1989–90 New York Rangers season

1989–90 New York Rangers
1989–90 New York Rangers
Patrick Division champions
Division	1st Patrick
Conference	T-4th Wales
1989–90 record	36–31–13
Home record	20–11–9
Road record	16–20–4
Goals for	279
Goals against	267
Team information
General manager	Neil Smith
Coach	Roger Neilson
Captain	Kelly Kisio
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Team leaders
Goals	John Ogrodnick (43)
Assists	Brian Leetch (45)
Points	John Ogrodnick (74)
Penalty minutes	Troy Mallette (305)
Wins	John Vanbiesbrouck (19)
Goals against average	Mike Richter (3.00)
	← 1988–89 1990–91 →

The 1989–90 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 64th season. During the regular season, the Rangers led the Patrick Division with 85 points and qualified for the NHL playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs, the Rangers defeated the New York Islanders four games to one and earned a berth in the Patrick Division Finals. There, New York lost to the Washington Capitals in five games.^[1]

Offseason

During the offseason, Gulf+Western, owners of the Rangers, and all MSG properties since 1977,^[2] changed their name to Paramount Communications. The new name was chosen in honor of the company's leading subsidiary, the Paramount Pictures film studio.^[3]

Regular season

The Rangers finished the regular season with the most power-play opportunities (442) and the most power-play goals scored (103).^[4]

Final standings

Patrick Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
New York Rangers	80	36	31	13	279	267	85
New Jersey Devils	80	37	34	9	295	288	83
Washington Capitals	80	36	38	6	284	275	78
New York Islanders	80	31	38	11	281	288	73
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	32	40	8	318	359	72
Philadelphia Flyers	80	30	39	11	290	297	71

^[5]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.

Wales Conference^[6]
R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Boston Bruins	ADM	80	46	25	9	289	232	101
2	Buffalo Sabres	ADM	80	45	27	8	286	248	98
3	Montreal Canadiens	ADM	80	41	28	11	288	234	93
4	Hartford Whalers	ADM	80	38	33	9	275	268	85
5	New York Rangers	PTK	80	36	31	13	279	267	85
6	New Jersey Devils	PTK	80	37	34	9	295	288	83
7	Washington Capitals	PTK	80	36	38	6	284	275	78
8	New York Islanders	PTK	80	31	38	11	281	288	73
9	Pittsburgh Penguins	PTK	80	32	40	8	318	359	72
10	Philadelphia Flyers	PTK	80	30	39	11	290	297	71
11	Quebec Nordiques	ADM	80	12	61	7	240	407	31

Divisions: PTK – Patrick, ADM – Adams

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Patrick Division

1989–90 NHL records^[7]
Team	NJD	NYI	NYR	PHI	PIT	WSH	Total
New Jersey	—	4–1–2	3–3–1	4–2–1	4–2–1	3–4	18–12–5
N.Y. Islanders	1–4–2	—	2–3–2	1–4–2	3–3–1	4–3	11–17–7
N.Y. Rangers	3–3–1	3–2–2	—	5–2	1–5–1	3–4	15–16–4
Philadelphia	2–4–1	4–1–2	2–5	—	4–3	1–5–1	13–18–4
Pittsburgh	2–4–1	3–3–1	5–1–1	3–4	—	5–2	18–14–3
Washington	4–3	3–4	4–3	5–1–1	2–5	—	18–16–1

Vs. Adams Division

1989–90 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	HFD	MTL	QUE	Total
New Jersey	1–1–1	2–1	1–2	1–2	3–0	8–6–1
N.Y. Islanders	1–1–1	3–0	1–2	1–2	1–2	7–7–1
N.Y. Rangers	3–0	0–2–1	2–1	0–3	3–0	8–6–1
Philadelphia	0–3	1–2	1–2	2–0–1	1–1–1	5–8–2
Pittsburgh	1–2	0–3	0–2–1	1–2	2–1	4–10–1
Washington	1–2	1–1–1	1–2	2–1	3–0	8–6–1

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Norris Division

1989–90 NHL records
Team	CHI	DET	MIN	STL	TOR	Total
New Jersey	2–1	1–1–1	1–2	2–1	1–2	7–7–1
N.Y. Islanders	1–2	1–1–1	1–2	1–2	3–0	7–7–1
N.Y. Rangers	1–0–2	2–0–1	1–1–1	0–2–1	1–1–1	5–4–6
Philadelphia	0–3	0–1–2	2–1	2–1	2–1	6–7–2
Pittsburgh	0–3	2–0–1	1–1–1	0–3	1–2	4–9–2
Washington	1–2	3–0	3–0	0–2–1	1–2	8–6–1

