1981–82 Pittsburgh Penguins season

1981–82 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	4th Patrick
Conference	8th Wales
1981–82 record	31–36–13
Home record	21–11–8
Road record	10–25–5
Goals for	310
Goals against	337
Team information
General manager	Baz Bastien
Coach	Eddie Johnston
Captain	Randy Carlyle
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Average attendance	11,299
Team leaders
Goals	Paul Gardner & Mike Bullard (36)
Assists	Randy Carlyle (64)
Points	Rick Kehoe (85)
Penalty minutes	Paul Baxter (409)
Wins	Michel Dion (25)
Goals against average	Gary Edwards (3.67)

The 1981–82 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their 15th in the National Hockey League. The qualified for the playoffs for the fourth straight year, but lost in the opening round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders three games to two. This would be the Penguins last playoff appearance until 1989.

Regular season

Final standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
New York Islanders	80	54	16	10	385	250	118
New York Rangers	80	39	27	14	316	306	92
Philadelphia Flyers	80	38	31	11	325	313	87
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	31	36	13	310	337	75
Washington Capitals	80	26	41	13	319	338	65

^[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.

Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Patrick Division 1981–82 NHL records[2] Team NYI NYR PHI PIT WSH Total N.Y. Islanders — 6−2 6−1−1 6−2 7−0−1 25−5−2 N.Y. Rangers 2−6 — 4−2−2 4−3−1 3−2−3 13−13−6 Philadelphia 1−6−1 2−4−2 — 5−2−1 3−4−1 11−16−5 Pittsburgh 2−6 3−4−1 2–5–1 — 5−2−1 12−17−3 Washington 0−7−1 2−3−3 4–3–1 2–5–1 — 8−18−6 Vs. Adams Division 1981–82 NHL records Team BOS BUF HFD MTL QUE Total N.Y. Islanders 1−2 1−2 2−0−1 2−1 1−1−1 7−6−2 N.Y. Rangers 1−2 2−0−1 1−1−1 1−2 1−1−1 6−6−3 Philadelphia 2−1 2−1 3−0 1−2 1−1−1 9−5−1 Pittsburgh 1−1−1 1−2 2−0−1 1−2 3−0 8−5−2 Washington 0−3 0−3 2−1 2−1 0−2−1 4−10−1 Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Norris Division 1981–82 NHL records Team CHI DET MIN STL TOR WIN Total N.Y. Islanders 3−0 3−0 2−0−1 2−0−1 3−0 2−1 15−1−2 N.Y. Rangers 3−0 2−1 2−1 2−0−1 1−1−1 1−1−1 11−4−3 Philadelphia 1−1−1 2−0−1 1−1−1 3−0 2−1 1−2 10−5−3 Pittsburgh 0−1−2 1−2 1−2 1−2 0−1−2 2−1 5−9−4 Washington 1−2 1−0−2 0−2−1 2−1 2−1 2−1 8−7−3 Vs. Smythe Division 1981–82 NHL records Team CGY COL EDM LAK VAN Total N.Y. Islanders 1−0−2 2−0−1 1−1−1 1−2 2−1 7−4−4 N.Y. Rangers 2−0−1 2−0−1 0−3 2−1 3−0 9−4−2 Philadelphia 3−0 2−1 1−2 2−0−1 0−2−1 8−5−2 Pittsburgh 0−1−2 3−0 0−3 1−1−1 2−0−1 6−5−4 Washington 3−0 1−2 0−2−1 1−1−1 1−1−1 6−6−3

