1988–89 New York Rangers season

1988–89 New York Rangers
Division	3rd Patrick
Conference	6th Wales
1988–89 record	37–35–8
Home record	21–17–2
Road record	16–18–6
Goals for	310
Goals against	307
Team information
General manager	Phil Esposito
Coach	Michel Bergeron Phil Esposito
Captain	Kelly Kisio
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Team leaders
Goals	Tony Granato (36)
Assists	Tomas Sandstrom (56)
Points	Tomas Sandstrom (88)
Penalty minutes	Rudy Poeschek (199)
Wins	John Vanbiesbrouck (28)
Goals against average	John Vanbiesbrouck (3.69)

The 1988–89 New York Rangers season was the 63rd season for the franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Rangers finished 3rd in the Patrick Division and lost in the Division Semi-finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4 games to 0.

Off-season

Draft Picks

See also: 1988 NHL Entry Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team
2	22.	Troy Mallette (LW)	Canada	Sault-Ste.-Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
2	26.	Murray Duval (D)	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
3	68.	Tony Amonte (LW)	United States

Regular Season

Guy Lafleur

After being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Guy Lafleur returned to the NHL during the 1988–89 with the New York Rangers. Lafleur remained one of the few players that did not wear protective helmets due to the Grandfather clause. A highlight of Lafleur's season was the opportunity to be on the same team with Marcel Dionne. During his first game back in the Montreal Forum, he scored twice against Patrick Roy during the Rangers' 7–5 loss to the Canadiens. Although his high-scoring days were well behind him, his stint with the Rangers was moderately successful and he helped the team to first place in the Patrick Division until being knocked out by a knee injury. The Rangers would finish the season in third place.

Final Standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Washington Capitals	80	41	29	10	305	259	92
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	40	33	7	347	349	87
New York Rangers	80	37	35	8	310	307	82
Philadelphia Flyers	80	36	36	8	307	285	80
New Jersey Devils	80	27	41	12	281	325	66
New York Islanders	80	28	47	5	265	325	61