Vs. Smythe Division

1989–90 NHL records
Team	CGY	EDM	LAK	VAN	WIN	Total
New Jersey	0–3	1–0–2	2–1	0–3	1–2	4–9–2
N.Y. Islanders	0–3	0–1–2	2–1	2–1	2–1	6–7–2
N.Y. Rangers	1–2	2–0–1	1–2	3–0	1–1–1	8–5–2
Philadelphia	1–1–1	1–2	3–0	0–1–2	1–2	6–6–3
Pittsburgh	0–2–1	2–1	1–2	1–2	2–0–1	6–7–2
Washington	1–0–2	1–2	0–3	0–2–1	0–3	2–10–3

Schedule and results

1989–90 regular season^[8]

October: 8–2–3 (home: 4–1–3; road: 4–1–0)

Game	Date	Time (ET)	Opponent	Score	OT	Decision	Location	Attendance	Record	Points
1	October 6		@ Winnipeg	4–1					1–0–0	2
2	October 8		@ Chicago	5–3					2–0–0	4
3	October 11		Calgary	5–4					3–0–0	6
4	October 13		@ Washington	4–7					3–1–0	6
5	October 15		Pittsburgh	4–2					4–1–0	8
6	October 17		Chicago	3–3	OT				4–1–1	9
7	October 19		Hartford	7–3					5–1–1	11
8	October 21		@ Philadelphia	3–1					6–1–1	13
9	October 23		Vancouver	5–3					7–1–1	15
10	October 25	7:35 p.m. EDT	Edmonton	3–3	OT	Froese	Madison Square Garden	15,501	7–1–2	16
11	October 27		N.Y. Islanders	5–5	OT				7–1–3	17
12	October 28		@ N.Y. Islanders	4–1					8–1–3	19
13	October 30		Philadelphia	1–3					8–2–3	19

November: 5–7–1 (home: 4–1–1; road: 1–6–0)

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	OT	Record	Points
14	November 2	Quebec	6–1		9–2–3	21
15	November 4	@ Montreal	2–3		9–3–3	21
16	November 6	Detroit	6–1		10–3–3	23
17	November 8	Montreal	2–3		10–4–3	23
18	November 12	N.Y. Islanders	4–2		11–4–3	25
19	November 14	@ Pittsburgh	0–6		11–5–3	25
20	November 17	@ New Jersey	4–5	OT	11–6–3	25
21	November 18	@ Hartford	3–2		12–6–3	27
22	November 20	Winnipeg	3–3	OT	12–6–4	28
23	November 22	@ Buffalo	1–4		12–7–4	28
24	November 25	@ Toronto	4–7		12–8–4	28
25	November 26	Quebec	3–1		13–8–4	30
26	November 29	@ Winnipeg	4–5		13–9–4	30

December: 2–9–3 (home: 1–4–2; road: 1–5–1)

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	OT	Record	Points
27	December 1	@ Vancouver	4–3		14–9–4	32
28	December 2	@ Los Angeles	0–6		14–10–4	32
29	December 6	New Jersey	5–3		15–10–4	34
30	December 9	@ N.Y. Islanders	0–0	OT	15–10–5	35
31	December 10	Philadelphia	2–4		15–11–5	35
32	December 13	St. Louis	1–3		15–12–5	35
33	December 16	@ N.Y. Islanders	3–4		15–13–5	35
34	December 17	Montreal	0–2		15–14–5	35
35	December 20	Buffalo	2–2	OT	15–14–6	36
36	December 23	@ Washington	2–3		15–15–6	36
37	December 26	New Jersey	4–4	OT	15–15–7	37
38	December 27	@ Pittsburgh	4–7		15–16–7	37
39	December 29	@ New Jersey	2–3		15–17–7	37
40	December 31	Pittsburgh	4–5		15–18–7	37

January: 5–4–3 (home: 2–1–2; road: 3–3–1)