Schedule and results

1981–82 regular season[3]
October: 5–7–2 (home: 4–2–0; road: 1–5–2), 12 points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 1 Oct 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–6 St. Louis Blues The Checkerdome 0–1–0 0 2 Oct 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–5 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium 0–1–1 1 3 Oct 10 Quebec Nordiques 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 1–1–1 3 4 Oct 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–8 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum 1–2–1 3 5 Oct 14 New York Islanders 4–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 1–3–1 3 6 Oct 17 Minnesota North Stars 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 2–3–1 5 7 Oct 18 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena 2–4–1 5 8 Oct 20 Colorado Rockies 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 3–4–1 7 9 Oct 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Calgary Flames Stampede Corral 3–4–2 8 10 Oct 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–8 Edmonton Oilers Northlands Coliseum 3–5–2 8 11 Oct 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–4 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum 4–5–2 10 12 Oct 28 Toronto Maple Leafs 5–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 4–6–2 10 13 Oct 29 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–6 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum 4–7–2 10 14 Oct 31 Buffalo Sabres 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 5–7–2 12
November: 7–1–2 (home: 5–0–1; road: 2–1–1), 16 points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 15 Nov 4 New York Rangers 3–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 6–7–2 14 16 Nov 7 Philadelphia Flyers 2–7 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 7–7–2 16 17 Nov 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 Washington Capitals Capital Centre 8–7–2 18 18 Nov 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Boston Bruins Boston Garden 8–7–3 19 19 Nov 18 St. Louis Blues 1–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 9–7–3 21 20 Nov 20 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 9–7–4 22 21 Nov 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–9 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum 9–8–4 22 22 Nov 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–1 Quebec Nordiques Quebec Coliseum 10–8–4 24 23 Nov 25 Montreal Canadiens 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 11–8–4 26 24 Nov 28 Detroit Red Wings 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 12–8–4 28
December: 4–7–2 (home: 4–2–1; road: 0–5–1), 10 points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 25 Dec 2 Winnipeg Jets 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 13–8–4 30 26 Dec 5 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 St. Louis Blues The Checkerdome 13–9–4 30 27 Dec 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–7 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 13–10–4 30 28 Dec 9 Philadelphia Flyers 4–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 13–11–4 30 29 Dec 12 Washington Capitals 4–7 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 14–11–4 32 30 Dec 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–5 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) 14–12–4 32 31 Dec 16 Los Angeles Kings 6–7 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 15–12–4 34 32 Dec 19 New York Rangers 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 15–12–5 35 33 Dec 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum 15–13–5 35 34 Dec 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–4 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens 15–13–6 36 35 Dec 26 Buffalo Sabres 7–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 15–14–6 36 36 Dec 27 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–5 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) 15–15–6 36 37 Dec 30 Washington Capitals 2–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 16–15–6 38
January: 5–8–2 (home: 4–1–1; road: 1–7–1), 12 points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 38 Jan 2 Hartford Whalers 4–9 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 17–15–6 40 39 Jan 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–4 Hartford Whalers XL Center 18–15–6 42 40 Jan 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium 18–16–6 42 41 Jan 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–5 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena 18–17–6 42 42 Jan 9 Vancouver Canucks 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 19–17–6 44 43 Jan 13 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–6 Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena 19–18–6 44 44 Jan 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–4 Calgary Flames Stampede Corral 19–19–6 44 45 Jan 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum 19–19–7 45 46 Jan 20 Boston Bruins 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 20–19–7 47 47 Jan 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–6 New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 20–20–7 47 48 Jan 23 Philadelphia Flyers 5–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 20–20–8 48 49 Jan 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–9 New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 20–21–8 48 50 Jan 27 New York Islanders 6–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 20–22–8 48 51 Jan 30 Winnipeg Jets 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 21–22–8 50 52 Jan 31 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–8 Washington Capitals Capital Centre 21–23–8 50
February: 3–8–2 (home: 2–4–2; road: 1–4–0), 8 points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 53 Feb 3 Minnesota North Stars 9–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 21–24–8 50 54 Feb 6 Washington Capitals 6–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 21–25–8 50 55 Feb 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–5 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum 21–26–8 50 56 Feb 10 Hartford Whalers 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 21–26–9 51 57 Feb 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum 21–27–9 51 58 Feb 13 Los Angeles Kings 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 21–27–10 52 59 Feb 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–6 New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 21–28–10 52 60 Feb 17 New York Rangers 5–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 21–29–10 52 61 Feb 20 Philadelphia Flyers 5–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 22–29–10 54 62 Feb 21 New York Islanders 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 23–29–10 56 63 Feb 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 23–30–10 56 64 Feb 27 Edmonton Oilers 4–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 23–31–10 56 65 Feb 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) 24–31–10 58
March: 5–5–3 (home: 1–2–3; road: 4–3–0), 13 points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 66 Mar 3 Boston Bruins 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 24–32–10 58 67 Mar 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–4 Quebec Nordiques Quebec Coliseum 25–32–10 60 68 Mar 7 Calgary Flames 4–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 25–32–11 61 69 Mar 10 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–2 Washington Capitals Capital Centre 26–32–11 63 70 Mar 13 Colorado Rockies 2–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 27–32–11 65 71 Mar 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Minnesota North Stars Met Center 27–33–11 65 72 Mar 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–10 Edmonton Oilers Northlands Coliseum 27–34–11 65 73 Mar 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–7 Los Angeles Kings The Forum 27–35–11 65 74 Mar 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–0 Colorado Rockies McNichols Sports Arena 28–35–11 67 75 Mar 24 New York Rangers 7–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 28–36–11 67 76 Mar 27 Chicago Black Hawks 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 28–36–12 68 77 Mar 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–5 Washington Capitals Capital Centre 29–36–12 70 78 Mar 31 Washington Capitals 4–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 29–36–13 71
April: 2–0–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 1–0–0), 4 points # Date Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 79 Apr 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–5 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) 30–36–13 73 80 Apr 4 New York Islanders 2–7 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 31–36–13 75
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

