1980–81 New York Rangers season

The 1980–81 New York Rangers season was the 55th season for the team in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Rangers finished 4th in the Patrick Division, defeated the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues and lost in the Semi-finals to the New York Islanders 4 games to 0.
==Off-season==
==Regular Season==
Fred Shero, citing a drinking problem, chose to resign as coach. Craig Patrick, the Rangers' director of operations replaced him. Craig Patrick became the third generation of the Patrick family to coach the Rangers, after Lester Patrick, Lynn Patrick and Muzz Patrick.McFarlane, p. 204
Halfway through the season, veteran Phil Esposito decided to retire. He retired after 18 seasons, the last six with the Rangers. He finished his career with 717 goals, 1,590 points.McFarlane, p. 205
===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 	L 	October 9, 1980 	2–7 	@ Boston Bruins (1980–81) 	0–1–0
2 	W 	October 11, 1980 	8–3 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) 	1–1–0
3 	L 	October 12, 1980 	3–6 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) 	1–2–0
4 	L 	October 15, 1980 	1–2 	St. Louis Blues (1980–81) 	1–3–0
5 	L 	October 18, 1980 	2–8 	@ Washington Capitals (1980–81) 	1–4–0
6 	L 	October 19, 1980 	2–4 	Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) 	1–5–0
7 	W 	October 22, 1980 	3–2 	Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) 	2–5–0
8 	L 	October 25, 1980 	2–4 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) 	2–6–0
9 	W 	October 26, 1980 	7–6 	Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) 	3–6–0
10 	L 	October 28, 1980 	4–5 	@ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) 	3–7–0
11 	T 	October 30, 1980 	3–3 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) 	3–7–1
12 	L 	November 1, 1980 	4–7 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) 	3–8–1
13 	L 	November 2, 1980 	3–6 	Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) 	3–9–1
14 	T 	November 5, 1980 	3–3 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) 	3–9–2
15 	L 	November 8, 1980 	4–6 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) 	3–10–2
16 	L 	November 10, 1980 	1–4 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) 	3–11–2
17 	L 	November 11, 1980 	3–7 	@ Calgary Flames (1980–81) 	3–12–2
18 	T 	November 14, 1980 	3–3 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) 	3–12–3
19 	W 	November 16, 1980 	7–3 	Hartford Whalers (1980–81) 	4–12–3
20 	L 	November 19, 1980 	1–5 	Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) 	4–13–3
21 	L 	November 22, 1980 	4–6 	@ New York Islanders (1980–81) 	4–14–3
22 	T 	November 23, 1980 	2–2 	Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) 	4–14–4
23 	W 	November 26, 1980 	6–4 	Boston Bruins (1980–81) 	5–14–4
24 	W 	November 29, 1980 	4–2 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) 	6–14–4
25 	L 	December 1, 1980 	3–5 	Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) 	6–15–4
26 	W 	December 3, 1980 	4–3 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) 	7–15–4
27 	W 	December 5, 1980 	5–1 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) 	8–15–4
28 	W 	December 7, 1980 	5–4 	Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) 	9–15–4
29 	W 	December 10, 1980 	6–2 	Washington Capitals (1980–81) 	10–15–4
30 	W 	December 12, 1980 	4–3 	@ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) 	11–15–4
31 	L 	December 14, 1980 	1–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) 	11–16–4
32 	W 	December 17, 1980 	8–2 	Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) 	12–16–4
33 	T 	December 20, 1980 	3–3 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1980–81)	12–16–5
34 	L 	December 22, 1980 	2–3 	Calgary Flames (1980–81) 	12–17–5
35 	L 	December 26, 1980 	3–7 	@ Washington Capitals (1980–81) 	12–18–5
36 	L 	December 28, 1980 	2–5 	Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) 	12–19–5
37 	W 	December 30, 1980 	6–3 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) 	13–19–5
38 	L 	December 31, 1980 	4–6 	Colorado Rockies (1980–81) 	13–20–5
39 	W 	January 2, 1981 	3–1 	New York Islanders (1980–81) 	14–20–5
40 	T 	January 4, 1981 	2–2 	Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) 	14–20–6
41 	T 	January 9, 1981 	3–3 	Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) 	14–20–7
42 	L 	January 11, 1981 	3–5 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) 	14–21–7
43 	T 	January 13, 1981 	4–4 	@ Calgary Flames (1980–81) 	14–21–8
44 	L 	January 15, 1981 	3–4 	@ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) 	14–22–8
45 	L 	January 18, 1981 	0–4 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) 	14–23–8
46 	W 	January 19, 1981 	6–3 	Calgary Flames (1980–81) 	15–23–8
47 	L 	January 21, 1981 	1–5 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) 	15–24–8
48 	W 	January 23, 1981 	7–4 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) 	16–24–8
49 	W 	January 24, 1981 	7–5 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) 	17–24–8
50 	W 	January 28, 1981 	6–2 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) 	18–24–8
51 	W 	January 31, 1981 	7–3 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1980–81)	19–24–8
52 	L 	February 2, 1981 	2–3 	Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) 	19–25–8
53 	W 	February 4, 1981 	9–3 	New York Islanders (1980–81) 	20–25–8
54 	L 	February 5, 1981 	3–6 	@ Boston Bruins (1980–81) 	20–26–8
55 	T 	February 8, 1981 	3–3 	Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) 	20–26–9
56 	W 	February 12, 1981 	8–6 	Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) 	21–26–9
57 	L 	February 14, 1981 	3–6 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) 	21–27–9