Game	Date	Time (ET)	Opponent	Score	OT	Decision	Location	Attendance	Record	Points
41	January 3		Washington	2–1					16–18–7	39
42	January 4		@ Minnesota	2–8					16–19–7	39
43	January 6		@ St. Louis	3–4					16–20–7	39
44	January 8		Pittsburgh	5–7					16–21–7	39
45	January 10		Chicago	2–2	OT				16–21–8	40
46	January 13		@ Boston	3–2					17–21–8	42
47	January 14		Philadelphia	4–3	OT				18–21–8	43
48	January 18		@ Pittsburgh	3–3	OT				18–21–9	44
49	January 23	9:35 p.m. EST	@ Edmonton	4–3		Richter	Northlands Coliseum	17,101	19–21–9	46
50	January 25		@ Calgary	5–8					19–22–9	46
51	January 27		@ Los Angeles	3–1					20–22–9	48
52	January 31		St. Louis	2–2	OT				20–22–10	49

February: 9–3–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 4–1–1)

Game	Date	Time (ET)	Opponent	Score	OT	Decision	Location	Attendance	Record	Points
53	February 3		@ Boston	2–1					21–22–10	51
54	February 4		Minnesota	4–3					22–22–10	53
55	February 7	7:35 p.m. EST	Edmonton	5–2		Vanbiesbrouck	Madison Square Garden	16,227	23–22–10	55
56	February 9		@ Buffalo	2–3					23–23–10	55
57	February 11		Calgary	2–5					23–24–10	55
58	February 13		@ Philadelphia	4–3					24–24–10	57
59	February 14		Pittsburgh	3–4	OT				24–25–10	57
60	February 16		@ New Jersey	2–1					25–25–10	59
61	February 19		New Jersey	4–3	OT				26–25–10	61
62	February 21		@ Detroit	4–4	OT				26–25–11	62
63	February 23		@ Washington	6–3					27–25–11	64
64	February 26		Boston	6–1					28–25–11	66
65	February 28		Washington	3–2					29–25–11	68

March: 7–5–2 (home: 4–1–1; road: 3–4–1)

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	OT	Record	Points
66	March 2	N.Y. Islanders	6–3		30–25–11	70
67	March 3	@ Hartford	4–6		30–26–11	70
68	March 5	Detroit	3–2		31–26–11	72
69	March 8	@ Philadelphia	7–5		32–26–11	74
70	March 10	@ Minnesota	2–2	OT	32–26–12	75
71	March 12	Los Angeles	2–6		32–27–12	75
72	March 14	@ Toronto	8–2		33–27–12	77
73	March 17	@ N.Y. Islanders	3–6		33–28–12	77
74	March 18	Vancouver	5–2		34–28–12	79
75	March 21	Toronto	5–5	OT	34–28–13	80
76	March 25	Philadelphia	7–3		35–28–13	82
77	March 27	@ Quebec	7–4		36–28–13	84
78	March 29	@ New Jersey	4–6		36–29–13	84
79	March 31	@ Washington	1–2		36–30–13	84

April: 0–1–0 (home: 0–1–0; road: 0–0–0)

Game	Date	Time (ET)	Opponent	Score	OT	Decision	Location	Attendance	Record	Points	Recap
80	April 1		Washington	2–3					36–31–13	84

Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1990 Stanley Cup playoffs^[8]

Division semifinals vs. (P4) New York Islanders – N.Y. Rangers win 4–1

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Attendance	Series
1	April 5	N.Y. Islanders	1–2	N.Y. Rangers		16,651	Rangers lead series 1–0
2	April 7	N.Y. Islanders	2–5	N.Y. Rangers		16,651	Rangers lead series 2–0
3	April 9	N.Y. Rangers	3–4	N.Y. Islanders	2OT	16,297	Rangers lead series 2–1
4	April 11	N.Y. Rangers	6–1	N.Y. Islanders		16,297	Rangers lead series 3–1
5	April 13	N.Y. Islanders	5–6	N.Y. Rangers		16,651	Rangers win series 4–1

Division Finals vs. (P3) Washington Capitals – Washington wins 4–1

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Attendance	Series
1	April 19	Washington	3–7	N.Y. Rangers		16,651	Rangers lead series 1–0
2	April 21	Washington	6–3	N.Y. Rangers		16,651	Series tied 1–1
3	April 23	N.Y. Rangers	1–7	Washington		18,011	Washington leads series 2–1
4	April 25	N.Y. Rangers	3–4	Washington	OT	18,130	Washington leads series 3–1
5	April 27	Washington	2–1	N.Y. Rangers	OT	16,651	Washington wins series 4–1

