1980–81 Pittsburgh Penguins season

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

1980–81 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	3rd Norris
Conference	7th Wales
1980–81 record	30-37-13
Goals for	302
Goals against	345
Team information
General Manager	Baz Bastien
Coach	Eddie Johnston
Captain	Orest Kindrachuk (to Jan 31) Randy Carlyle (from Jan 31)
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Rick Kehoe (55)
Assists	Randy Carlyle (67)
Points	Rick Kehoe (88)
Penalty minutes	Paul Baxter (204)
Wins	Greg Millen (25)
Goals against average	Nick Ricci (3.89)

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

[1]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.

Schedule and results

1980–81 Schedule
October: 4–5–1 (Home: 2–3–0 ; Road: 2–2–1), 9 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 1 Oct 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–7 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum 0–1–0 0 2 Oct 11 Winnipeg Jets 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 1–1–0 2 3 Oct 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–3 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) 2–1–0 4 4 Oct 15 Hartford Whalers 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 2–2–0 4 5 Oct 18 Buffalo Sabres 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 2–3–0 4 6 Oct 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–8 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens 2–4–0 4 7 Oct 22 St. Louis Blues 3–9 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 3–4–0 6 8 Oct 25 Calgary Flames 8–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 3–5–0 6 9 Oct 29 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 3–5–1 7 10 Oct 31 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–5 Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena 4–5–1 9
November: 2–8–3 (Home: 2–6–0 ; Road: 0–2–3), 7 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 11 Nov 1 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 Minnesota North Stars Met Center 4–6–1 9 12 Nov 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–4 Edmonton Oilers Northlands Coliseum 4–6–2 10 13 Nov 5 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 4–7–2 10 14 Nov 8 Detroit Red Wings 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 5–7–2 12 15 Nov 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–7 Boston Bruins Boston Garden 5–8–2 12 16 Nov 12 Washington Capitals 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 5–9–2 12 17 Nov 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) 5–9–3 13 18 Nov 15 Boston Bruins 7–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 5–10–3 13 19 Nov 19 Minnesota North Stars 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 5–11–3 13 20 Nov 22 Colorado Rockies 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 6–11–3 15 21 Nov 26 Vancouver Canucks 7–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 6–12–3 15 22 Nov 27 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Boston Bruins Boston Garden 6–12–4 16 23 Nov 29 New York Rangers 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 6–13–4 16
December: 5–6–3 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 2–5–3), 13 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 24 Dec 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–4 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens 6–13–5 17 25 Dec 4 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum 7–13–5 19 26 Dec 6 Chicago Black Hawks 4–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 8–13–5 21 27 Dec 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–10 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 8–14–5 21 28 Dec 10 Montreal Canadiens 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 9–14–5 23 29 Dec 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–2 Washington Capitals Capital Centre 10–14–5 25 30 Dec 13 Philadelphia Flyers 6–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 10–15–5 25 31 Dec 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Los Angeles Kings The Forum 10–15–6 26 32 Dec 19 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–10 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum 10–16–6 26 33 Dec 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Calgary Flames Stampede Corral 10–16–7 27 34 Dec 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 St. Louis Blues The Checkerdome 10–17–7 27 35 Dec 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–9 Hartford Whalers XL Center 10–18–7 27 36 Dec 27 Quebec Nordiques 4–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 11–18–7 29 37 Dec 31 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena 11–19–7 29
January: 6–6–1 (Home: 6–2–1 ; Road: 0–4–0), 13 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 38 Jan 3 Detroit Red Wings 4–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 12–19–7 31 39 Jan 4 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium 12–20–7 31 40 Jan 7 New York Islanders 3–7 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 13–20–7 33 41 Jan 8 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum 13–21–7 33 42 Jan 10 Chicago Black Hawks 5–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 13–22–7 33 43 Jan 13 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13–23–7 33 44 Jan 14 St. Louis Blues 3–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 14–23–7 35 45 Jan 17 Los Angeles Kings 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 15–23–7 37 46 Jan 21 Philadelphia Flyers 5–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 15–24–7 37 47 Jan 24 Calgary Flames 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 16–24–7 39 48 Jan 27 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–7 St. Louis Blues The Checkerdome 16–25–7 39 49 Jan 28 Minnesota North Stars 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 17–25–7 41 50 Jan 31 Washington Capitals 4–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 17–25–8 42
February: 7–5–1 (Home: 5–1–1 ; Road: 2–4–0), 15 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 51 Feb 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–8 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium 17–26–8 42 52 Feb 4 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena 18–26–8 44 53 Feb 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–6 Colorado Rockies McNichols Sports Arena 18–27–8 44 54 Feb 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–5 Calgary Flames Stampede Corral 18–28–8 44 55 Feb 12 New York Islanders 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 19–28–8 46 56 Feb 14 Vancouver Canucks 2–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 19–28–9 47 57 Feb 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum 19–29–9 47 58 Feb 19 Hartford Whalers 2–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 20–29–9 49 59 Feb 21 Buffalo Sabres 6–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 20–30–9 49 60 Feb 22 Colorado Rockies 4–9 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 21–30–9 51 61 Feb 25 Winnipeg Jets 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 22–30–9 53 62 Feb 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–5 Washington Capitals Capital Centre 23–30–9 55 63 Feb 28 New York Rangers 4–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 24–30–9 57
March: 5–6–3 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 2–4–2), 13 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 64 Mar 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–4 Quebec Nordiques Quebec Coliseum 25–30–9 59 65 Mar 4 Los Angeles Kings 5–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 26–30–9 61 66 Mar 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–8 Minnesota North Stars Met Center 26–31–9 61 67 Mar 8 Edmonton Oilers 4–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 27–31–9 63 68 Mar 11 Montreal Canadiens 2–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 27–32–9 63 69 Mar 14 Quebec Nordiques 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 27–32–10 64 70 Mar 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–7 Edmonton Oilers Northlands Coliseum 27–33–10 64 71 Mar 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum 27–34–10 64 72 Mar 19 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–4 Los Angeles Kings The Forum 27–34–11 65 73 Mar 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–1 Colorado Rockies McNichols Sports Arena 28–34–11 67 74 Mar 25 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 29–34–11 69 75 Mar 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–4 New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 29–34–12 70 76 Mar 29 Edmonton Oilers 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 29–35–12 70 77 Mar 31 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–5 Quebec Nordiques Quebec Coliseum 29–36–12 70
April: 1–1–1 (Home: 0–1–0 ; Road: 1–0–1), 3 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 78 Apr 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena 29–36–13 71 79 Apr 4 Boston Bruins 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 29–37–13 71 80 Apr 5 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–4 Hartford Whalers XL Center 30–37–13 73
Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = Tie

