1980–81 Quebec Nordiques season

The 1980–81 Quebec Nordiques season was the team's 2nd season in the National Hockey League. The Nordiques finished 4th in the Adams Division and lost in the Preliminary round to the Philadelphia Flyers 3 games to 0.
==Off-season==
During the off-season, the Nordiques fired head coach Jacques Demers, and general manager Maurice Filion would begin the season as the head coach. This would mark Filion's third time behind the Nordiques bench, as he was the head coach of the club in the 1972-73 WHA season, and he served as an interim head coach at the end of the 1977-78 season. Quebec was able to sign brothers Peter Stastny and Anton Stastny, who both defected from Czechoslovakia. The brothers would have a huge impact in the league, as Peter would win the Calder Trophy awarded to the NHL's Rookie of the Year, and both Peter and Anton would set rookie records, each earning eight points in a game on February 22, 1981, leading Quebec to an 11-7 win over the Washington Capitals.
==Regular Season==
The Nordiques season began with a nine game road trip, and head coach Maurice Filion would replace himself with Michel Bergeron after the club had a 1-3-2 record in their opening six games. Quebec continued to struggle, and fifteen games into the season, they had a 1-9-5 record. The Nordiques would continue to struggle, and found themselves a season high fourteen games under .500 with a 11-26-12 record after 49 games. Quebec would then get red hot, posting a record of 19-6-6 in their remaining 31 games to finish the season at 30-32-18, earning 78 points, and their first ever berth into the NHL playoffs.
Offensively, the Nordiques were led by rookie Peter Stastny, who set a team record with 109 points, winning the Calder Trophy. Jacques Richard became the first Nordique to score over 50 goals in a season, as he scored 52, and registered 103 points. Anton Stastny also had a great rookie season, earning 85 points, while Robbie Ftorek and Michel Goulet had 75 and 73 points respectively. Pierre Lacroix led the Nordiques blueline, earning 39 points, while Dale Hunter had a team high 226 penalty minutes.
In goal, Dan Bouchard emerged as the number one goalie late in the season, winning a team record 19 games, while posting a team best 3.17 GAA, along with two shutouts. Michel Plasse had the most playing time, and he won 10 games with a 3.66 GAA in 33 games.
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	Record 	Pts
1 	October 9 	Quebec Nordiques 	5–5 	Calgary Flames 	0–0–1 	1
2 	October 10 	Quebec Nordiques 	7–4 	Edmonton Oilers 	1–0–1 	3
3 	October 12 	Quebec Nordiques 	2–8 	Vancouver Canucks 	1–1–1 	3
4 	October 14 	Quebec Nordiques 	1–4 	Colorado Rockies 	1–2–1 	3
5 	October 16 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–6 	Los Angeles Kings 	1–3–1 	3
6 	October 19 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–4 	Winnipeg Jets 	1–3–2 	4
7 	October 22 	Quebec Nordiques 	2–4 	Minnesota North Stars	1–4–2 	4
8 	October 25 	Quebec Nordiques 	2–4 	Hartford Whalers 	1–5–2 	4
9 	October 26 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–7 	Chicago Black Hawks 	1–6–2 	4
10	October 29 	Vancouver Canucks 	3–3 	Quebec Nordiques 	1–6–3 	5
11	November 1 	Philadelphia Flyers 	3–3 	Quebec Nordiques 	1–6–4 	6
12	November 2 	Colorado Rockies 	5–4 	Quebec Nordiques 	1–7–4 	6
13	November 4 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–5 	Montreal Canadiens 	1–8–4 	6
14	November 9 	Quebec Nordiques 	1–3 	Philadelphia Flyers 	1–9–4 	6
15	November 11	Chicago Black Hawks 	6–6 	Quebec Nordiques 	1–9–5 	7
16	November 12	Winnipeg Jets 	1–5 	Quebec Nordiques 	2–9–5 	9
17	November 16	Quebec Nordiques 	1–8 	Buffalo Sabres 	2–10–5 	9
18	November 18	Washington Capitals 	2–6 	Quebec Nordiques 	3–10–5 	11
19	November 19	Detroit Red Wings 	1–2 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–10–5 	13