Legend: Win Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular season
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
John Ogrodnick	80	43	31	74	11	44
Brian Mullen	76	27	41	68	7	42
Darren Turcotte	76	32	34	66	3	32
Kelly Kisio	68	22	44	66	11	105
James Patrick	73	14	43	57	4	50
Brian Leetch	72	11	45	56	−18	26
Tomas Sandstrom^‡	48	19	19	38	−10	100
Bernie Nicholls^†	32	12	25	37	−3	20
Ulf Dahlen^‡	63	18	18	36	−4	30
Troy Mallette	79	13	16	29	−8	305
Carey Wilson	41	9	17	26	4	57
Tony Granato^‡	37	7	18	25	1	77
Mike Gartner^†	12	11	5	16	4	6
Mark Hardy	54	0	15	15	4	94
Miloslav Horava	45	4	10	14	10	26
Kris King	68	6	7	13	2	286
Mark Janssens	80	5	8	13	−26	161
Jan Erixon	58	4	9	13	−17	8
Randy Moller	60	1	12	13	−1	139
David Shaw	22	2	10	12	−3	22
Ron Greschner	55	1	9	10	−7	53
Lindy Ruff	56	3	6	9	−10	80
Paul Broten	32	5	3	8	−4	26
Jeff Bloemberg	28	3	3	6	−8	25
Dave Archibald^†	19	2	3	5	0	6
Kevin Miller	16	0	5	5	−1	2
Normand Rochefort	31	3	1	4	2	24
Chris Nilan	25	1	2	3	−8	59
Rick Bennett	6	1	0	1	−4	5
Corey Millen	4	0	0	0	−2	2
Todd Charlesworth	7	0	0	0	−3	6
Rudy Poeschek	15	0	0	0	−1	55

Playoffs
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Bernie Nicholls	10	7	5	12	16
James Patrick	10	3	8	11	0
Kelly Kisio	10	2	8	10	8
John Ogrodnick	10	6	3	9	0
Mike Gartner	10	5	3	8	12
Randy Moller	10	1	6	7	32
Darren Turcotte	10	1	6	7	4
Troy Mallette	10	2	2	4	81
Brian Mullen	10	2	2	4	8
Normand Rochefort	10	2	1	3	26
Jeff Bloemberg	7	0	3	3	5
Lindy Ruff	8	0	3	3	12
Mark Janssens	9	2	1	3	10
Carey Wilson	10	2	1	3	0
Paul Broten	6	1	1	2	2
Chris Nilan	4	0	1	1	19
Jan Erixon	10	1	0	1	2
Kris King	10	0	1	1	30
Miloslav Horava	2	0	1	1	0
Mark Hardy	3	0	1	1	2
Kevin Miller	1	0	0	0	0
Ron Greschner	10	0	0	0	16

Goaltenders

Regular season
Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO
John Vanbiesbrouck	47	2734	19	19	7	154	3.38	1362	.887	1
Mike Richter	23	1320	12	5	5	66	3.00	686	.904	0
Bob Froese	15	812	5	7	1	45	3.33	355	.873	0

Playoffs
Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO
Mike Richter	6	330	3	2	19	3.45	181	.895	0
John Vanbiesbrouck	6	298	2	3	15	3.02	153	.902	0

^†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.

^[9]

Note:

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

Pos = Position;GP = Games played; 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;

Transactions

September 1, 1989: the Rangers traded Barry Beck to the Los Angeles Kings for future considerations.^[10]
September 7, 1989: the Rangers traded Chris McRae and a 5th round draft pick in 1990 to the Detroit Red Wings for Kris King.^[11]
September 14, 1989: the Rangers acquired Lee Giffin from the Pittsburgh Penguins for future considerations.^[12]
October 5, 1989: the Rangers traded Michel Petit to the Quebec Nordiques for Randy Moller.^[13]
November 1, 1989: the Rangers traded Jayson More to the Minnesota North Stars for Dave Archibald.^[14]
January 20, 1990: the Rangers traded Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato to the Los Angeles Kings for Bernie Nicholls.^[15]
March 6, 1990: the Rangers traded Ulf Dahlen, a 4th round draft pick in 1990, and future considerations (a 4th round draft pick in 1991) to the Minnesota North Stars for Mike Gartner.^[15]^[16]

