 	December 20, 1978 	6–3 	Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) 	17–10–4
32 	W 	December 22, 1978 	4–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) 	18–10–4
33 	L 	December 23, 1978 	4–9 	@ New York Islanders (1978–79) 	18–11–4
34 	W 	December 26, 1978 	5–3 	@ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 	19–11–4
35 	L 	December 28, 1978 	5–6 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 	19–12–4
36 	W 	December 30, 1978 	5–4 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) 	20–12–4
37 	L 	December 31, 1978 	5–6 	Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 	20–13–4
38 	W 	January 3, 1979 	6–2 	Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 	21–13–4
39 	W 	January 5, 1979 	6–4 	Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) 	22–13–4
40 	W 	January 9, 1979 	5–3 	@ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) 	23–13–4
41 	W 	January 10, 1979 	5–3 	@ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) 	24–13–4
42 	W 	January 14, 1979 	6–4 	@ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 	25–13–4
43 	L 	January 15, 1979 	1–8 	Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) 	25–14–4
44 	W 	January 17, 1979 	5–3 	New York Islanders (1978–79) 	26–14–4
45 	L 	January 20, 1979 	2–3 	@ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) 	26–15–4
46 	T 	January 21, 1979 	5–5 	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 	26–15–5
47 	L 	January 24, 1979 	1–5 	@ Washington Capitals (1978–79) 	26–16–5
48 	W 	January 25, 1979 	5–4 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) 	27–16–5
49 	W 	January 27, 1979 	7–2 	@ New York Islanders (1978–79) 	28–16–5
50 	W 	January 30, 1979 	5–3 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) 	29–16–5
51 	L 	January 31, 1979 	4–5 	@ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) 	29–17–5
52 	L 	February 3, 1979 	2–4 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 	29–18–5
53 	W 	February 14, 1979 	5–1 	Boston Bruins (1978–79) 	30–18–5
54 	L 	February 15, 1979 	3–4 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) 	30–19–5
55 	W 	February 17, 1979 	4–2 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 	31–19–5
56 	T 	February 18, 1979 	6–6 	Washington Capitals (1978–79) 	31–19–6
57 	W 	February 21, 1979 	7–3 	St. Louis Blues (1978–79) 	32–19–6
58 	W 	February 24, 1979 	4–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) 	33–19–6
59 	W 	February 25, 1979 	3–2 	New York Islanders (1978–79) 	34–19–6
60 	L 	February 27, 1979 	1–4 	@ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) 	34–20–6
61 	T 	February 28, 1979 	4–4 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	34–20–7
62 	T 	March 3, 1979 	2–2 	Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) 	34–20–8
63 	L 	March 4, 1979 	2–4 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) 	34–21–8
64 	W 	March 7, 1979 	5–3 	Colorado Rockies (1978–79) 	35–21–8
65 	W 	March 10, 1979 	6–3 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 	36–21–8
66 	W 	March 11, 1979 	5–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) 	37–21–8
67 	L 	March 14, 1979 	4–6 	Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 	37–22–8
68 	W 	March 15, 1979 	7–4 	@ Boston Bruins (1978–79) 	38–22–8
69 	L 	March 17, 1979 	2–5 	@ New York Islanders (1978–79) 	38–23–8
70 	L 	March 18, 1979 	1–5 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 	38–24–8
71 	T 	March 20, 1979 	2–2 	@ Washington Capitals (1978–79) 	38–24–9
72 	W 	March 21, 1979 	7–6 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) 	39–24–9
73 	L 	March 25, 1979 	0–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 	39–25–9
74 	T 	March 27, 1979 	4–4 	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 	39–25–10
75 	L 	March 28, 1979 	1–7 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 	39–26–10
76 	L 	April 1, 1979 	3–7 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 	39–27–10
77 	W 	April 2, 1979 	5–4 	Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 	40–27–10
78 	T 	April 4, 1979 	3–3 	Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 	40–27–11
79 	L 	April 6, 1979 	2–9 	@ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 	40–28–11
80 	L 	April 8, 1979 	2–5 	New York Islanders (1978–79) 	40–29–11
==Playoffs==
===New York Rangers 2, Los Angeles Kings 0===
The Rangers qualified with the fifth-best record in the league and played the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, winning 2–0.
===New York Rangers 4, Philadelphia Flyers 1===
The Rangers then took on Fred Shero's old team the Philadelphia Flyers in the Quarter-finals, winning 4–1.