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

Regular Season Schedule

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 6, 1988	2–2 OT	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1988–89)	0–0–1
2	W	October 8, 1988	4–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1988–89)	1–0–1
3	L	October 10, 1988	0–5	New Jersey Devils (1988–89)	1–1–1
4	L	October 12, 1988	3–4	Hartford Whalers (1988–89)	1–2–1
5	W	October 16, 1988	3–2	Vancouver Canucks (1988–89)	2–2–1
6	W	October 19, 1988	5–1	Washington Capitals (1988–89)	3–2–1
7	W	October 21, 1988	4–1	@ Washington Capitals (1988–89)	4–2–1
8	W	October 23, 1988	8–2	Quebec Nordiques (1988–89)	5–2–1
9	W	October 26, 1988	4–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89)	6–2–1
10	W	October 29, 1988	6–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89)	7–2–1
11	W	October 30, 1988	9–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89)	8–2–1
12	L	November 2, 1988	4–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1988–89)	8–3–1
13	L	November 6, 1988	5–6	@ New Jersey Devils (1988–89)	8–4–1
14	L	November 8, 1988	3–4	@ New York Islanders (1988–89)	8–5–1
15	W	November 9, 1988	5–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89)	9–5–1
16	T	November 11, 1988	4–4 OT	Boston Bruins (1988–89)	9–5–2
17	L	November 13, 1988	3–5	Detroit Red Wings (1988–89)	9–6–2
18	T	November 15, 1988	3–3 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89)	9–6–3
19	W	November 17, 1988	6–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1988–89)	10–6–3
20	W	November 19, 1988	4–1	@ Minnesota North Stars (1988–89)	11–6–3
21	L	November 21, 1988	2–4	Montreal Canadiens (1988–89)	11–7–3
22	L	November 23, 1988	2–8	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89)	11–8–3
23	W	November 26, 1988	6–4	@ New York Islanders (1988–89)	12–8–3
24	W	November 27, 1988	5–3	New York Islanders (1988–89)	13–8–3
25	W	November 29, 1988	4–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1988–89)	14–8–3
26	L	December 1, 1988	3–6	@ Calgary Flames (1988–89)	14–9–3
27	L	December 4, 1988	6–10	@ Edmonton Oilers (1988–89)	14–10–3
28	W	December 6, 1988	5–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1988–89)	15–10–3
29	L	December 8, 1988	4–5	@ Hartford Whalers (1988–89)	15–11–3
30	T	December 10, 1988	1–1 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1988–89)	15–11–4
31	L	December 12, 1988	2–5	Los Angeles Kings (1988–89)	15–12–4
32	W	December 14, 1988	2–1	New York Islanders (1988–89)	16–12–4
33	L	December 17, 1988	3–6	@ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89)	16–13–4
34	W	December 19, 1988	3–1	Washington Capitals (1988–89)	17–13–4
35	L	December 21, 1988	2–5	Buffalo Sabres (1988–89)	17–14–4
36	T	December 23, 1988	2–2 OT	@ Washington Capitals (1988–89)	17–14–5
37	W	December 26, 1988	5–1	New Jersey Devils (1988–89)	18–14–5
38	W	December 27, 1988	7–5	@ New Jersey Devils (1988–89)	19–14–5
39	W	December 31, 1988	4–1	Chicago Blackhawks (1988–89)	20–14–5
40	W	January 2, 1989	5–4	Hartford Whalers (1988–89)	21–14–5
41	T	January 4, 1989	3–3 OT	Washington Capitals (1988–89)	21–14–6
42	W	January 7, 1989	5–1	@ New York Islanders (1988–89)	22–14–6
43	L	January 9, 1989	4–5	New Jersey Devils (1988–89)	22–15–6
44	T	January 14, 1989	4–4 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89)	22–15–7
45	W	January 15, 1989	6–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89)	23–15–7
46	W	January 18, 1989	6–4	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1988–89)	24–15–7
47	W	January 19, 1989	5–0	@ St. Louis Blues (1988–89)	25–15–7
48	W	January 21, 1989	5–4 OT	@ Vancouver Canucks (1988–89)	26–15–7
49	W	January 23, 1989	3–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1988–89)	27–15–7
50	L	January 26, 1989	3–5	@ Calgary Flames (1988–89)	27–16–7
51	T	January 28, 1989	1–1 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1988–89)	27–16–8
52	W	January 30, 1989	7–3	New York Islanders (1988–89)	28–16–8
53	L	February 1, 1989	3–4 OT	Washington Capitals (1988–89)	28–17–8
54	L	February 4, 1989	5–7	@ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89)	28–18–8
55	L	February 5, 1989	3–5	Minnesota North Stars (1988–89)	28–19–8
56	W	February 9, 1989	4–3	Winnipeg Jets (1988–89)	29–19–8
57	L	February 12, 1989	1–3	Edmonton Oilers (1988–89)	29–20–8
58	L	February 14, 1989	1–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89)	29–21–8
59	L	February 17, 1989	6–10	Toronto Maple Leafs (1988–89)	29–22–8
60	W	February 18, 1989	5–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89)	30–22–8
61	W	February 20, 1989	7–4	New Jersey Devils (1988–89)	31–22–8
62	L	February 22, 1989	4–6	Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89)	31–23–8
63	W	February 25, 1989	7–2	@ Quebec Nordiques (1988–89)	32–23–8
64	W	February 27, 1989	6–4	Los Angeles Kings (1988–89)	33–23–8
65	W	March 1, 1989	7–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1988–89)	34–23–8
66	L	March 3, 1989	3–6	@ New Jersey Devils (1988–89)	34–24–8
67	L	March 5, 1989	0–5	Boston Bruins (1988–89)	34–25–8
68	L	March 8, 1989	0–2	Buffalo Sabres (1988–89)	34–26–8
69	L	March 9, 1989	2–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1988–89)	34–27–8
70	L	March 11, 1989	2–4	@ Washington Capitals (1988–89)	34–28–8
71	W	March 13, 1989	4–3	Calgary Flames (1988–89)	35–28–8
72	L	March 15, 1989	3–6	Winnipeg Jets (1988–89)	35–29–8
73	L	March 18, 1989	3–8	@ Quebec Nordiques (1988–89)	35–30–8
74	W	March 20, 1989	7–4	St. Louis Blues (1988–89)	36–30–8
75	W	March 22, 1989	3–1	Minnesota North Stars (1988–89)	37–30–8
76	L	March 25, 1989	1–6	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89)	37–31–8
77	L	March 26, 1989	4–6	Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89)	37–32–8
78	L	March 29, 1989	3–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1988–89)	37–33–8
79	L	April 1, 1989	2–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89)	37–34–8
80	L	April 2, 1989	4–6	New York Islanders (1988–89)	37–35–8