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1989 NHL entry draft in Bloomington, Minnesota at the Met Center.^[17]^[18]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	20	Steven Rice	RW	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
2	40	Jason Prosofsky	RW	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
3	45	Rob Zamuner	LW	Canada	Guelph Platers (OHL)
3	49	Louie DeBrusk	LW	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
4	67	Jim Cummins	RW	United States	Michigan State University (NCAA)
5	88	Aaron Miller	D	United States	Niagara Scenics (NAHL)
6	118	Joby Messier	D	Canada	Michigan State University (NCAA)
7	139	Greg Leahy	F	United States	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
8	160	Greg Spenrath	D	Canada	Tri-City Americans (WHL)
9	181	Mark Bavis	LW	United States	Cushing Academy (Massachusetts)
10	202	Roman Oksiuta	RW	Soviet Union	Voskresensk Khimik (Russia)
11	223	Steve Locke	D	Canada	Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL)
12	244	Kenneth MacDermid	LW	Canada	Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)

Supplemental Draft

New York's picks at the 1989 NHL supplemental draft.^[19]

Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
Anthony Palumbo	C	Canada	Lake Superior State University (CCHA)

References

↑ "1989–90 New York Rangers Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
↑ "Gulf & Western buys out Gardens". The Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. August 22, 1977. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
↑ "Gulf and Western plans to sell off its financial services". New Straits Times. April 11, 1989. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
↑ "1989–90 NHL Season Summary". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
↑ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
↑ "1989–1990 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
1 2 "1989–90 New York Rangers Schedule". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
↑ "1989–90 New York Rangers". hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
↑ "Sports People: Hockey; Rangers Trade Beck". The New York Times. September 2, 1989. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
↑ "NHL Player Search: Chris McRae". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
↑ "NHL Player Search: Lee Giffin". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
↑ "The Sidelines: N.Y. Rangers Trade Petit for Moller". Los Angeles Times. October 5, 1989. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
↑ "Stars demote More again". United Press International. January 29, 1990. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
1 2 "Biggest Trades in New York Rangers History". National Hockey League. MSG Network. December 31, 2001. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
↑ Proteau, Adam (February 28, 2015). "Picking Winners of Five Blockbuster Trades From the Past 25 Years". The Hockey News. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
↑ "1989 NHL Entry Draft". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
↑ "NHL Draft History". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on January 28, 2001. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
↑ "1989 NHL Supplemental Draft". hockeydb.com. Retrieved October 22, 2011.

[1] "1989–90 New York Rangers Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved September 25, 2010.

[2] "Gulf & Western buys out Gardens". The Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. August 22, 1977. Retrieved July 11, 2011.

[3] "Gulf and Western plans to sell off its financial services". New Straits Times. April 11, 1989. Retrieved July 11, 2011.

[4] "1989–90 NHL Season Summary". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved November 20, 2013.

[nhl-gd-standings-5] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.

[6] "1989–1990 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 6, 2014.

[7] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[Gamelog-8] 1 2 "1989–90 New York Rangers Schedule". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved March 30, 2025.

[9] "1989–90 New York Rangers". hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 8, 2010.

[10] "Sports People: Hockey; Rangers Trade Beck". The New York Times. September 2, 1989. Retrieved June 30, 2018.

[11] "NHL Player Search: Chris McRae". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 30, 2018.

[12] "NHL Player Search: Lee Giffin". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 30, 2018.

[13] "The Sidelines: N.Y. Rangers Trade Petit for Moller". Los Angeles Times. October 5, 1989. Retrieved June 30, 2018.

[14] "Stars demote More again". United Press International. January 29, 1990. Retrieved June 30, 2018.

[trades-15] 1 2 "Biggest Trades in New York Rangers History". National Hockey League. MSG Network. December 31, 2001. Retrieved June 30, 2018.

[16] Proteau, Adam (February 28, 2015). "Picking Winners of Five Blockbuster Trades From the Past 25 Years". The Hockey News. Retrieved June 30, 2018.

[17] "1989 NHL Entry Draft". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved June 16, 2012.

[18] "NHL Draft History". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on January 28, 2001. Retrieved June 16, 2017.

[19] "1989 NHL Supplemental Draft". hockeydb.com. Retrieved October 22, 2011.

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