58 	L 	February 15, 1981 	4–5 	St. Louis Blues (1980–81) 	21–28–9
59 	W 	February 18, 1981 	8–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) 	22–28–9
60 	L 	February 19, 1981 	3–7 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) 	22–29–9
61 	W 	February 21, 1981 	6–4 	Washington Capitals (1980–81) 	23–29–9
62 	L 	February 22, 1981 	5–6 	@ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) 	23–30–9
63 	W 	February 25, 1981 	6–3 	Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) 	24–30–9
64 	L 	February 28, 1981 	4–6 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) 	24–31–9
65 	T 	March 1, 1981 	4–4 	Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) 	24–31–10
66 	T 	March 4, 1981 	5–5 	Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) 	24–31–11
67 	L 	March 7, 1981 	2–7 	@ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) 	24–32–11
68 	T 	March 8, 1981 	4–4 	Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) 	24–32–12
69 	L 	March 10, 1981 	4–6 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) 	24–33–12
70 	L 	March 11, 1981 	3–4 	Colorado Rockies (1980–81) 	24–34–12
71 	W 	March 14, 1981 	6–2 	Hartford Whalers (1980–81) 	25–34–12
72 	W 	March 18, 1981 	3–2 	Boston Bruins (1980–81) 	26–34–12
73 	W 	March 21, 1981 	6–4 	@ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) 	27–34–12
74 	T 	March 22, 1981 	7–7 	Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) 	27–34–13
75 	L 	March 25, 1981 	2–4 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) 	27–35–13
76 	W 	March 28, 1981 	6–2 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) 	28–35–13
77 	T 	March 30, 1981 	0–0 	Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) 	28–35–14
78 	L 	April 2, 1981 	1–2 	@ New York Islanders (1980–81) 	28–36–14
79 	W 	April 3, 1981 	3–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) 	29–36–14
80 	W 	April 5, 1981 	2–0 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) 	30–36–14
==Playoffs==
===New York Rangers 3, Los Angeles Kings 1===
===New York Rangers 4, St. Louis Blues 2===
===New York Islanders 4, New York Rangers 0===
==Player Stats==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	RW 	80	30	40	70 	52 	0 	7 	1 	3
 	RW 	80	30	38	68 	100	15 	4 	3 	5
 	D 	74	27	41	68 	112	0 	6 	0 	1
 	LW 	75	26	38	64 	83 	12 	4 	0 	2
 	LW 	73	19	39	58 	40 	7 	5 	1 	3
 	LW 	61	29	23	52 	99 	17 	7 	5 	9
 	D 	79	11	36	47 	132	24 	3 	0 	1
 	C 	51	14	25	39 	42 	-3 	1 	0 	3
 	C/RW	50	17	21	38 	83 	2 	5 	1 	0
 	D 	75	11	23	34 	231	9 	6 	1 	0
 	RW 	50	13	17	30 	28 	2 	1 	2 	0
 	D 	80	6 	23	29 	100	0 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	43	6 	22	28 	28 	13 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	59	14	12	26 	58 	-24	2 	0 	1
 	C 	33	11	12	23 	12 	0 	2 	0 	0
 	D 	74	3 	20	23 	91 	19 	1 	0 	0
 	LW 	35	10	10	20 	4 	6 	1 	0 	1
 	C 	41	7 	13	20 	20 	-13	3 	0 	0
 	D 	61	5 	14	19 	214	10 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	54	4 	12	16 	153	-10	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	27	5 	6 	11 	91 	-6 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	12	1 	5 	6 	2 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	32	4 	1 	5 	32 	-9 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	4 	0 	4 	4 	3 	2 	0 	0
 	LW/C	11	2 	2 	4 	18 	-9 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	15	1 	3 	4 	44 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	15	1 	3 	4 	15 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	8 	1 	2 	3 	46 	-5 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	10	0 	2 	2 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	2 	0 	1 	1 	0 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	3 	0 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	10	0 	1 	1 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	21	0 	0 	0 	5 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	39	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO
 	2320	39	16	16	7 	152	3.93	0
 	1260	21	10	6 	5 	73 	3.48	2
 	600 	10	3 	6 	1 	34 	3.40	0
 	560 	10	1 	7 	1 	48 	5.14	0
 	60 	1 	0 	1 	0 	2 	2.00	0
Team: 	4800	80	30	36	14	309	3.86	2
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C/RW	14	8	9	17 	16 	0 	1 	1
 	RW 	14	8	8	16 	6 	3 	0 	0
 	C 	14	8	8	16 	23 	3 	0 	1
 	D 	14	5	8	13 	32 	1 	1 	0
 	D 	14	4	8	12 	17 	1 	0 	0
 	LW 	12	4	7	11 	14 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	14	5	3	8 	9 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	14	3	5	8 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	14	2	6	8 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	14	2	5	7 	9 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	13	1	6	7 	13 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	14	1	4	5 	18 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	14	3	1	4 	20 	1 	0 	2
 	RW 	8 	2	2	4 	4 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	14	1	3	4 	26 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	14	0	3	3 	63 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	2 	0	2	2 	9 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	12	2	0	2 	93 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	3 	1	0	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	3 	0	1	1 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	LW/C	1 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	2 	0	0	0 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	14	0	0	0 	4 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO
 	826	14	7	7	55	4.00	0
 	14 	1 	0	0	1 	4.29	0
Team: 	840	14	7	7	56	4.00	0
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==
*The Rangers did not win any awards this season.
==Transactions==
==Draft Picks==
==Farm Teams==
==See Also==
*1980–81 NHL season
==References==
* 
* 
Category:New York Rangers seasons
Category:1980 in hockey
Category:1981 in hockey