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.

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.

Regular Season

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Playoffs

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

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