20	November 22	Calgary Flames 	3–3 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–10–6 	14
21	November 24	Los Angeles Kings 	4–3 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–11–6 	14
22	November 26	Minnesota North Stars	2–5 	Quebec Nordiques 	5–11–6 	16
23	November 30	New York Islanders 	7–3 	Quebec Nordiques 	5–12–6 	16
24	December 2 	Quebec Nordiques 	2–5 	St. Louis Blues 	5–13–6 	16
25	December 4 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–1 	Detroit Red Wings 	6–13-6 	18
26	December 6 	Quebec Nordiques 	2–5 	Toronto Maple Leafs 	6–14–6 	18
27	December 7 	Toronto Maple Leafs 	4–4 	Quebec Nordiques 	6–14–7 	19
28	December 10	Boston Bruins 	6–4 	Quebec Nordiques 	6–15–7 	19
29	December 11	Quebec Nordiques 	5–3 	Boston Bruins 	7–15–7 	21
30	December 14	Edmonton Oilers 	5–6 	Quebec Nordiques 	8–15–7 	23
31	December 17	St. Louis Blues 	1–4 	Quebec Nordiques 	9–15–7 	25
32	December 20	Quebec Nordiques 	2–5 	New York Islanders 	9–16–7 	25
33	December 21	Hartford Whalers 	5–6 	Quebec Nordiques 	10–16–7 	27
34	December 23	Montreal Canadiens 	2–2 	Quebec Nordiques 	10–16–8 	28
35	December 27	Quebec Nordiques 	4–6 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	10–17–8 	28
36	December 30	New York Rangers 	6–3 	Quebec Nordiques 	10–18–8 	28
37	January 3 	Buffalo Sabres 	3–3 	Quebec Nordiques 	10–18–9 	29
38	January 4 	Quebec Nordiques 	2–2 	New York Rangers 	10–18–10	30
39	January 6 	Quebec Nordiques 	3–6 	St. Louis Blues 	10–19–10	30
40	January 7 	Quebec Nordiques 	1–5 	Buffalo Sabres 	10–20–10	30
41	January 10 	Quebec Nordiques 	5–5 	Montreal Canadiens 	10–20–11	31
42	January 11 	Edmonton Oilers 	6–3 	Quebec Nordiques 	10–21–11	31
43	January 13 	Winnipeg Jets 	3–3 	Quebec Nordiques 	10–21–12	32
44	January 15 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–1 	Philadelphia Flyers 	11–21–12	34
45	January 17 	Quebec Nordiques 	1–7 	Minnesota North Stars	11–22–12	34
46	January 18 	Quebec Nordiques 	2–7 	Chicago Black Hawks 	11-23–12	34
47	January 21 	Buffalo Sabres 	6–5 	Quebec Nordiques 	11–24–12	34
48	January 24 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–7 	New York Islanders 	11–25–12	34
49	January 26 	Los Angeles Kings 	7–5 	Quebec Nordiques 	11–26–12	34
50	January 28 	Detroit Red Wings 	2–2 	Quebec Nordiques 	11–26–13	35
51	January 31 	New York Islanders 	1–5 	Quebec Nordiques 	12–26–13	37
52	February 2 	Hartford Whalers 	2–4 	Quebec Nordiques 	13–26–13	39
53	February 4 	Minnesota North Stars	2–6 	Quebec Nordiques 	14–26–13	41
54	February 7 	Philadelphia Flyers 	3–5 	Quebec Nordiques 	15–26–13	43
55	February 8 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–3 	Boston Bruins 	16–26–13	45
56	February 12	Quebec Nordiques 	3–5 	Calgary Flames 	16–27–13	45
57	February 13	Quebec Nordiques 	4–2 	Edmonton Oilers 	17–27–13	47
58	February 15	Quebec Nordiques 	3–4 	Winnipeg Jets 	17–28–13	47
59	February 17	Quebec Nordiques 	6–3 	Colorado Rockies 	18–28–13	49
60	February 18	Quebec Nordiques 	4–2 	Los Angeles Kings 	19–28–13	51
61	February 20	Quebec Nordiques 	9–3 	Vancouver Canucks 	20–28–13	53
62	February 22	Quebec Nordiques 	11–7 	Washington Capitals 	21–28–13	55
63	February 25	Boston Bruins 	3–5 	Quebec Nordiques 	22–28–13	57
64	March 2 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	5-4 	Quebec Nordiques 	22–29–13	57
65	March 4 	Washington Capitals 	4–7 	Quebec Nordiques 	23–29–13	59
66	March 8 	Chicago Black Hawks 	3–2 	Quebec Nordiques 	23–30-13	59
67	March 10 	New York Rangers 	4–6 	Quebec Nordiques 	24–30–13	61
68	March 11 	St. Louis Blues 	5–5 	Quebec Nordiques 	24–30–14	62
69	March 14 	Quebec Nordiques 	3–3 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	24–30–15	63
70	March 15 	Colorado Rockies 	0–3 	Quebec Nordiques 	25–30–15	65
71	March 17 	Quebec Nordiques 	4-3 	Detroit Red Wings 	26–30-15	67