The Penguins lost in the division semi-final round (3–2) versus the New York Islanders.

April 7

Pittsburgh Penguins

1–8

New York Islanders

Nassau Coliseum

April 8

Pittsburgh Penguins

2–7

New York Islanders

Nassau Coliseum

April 10

New York Islanders

1–2

OT

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Civic Arena

April 11

New York Islanders

2–5

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Civic Arena

April 13

Pittsburgh Penguins

3–4

OT

New York Islanders

Nassau Coliseum

New York won series 3–2

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season[4] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Rick Kehoe 71 33 52 85 –27 8 Randy Carlyle 73 11 64 75 –16 131 Pat Boutette 80 23 51 74 –23 230 Paul Gardner 59 36 33 69 –7 28 Mike Bullard 75 36 27 63 –1 91 George Ferguson 71 22 31 53 –6 45 Paul Baxter 76 9 34 43 –9 409 Greg Malone 78 15 24 39 –24 125 Pat Price 77 7 31 38 2 322 Peter Lee 74 18 16 34 –8 98 Rick MacLeish^† 40 13 12 25 –7 28 Doug Shedden 38 10 15 25 –2 12 Gregg Sheppard 58 11 10 21 9 35 Rod Schutt 35 9 12 21 3 42 Mark Johnson^‡ 46 10 11 21 –14 30 Ron Stackhouse 76 2 19 21 –11 102 Bobby Simpson 26 9 9 18 –3 4 Steve Gatzos 16 6 8 14 0 14 Pat Graham 42 6 8 14 –1 55 André St. Laurent^† 18 8 5 13 5 4 Mario Faubert 14 4 8 12 –2 14 Greg Hotham^† 25 4 6 10 –6 16 Paul Mulvey^‡ 27 1 7 8 –7 76 Jim Hamilton 11 5 3 8 2 2 Marc Chorney 60 1 6 7 –11 63 Kevin McClelland 10 1 4 5 6 4 Randy Boyd 23 0 2 2 –5 49 Russ Anderson^‡ 31 0 1 1 –4 98 Tony Feltrin 4 0 0 0 –3 4 Dave Hannan 1 0 0 0 –2 0 Bennett Wolf 1 0 0 0 0 2 Gary Rissling 16 0 0 0 –2 55 Total 310 509 819 — 2,196

Playoffs[5] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Paul Gardner 5 1 5 6 0 2 Rick Kehoe 5 2 3 5 0 2 Randy Carlyle 5 1 3 4 0 16 Pat Boutette 5 3 1 4 0 8 Rod Schutt 5 1 2 3 0 0 Greg Hotham 5 0 3 3 0 6 André St. Laurent 5 2 1 3 0 8 Rick MacLeish 5 1 1 2 0 0 Mike Bullard 5 1 1 2 0 4 Kevin McClelland 5 1 1 2 0 5 George Ferguson 5 0 1 1 0 0 Randy Boyd 3 0 0 0 0 11 Pat Graham 4 0 0 0 0 2 Peter Lee 3 0 0 0 0 0 Steve Gatzos 1 0 0 0 0 0 Ron Stackhouse 1 0 0 0 0 0 Paul Baxter 5 0 0 0 0 14 Greg Malone 3 0 0 0 0 4 Bobby Simpson 2 0 0 0 0 0 Marc Chorney 5 0 0 0 0 0 Pat Price 5 0 0 0 0 28 Total 13 22 35 — 110

