1978–79 New York Rangers season

1978–79 New York Rangers
Division	3rd Patrick
Conference	3rd Campbell
1978–79 record	40–29–11
Goals for	316
Goals against	292
Team information
General Manager	Fred Shero
Coach	Fred Shero
Captain	Dave Maloney
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Team leaders
Goals	Phil Esposito (42)
Assists	Anders Hedberg (46)
Points	Anders Hedberg (79)
Penalties in minutes	Nick Fotiu (190)
Wins	John Davidson (20)
Goals against average	John Davidson (3.52)
<1977–78	1979–80>

The 1978–79 New York Rangers season was the 53rd season for the franchise. The highlight of the season was participating in the Stanley Cup Finals, as the Rangers played 12 consecutive playoff games without losing in regulation.

Offseason

The Rangers fired their general manager John Ferguson and head coach Jean-Guy Talbot, replacing them with 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 would get into 28 games for the Rangers that season.

Regular season

Season standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
New York Islanders	80	51	15	14	358	214	116
Philadelphia Flyers	80	40	25	15	281	248	95
New York Rangers	80	40	29	11	316	292	91
Atlanta Flames	80	41	31	8	327	280	90

Schedule and results

Season Summary

• February 25: During a win against the Islanders, Ulf Nilsson was injured on a hip check by Denis Potvin. In the years to come, this would serve as the origin to the infamous "Potvin Sucks" chant at Madison Square Garden.

Playoffs

Main articles: 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs and 1979 Stanley Cup Finals

Stanley Cup Finals

The Rangers faced the defending champion Montreal Canadiens, who were making their fourth straight Stanley Cup Finals appearance. It was the Rangers' first appearance in the finals since the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals. The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series four games to one, to win their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup.

Key:      Win      Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Anders Hedberg	80	33	46	79	33
Phil Esposito	80	42	36	78	37
Pat Hickey	80	34	41	75	56
Ulf Nilsson	59	27	39	66	21
Ron Duguay	79	27	36	63	35
Mike McEwen	80	20	38	58	35
Ron Greschner	60	17	36	53	66
Steve Vickers	66	13	34	47	24
Carol Vadnais	77	8	37	45	86
Walt Tkaczuk	77	15	27	42	38
Don Murdoch	40	15	21	36	6
Pierre Plante	70	6	25	31	37
Mario Marois	71	5	26	31	153
Dean Talafous	68	13	16	29	29
Lucien DeBlois	62	11	17	28	26
Dave Maloney	76	11	17	28	151
Don Maloney	28	9	17	26	39
Dave Farrish	71	1	19	20	61
Ed Johnstone	30	5	3	8	27
Nick Fotiu	71	3	5	8	190
Greg Polis‡	6	1	1	2	8
Dan Clark	4	0	1	1	6
Mike Korney	18	0	1	1	18
Tim Bothwell	1	0	0	0	2
Mike McDougall	1	0	0	0	0
Dean Turner	1	0	0	0	0
Frank Beaton	2	0	0	0	0
Andre Dore	2	0	0	0	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Don Maloney	18	7	13	20	19
Phil Esposito	18	8	12	20	20
Mike McEwen	18	2	11	13	8
Don Murdoch	18	7	5	12	12
Ron Greschner	18	7	5	12	16
Walt Tkaczuk	18	4	7	11	10
Carol Vadnais	18	2	9	11	13
Ron Duguay	18	5	4	9	11
Anders Hedberg	18	4	5	9	12
Steve Vickers	18	5	3	8	13
Pat Hickey	18	1	7	8	6
Bobby Sheehan	15	4	3	7	8
Dave Maloney	17	3	4	7	45
Mario Marois	18	0	6	6	29
Pierre Plante	18	0	6	6	20
Ed Johnstone	17	5	0	5	10
Dave Farrish	7	0	2	2	14
Lucien DeBlois	9	2	0	2	4
Nick Fotiu	4	0	0	0	6
Ulf Nilsson	2	0	0	0	2

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
John Davidson	39	2232	20	12	5	131	3.52	0
Wayne Thomas	31	1668	15	10	3	101	3.63	1
Doug Soetaert	17	900	5	7	3	57	3.80	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
John Davidson	18	1106	11	7	42	2.28	1

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
^‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
2	26	Don Maloney	LW	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
3	43	Ray Markham	C	Canada	Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
3	44	Dean Turner	D	United States	University of Michigan (NCAA)
4	59	Dave Silk	RW	United States	Boston University (NCAA)
4	60	Andre Dore	D	Canada	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
5	76	Mike McDougall	RW	United States	Port Huron Flags (IHL)
6	93	Tom Laidlaw	D	Canada	Northern Michigan University (NCAA)
7	110	Dan Clark	D	Canada	Milwaukee Admirals (IHL)
8	127	Greg Kostenko	D	Canada	Ohio State University (NCAA)
9	144	Brian McDavid	D	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
10	161	Mark Rodrigues	G	United States	Yale University (NCAA)
11	176	Steve Weeks	G	Canada	Northern Michigan University (NCAA)
12	192	Pierre Daigneault	LW	Canada	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
13	206	Chris McLaughlin	D	United States	Dartmouth College (NCAA)
14	217	Todd Johnson	C	United States	Boston University (NCAA)
15	223	Dan McCarthy	C	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHA)

References

• Rangers on Hockey Database