Playoffs

Pittsburgh Penguins 4, New York Rangers 0

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
April 5	New York Rangers	1	Pittsburgh Penguins	3
April 6	New York Rangers	4	Pittsburgh Penguins	7
April 8	Pittsburgh Penguins	5	New York Rangers	4	(OT)
April 9	Pittsburgh Penguins	4	New York Rangers	3

Player Stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

			Regular season						Playoffs
Player	#		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Tomas Sandstrom	28		79	32	56	88	148		4	3	2	5	12
Brian Leetch	2		68	23	48	71	50		3	0	1	1	4
Brian Mullen	19		78	29	35	64	60		3	0	1	1	4
Tony Granato	18		78	36	27	63	140		4	1	1	2	21
Kelly Kisio	11		70	26	36	62	91		4	0	0	0	9
Carey Wilson	17		41	21	34	55	45		4	1	2	3	2
James Patrick	3		68	11	36	47	41		4	0	1	1	2
Guy Lafleur	10		67	18	27	45	12		4	1	0	1	0
Ulf Dahlen	9		56	24	19	43	50		4	0	0	0	0
John Ogrodnick	25		60	13	29	42	14		3	2	0	2	0
Lucien DeBlois	23		73	9	24	33	107		4	0	0	0	4
Michel Petit	24		69	8	25	33	154		4	0	2	2	27
Jason Lafreniere	15		38	8	16	24	6		3	0	0	0	17
Marcel Dionne	16		37	7	16	23	20		0	0	0	0	0
Jason Lafreniere	15		38	8	16	24	6		3	0	0	0	17
Brian Lawton	-		30	7	10	17	39		0	0	0	0	0
David Shaw	21		63	6	11	17	88		4	0	2	2	30
Jan Erixon	20		44	4	11	15	27		4	0	1	1	2
Chris Nilan	31		38	7	7	14	177		4	0	1	1	28
Mark Hardy	14		56	2	12	14	45		4	0	1	1	31
Don Maloney	-		31	4	9	13	16		0	0	0	0	0
Ron Greschner	4		58	1	10	11	94		4	0	1	1	6
Darren Turcotte	8		20	7	3	10	4		1	0	0	0	0
Norm Maciver	-		26	0	10	10	14		0	0	0	0	0
Kevin Miller	26		24	3	5	8	2		0	0	0	0	0
Igor Liba	-		10	2	5	7	15		0	0	0	0	0
Normand Rochefort	5		11	1	5	6	18		0	0	0	0	0
Lindy Ruff	44		13	0	5	5	31		2	0	0	0	17
Rudy Poeschek	29		52	0	2	2	199		0	0	0	0	0
Doug Wickenheiser			1	1	0	1	0		0	0	0	0	0
Simon Wheeldon	41		6	0	1	1	2		0	0	0	0	0
Miloslav Horava	6		6	0	1	1	0		0	0	0	0	0
Dean Kennedy			16	0	1	1	40		0	0	0	0	0
Joe Paterson	27		20	0	1	1	84		0	0	0	0	0
Stephane Brochu	32		21	1	0	1	0		0	0	0	0	0
Paul Cyr	22		1	0	0	0	2		0	0	0	0	0
James Latos	44		1	0	0	0	2		0	0	0	0	0
Jayson More	40		1	0	0	0	2		0	0	0	0	0
Ken Hammond			3	0	0	0	2		0	0	0	0	0
Mark Janssens	47		5	0	0	0	2		0	0	0	0	0
Jeff Bloemberg	38		9	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0
Peter Laviolette	39		12	0	0	0	6		0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against

Player	GP	W	L	T	SO	GAA
Bob Froese	30	9	14	4	1	3.78
John Vanbiesbrouck	56	28	21	4	0	3.69

Awards and Records

• Calder Trophy: Brian Leetch
• Brian Leetch, Most goals by a Rookie Defenseman in one season (23)
• Tony Granato: Team Record, most goals by rookie, season (36)

References

• Rangers on Hockey Database
• 1988–89 New York Rangers Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-06.

New York Rangers
Team	Franchise • Players • Coaches • GMs • Seasons • Records • Draft Picks • History Madison Square Garden
Stanley Cups	1928, 1933, 1940, 1994
Affiliates	Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL), Maine Mariners (ECHL)