Playoffs

The Penguins lost in the Preliminary round (3-2) versus the St. Louis Blues.

April 8	Pittsburgh Penguins		2–4		St. Louis Blues	Checkerdome	Recap
Greg Malone (1) – 00:15		First period			04:48 – pp – Mike Zuke (1) 15:58 – Tony Currie (1)
Rod Schutt (1) – 13:21		Second period			14:44 – Jorgen Pettersson (1)
No scoring		Third period			19:59 – en – Mike Crombeen (1)
Greg Millen 44 saves / 47 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Liut 24 saves / 26 shots

April 9	Pittsburgh Penguins		6–4		St. Louis Blues	Checkerdome	Recap
No scoring		First period			02:35 – pp – Joe Micheletti (1)
Randy Carlyle (1) – 02:03 Gregg Sheppard (1) – 04:58 Mario Faubert (1) – pp – 06:59 George Ferguson (1) – 11:13		Second period			03:11 – Tony Currie (2)
Rod Schutt (2) – 00:35 Randy Carlyle (2) – 03:06		Third period			10:49 – Blair Chapman (1) 16:04 – pp – Bernie Federko (1)
Greg Millen 19 saves / 23 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Liut 24 saves / 30 shots

April 11	St. Louis Blues		5–4		Pittsburgh Penguins	Pittsburgh Civic Arena	Recap
Brian Sutter (1) – pp – 11:51		First period			07:04 – pp – Rod Schutt (3)
Ralph Klassen (1) – 06:36 Wayne Babych (1) – 09:58 Bernie Federko (2) – pp – 14:38		Second period			08:57 – Mike Bullard (1) 10:31 – Mark Johnson (1)
Bernie Federko (3) – 15:54		Third period			05:08 – pp – Gregg Sheppard (2)
Mike Liut 27 saves / 31 shots		Goalie stats			Greg Millen 27 saves / 32 shots