===New York Rangers 4, New York Islanders 2===
The Rangers then played their cross-town rival New York Islanders in the Semi-finals, winning 4–2 to qualify for the Stanley Cup Final against the Montreal Canadiens.
===Montreal Canadiens 4, New York Rangers 1===
The Canadiens won the Cup in five games and for the first time since 1968, won it on home ice. After the game Jacques Lemaire, Yvan Cournoyer and Ken Dryden retired. Coach Scotty Bowman would leave the Canadiens to join the Buffalo Sabres.
Date 	Visitors	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
May 13	New York	4 	Montreal	1 	
May 15	New York	2 	Montreal	6 	
May 17	Montreal	4 	New York	1 	
May 19	Montreal	4 	New York	3 	OT
May 21	New York	1 	Montreal	4 	
==Player Stats==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	80	42	36	78 	37 	-1 	14 	0 	7
 	RW 	80	33	45	78 	33 	19 	6 	0 	5
 	LW 	80	34	41	75 	56 	8 	8 	0 	1
 	C 	59	27	39	66 	21 	17 	8 	2 	5
 	C/RW	79	27	36	63 	35 	10 	1 	2 	3
 	D 	80	20	38	58 	35 	10 	7 	0 	4
 	D 	60	17	36	53 	66 	0 	8 	0 	1
 	LW 	66	13	34	47 	24 	-7 	4 	0 	3
 	D 	77	8 	37	45 	86 	14 	4 	1 	1
 	C 	77	15	27	42 	38 	20 	4 	0 	0
 	RW 	40	15	22	37 	6 	-6 	4 	0 	2
 	RW 	70	6 	25	31 	37 	11 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	71	5 	26	31 	153	18 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	68	13	16	29 	29 	5 	2 	2 	3
 	C 	62	11	17	28 	26 	-10	0 	0 	1
 	D 	76	11	17	28 	151	17 	1 	2 	1
 	LW 	28	9 	17	26 	39 	4 	3 	0 	0
 	D 	71	1 	19	20 	61 	-3 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	30	5 	3 	8 	27 	-5 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	71	3 	5 	8 	190	3 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	6 	1 	1 	2 	8 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	4 	0 	1 	1 	6 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	18	0 	1 	1 	18 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0 	0 	0 	2 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	17	0 	0 	0 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	31	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	39	0 	0 	0 	12 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO
 	2232	39	20	12	5 	131	3.52	0
 	1668	31	15	10	3 	101	3.63	1
 	900 	17	5 	7 	3 	57 	3.80	0
Team: 	4800	80	40	29	11	289	3.61	1
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G	A 	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	18	8	12	20 	20 	2 	0 	2
 	LW 	18	7	13	20 	19 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	18	2	11	13 	8 	2 	0 	1
 	D 	18	7	5 	12 	16 	4 	1 	3
 	RW 	18	7	5 	12 	12 	3 	0 	1
 	C 	18	4	7 	11 	10 	0 	1 	0
 	D 	18	2	9 	11 	13 	0 	0 	0
 	C/RW	18	5	4 	9 	11 	0 	1 	0
 	RW 	18	4	5 	9 	12 	0 	1 	1
 	LW 	18	5	3 	8 	13 	1 	0 	1
 	LW 	18	1	7 	8 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	15	4	3 	7 	8 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	17	3	4 	7 	45 	0 	1 	0
 	D 	18	0	6 	6 	29 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	18	0	6 	6 	20 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	17	5	0 	5 	10 	0 	1 	1
 	C 	9 	2	0 	2 	4 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	7 	0	2 	2 	14 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	2 	0	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	4 	0	0 	0 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	18	0	0 	0 	6 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L	GA	GAA 	SO
 	1106	18	11	7	42	2.28	1
Team: 	1106	18	11	7	42	2.28	1
Note: Pos = Position; 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 
==Awards and Records==
==Transactions==
==Draft Picks==
Round	# 	Player 	Nationality	College/junior/club team
2 	26	Don Maloney (L)	 	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
3 	43	Ray Markham (C)	 	Flin-Flon Bombers (WCHL)
3 	44	Dean Turner (D)	 	University of Michigan (NCAA)
4 	59	Dave Silk (R) 	 	Boston University (NCAA)
4 	60	Andre Dore (D) 	 	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
==References==
* Rangers on Hockey Database
Category:New York Rangers seasons
New York Rangers season, 1978–79
New York Rangers season, 1978–79