72	March 18 	Quebec Nordiques 	6–4 	Washington Capitals 	27–30–15	69
73	March 22 	Quebec Nordiques 	7–7 	New York Rangers 	27–30–16	70
74	March 23 	Vancouver Canucks 	3–3 	Quebec Nordiques 	27–30–17	71
75	March 25 	Calgary Flames 	2–4 	Quebec Nordiques 	28–30–17	73
76	March 29 	Montreal Canadiens 	0–4 	Quebec Nordiques 	29–30–17	75
77	March 31 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	1–5 	Quebec Nordiques 	30–30–17	77
78	April 1 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–5 	Hartford Whalers 	30–31–17	77
79	April 4 	Quebec Nordiques 	5–5 	Toronto Maple Leafs 	30–31–18	78
80	April 5 	Toronto Maple Leafs 	4–2 	Quebec Nordiques 	30–32–18	78
==Playoffs==
===Philadelphia Flyers 3, Quebec Nordiques 2===
The Nordiques opened the 1981 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a best of five preliminary round against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers finished the season with a 41-24-15 record, earning 97 points, and second place in the Patrick Division. The series opened up with two games at the Philadelphia Spectrum, and the Flyers took the series lead with two victories, winning the first game 6-4, followed by an 8-5 victory in the second game to push the Nordiques to the brink of elimination. The series moved to Quebec for the next two games, and the Nordiques responded, shutting out Philadelphia 2-0 in the third game, followed by a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory in the fourth game, to set up a fifth and deciding game in Philadelphia. Quebec was not able to complete the comeback, as Philadelphia defeated the Nordiques 5-2 in the fifth game to eliminate Quebec.
#	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	Record
1	April 8 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–6 	Philadelphia Flyers	0-1
2	April 9 	Quebec Nordiques 	5–8 	Philadelphia Flyers	0-2
3	April 11	Philadelphia Flyers	0–2 	Quebec Nordiques 	1-2
4	April 12	Philadelphia Flyers	3–4 	Quebec Nordiques 	2-2
5	April 14	Quebec Nordiques 	2–5 	Philadelphia Flyers	2-3
==Season Stats==
===Scoring Leaders===
Player 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Peter Stastny 	77	39	70	109	37
Jacques Richard	78	52	51	103	39
Anton Stastny 	80	39	46	85 	12
Robbie Ftorek 	78	24	49	73 	104
Michel Goulet 	76	32	39	71 	45
===Goaltending===
Player 	GP	TOI 	W 	L 	T	GA 	SO	GAA
Dan Bouchard 	29	1740	19	5 	5	92 	2 	3.17
Michel Plasse	33	1933	10	14	9	118	0 	3.66
Michel Dion 	12	688 	0 	8 	3	61 	0 	5.32
Ron Grahame 	8 	439 	1 	5 	1	40 	0 	5.47
==Playoff Stats==
===Scoring Leaders===
Player 	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Peter Stastny 	5 	2	8	10 	7
Anton Stastny 	5 	4	3	7 	2
Michel Goulet 	4 	3	4	7 	7
Dale Hunter 	5 	4	2	6 	34
Jacques Richard	5 	2	4	6 	14
===Goaltending===
Player 	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Dan Bouchard 	5 	286	2	3	19	1 	3.99
Michel Plasse	1 	15 	0	0	1 	0 	4.00
==Awards and Records==
*Calder Memorial Trophy: Peter Stastny
==Draft Picks==
Quebec's draft picks from the 1980 NHL Entry Draft which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec.
Round	# 	Player 	Nationality	College/junior/club team (league)
2 	24 	Normand Rochefort	 	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
4 	66 	Jay Miller 	 	University of New Hampshire (NCAA)
5 	87 	Basil McRae 	 	London Knights (OMJHL)
6 	108	Mark Kumpel 	 	University of Lowell (NCAA)
7 	129	Gaston Therrien 	 	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
8 	150	Michel Bolduc 	 	Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)
9 	171	Christian Tanguay	 	Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)
10 	192	Bill Robinson 	 	Acton-Boxborough Regional High School (USHS)
==References==
*SHRP Sports
*The Internet Hockey Database
*Hockey Reference
*Goalies Archive
Quebec Nordiques season, 1980–81
Quebec Nordiques season, 1980–81
Category:Quebec Nordiques seasons