April 12	St. Louis Blues		3–6		Pittsburgh Penguins	Pittsburgh Civic Arena	Recap
Ralph Klassen (2) – 05:53 Mike Zuke (2) – pp – 07:10		First period			14:52 – pp – Mike Bullard (2)
Mike Zuke (3) – pp – 13:55		Second period			07:45 – pp – Mark Johnson (2) 11:49 – sh – Randy Carlyle (3)
No scoring		Third period			00:44 – Mike Bullard (3) 09:21 – Randy Carlyle (4) 14:02 – Pat Price (1)
Mike Liut 28 saves / 34 shots		Goalie stats			Greg Millen 21 saves / 24 shots

April 14	Pittsburgh Penguins		3–4	2OT	St. Louis Blues	Checkerdome	Recap
Paul Gardner (1) – pp – 07:48		First period			No scoring
George Ferguson (2) – 15:06		Second period			11:17 – Brian Sutter (2) 16:06 – pp – Bernie Federko (4)
Greg Malone (2) – 10:36		Third period			03:34 – Rick Lapointe (1)
No scoring		Second overtime period			05:16 – Mike Crombeen (2)
Greg Millen 48 saves / 52 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Liut 48 saves / 51 shots

St. Louis won series 3–2

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season[2] 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 302 499 801 — 1,849

Playoffs[3] 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 21 38 59 — 137

Goaltenders

Regular Season[4]

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		30	37	13	338	0

Playoffs[5]

Player	GP	W	L	T	GA	SO
Gregory Millen	5	2	3	0	19	0
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 26th.
• 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)

This sports-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Roster

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	NHL Draft	Birthplace
7		Russell Anderson	D	L	26	1975	Minneapolis, Minnesota
4		Paul Baxter	D	R	25	1975	Winnipeg, Manitoba
22		Michael Bullard	C	L	20	1980	Ottawa, Ontario
8		David Burrows	D	L	32	Undrafted	Toronto, Ontario
25		Randy Carlyle (C)	D	L	25	1976	Sudbury, Ontario
16		Marc Chorney	D	L	21	1979	Sudbury, Ontario
5		Mario Faubert	D	R	26	1974	Valleyfield, Quebec
33		Tony Feltrin	D	L	19	1980	Ladysmith, British Columbia
11		George Ferguson	C	R	28	1972	Trenton, Ontario
30		Paul Gardner	C	L	25	1976	Fort Erie, Ontario
20		James Hamilton	RW	L	24	1977	Barrie, Ontario
1		Robert Holland	G	L	23	1977	Montreal, Quebec
9		Mark Johnson	C	L	23	1977	Madison, Wisconsin
17		Rick Kehoe	RW	R	29	1971	Windsor, Ontario
26		Orest Kindrachuk (C)	C	L	30	Undrafted	Nanton, Alberta
10		Peter Lee	RW	R	25	1976	Ellesmere, Great Britain
14		Lynn Libett	LW	L	35	Undrafted	Stratford, Ontario
18		David Lonsberry	LW	L	34	Undrafted	Humboldt, Saskatchewan
12		William Malone	C	L	25	1976	Fredericton, New Brunswick
29		Gregory Millen	G	R	23	1977	Toronto, Ontario
2		Pat Price	D	L	26	1975	Nelson, British Columbia
31		Nick Ricci	G	R	27	1979	Niagara Falls, Ontario
15		Gary Rissling	LW	R	24	Undrafted	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
23		Rodney Schutt	LW	L	24	1976	Bancroft, Ontario
19		Gregory Sheppard	C	L	32	Undrafted	North Battleford, Saskatchewan
3		Ronald Stackhouse	D	R	31	1969	Haliburton, Ontario
6		Loran Thompson	LW	L	30	1970	Summerside, Price Edward Island
6		Bennett Wolf	D	R	21	1979	Kitchener, Ontario

Draft picks

See also: List of Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks

The 1980 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 11, 1980 in Montreal, Quebec.[6]

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)

References

• Penguins on Hockey Database

1. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
2. "1980–1981 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
3. "1980–1981 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
4. "1980–1981 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
5. "1980–1981 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
6. "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". NHL.