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[6]

Player	GP	W	L	T	GA	SO
Michel Dion	62	25	24	12	226	0
Gary Edwards^†	6	3	2	1	22	1
Paul Harrison^‡	13	3	7	0	64	0
Nick Ricci	3	0	3	0	14	0
Total		31	36	13	326	1

Playoffs^[7]

Player	GP	W	L	T	GA	SO
Michel Dion	5	2	3	0	22	0
Total		2	3	0	22	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

• Paul Baxter became the first Penguins player to receive 400 penalty minutes in a season. He did so in a 7–2 loss to New York on April 4, finishing the season with 409 PIMs.
• Mike Bullard established a new franchise rookie record for goals with 36. He topped the previous high of 31 held by Pierre Larouche.
• Ron Stackhouse established a franchise record for goals (66), assists (277) and points (343) by a defenseman. He had led in all categories since the mid-1970s.

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1981–82 season:

Trades

September 11, 1981	To Toronto Maple Leafs 1982 4th round pick (Vladimir Růžička)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Paul Harrison
September 28, 1981	To New York Islanders Rob Holland	To Pittsburgh Penguins future considerations
December 29, 1981	To Hartford Whalers Russ Anderson 1983 8th round pick (Christian Duperron)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Rick MacLeish
February 3, 1982	To Toronto Maple Leafs 1983 5th round pick(Dan Hodgson) future considerations (1982 6th round pick--Craig Kales)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Greg Hotham
February 14, 1982	To St. Louis Blues 1984 8th round pick (Don Porter)	To Pittsburgh Penguins right to claim Gary Edwards off waivers from Blues without having to pay a cash waiver price
March 2, 1982	To Minnesota North Stars Mark Johnson	To Pittsburgh Penguins 1982 2nd round pick (Tim Hrynewich)

Additions and subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via Pat Boutette Hartford Whalers compensation for signing of Greg Millen (1981-06-29) Kevin McClelland Hartford Whalers compensation for signing of Greg Millen (1981-06-29) Michel Dion Winnipeg Jets free agency (1981-06-30) Paul Mulvey Washington Capitals compensation for signing of Orest Kindrachuk (1981-09-04) Bobby Simpson St. Louis Blues free agency (1981-10-01) Gary Edwards St. Louis Blues waivers (1982-02-14) Andre St. Laurent Los Angeles Kings waivers (1982-02-23)

Subtractions Player New team Via Greg Millen Hartford Whalers free agency (1981-06-15) Orest Kindrachuk Washington Capitals free agency (1981-09-04) Paul Mulvey Los Angeles Kings waivers (1981-12-30) Paul Harrison St. Louis Blues waivers (1982-02-08)

Draft picks

See also: List of Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks

The 1981 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 10, 1981, in Montreal.^[8]

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	28	Steve Gatzos	Right Wing	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
3	49	Tom Thornbury	Right Wing	Canada	Niagara Falls Flyers (OHL)
4	70	Norm Schmidt	Defense	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
6	109	Paul Edwards	Defense	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
6	112	Rod Buskas	Defense	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
7	133	Geoff Wilson	Left Wing	Canada	Winnipeg Warriors (WHL)
8	154	Mitch Lamoureux	Center	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
9	175	Dean DeFazio	Left Wing	Canada	Brantford Alexanders (OHL)
10	196	David Hannan	Center	Canada	Brantford Alexanders (OHL)

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. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
3. "1981-82 Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
4. "1981–1982 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
5. "1981–1982 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
6. "1981–1982 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
7. "1981–1982 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
8. "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". NHL. Retrieved June 27, 2014.