1980–81 Philadelphia Flyers season

1980–81 Philadelphia Flyers
1980–81 Philadelphia Flyers
Division	2nd Patrick
Conference	3rd Campbell
1980–81 record	41–24–15
Home record	23–9–8
Road record	18–15–7
Goals for	313 (11th)
Goals against	249 (2nd)
Team information
President	Robert Butera
General manager	Keith Allen
Coach	Pat Quinn
Captain	Mel Bridgman
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Spectrum
Average attendance	17,077
Minor league affiliate(s)	Maine Mariners; Toledo Goaldiggers
Team leaders
Goals	Bill Barber (43)
Assists	Behn Wilson (47)
Points	Bill Barber (85)
Penalty minutes	Paul Holmgren (306)
Plus/minus	Terry Murray (+46)
Wins	Pete Peeters (22)
Goals against average	Rick St. Croix (2.50)
	← 1979–80 1981–82 →

The 1980–81 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 14th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). After finishing second in the Patrick Division, the Flyers lost in the quarterfinals to the Calgary Flames in seven games.

Regular season

Bobby Clarke wore the number 16 throughout his entire NHL career except for two games during the 1980–81 season.^[2] Prior to a road game on February 27, 1981,^[3] Clarke's jersey was stolen.^[2] Clarke wore the only other jersey available, number 36,^[2] in the next two games.^[3]^[4] A month later, Clarke hit a personal milestone in memorable fashion. On March 19 during a game against the Boston Bruins, a Reggie Leach slapshot struck Clarke.^[5] After leaving the ice, he re-appeared moments later stitched up and with his jersey covered in blood.^[5] 31 seconds into the third period Clarke beat Bruins goalie Marco Baron for his 19th goal of the season^[6] and his 1,000th career point.^[5]

Season standings

Patrick Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
New York Islanders	80	48	18	14	355	260	110
Philadelphia Flyers	80	41	24	15	313	249	97
Calgary Flames	80	39	27	14	329	298	92
New York Rangers	80	30	36	14	312	317	74
Washington Capitals	80	26	36	18	286	317	70

^[7]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. Campbell Conference

Vs. Smythe Division

1980–81 NHL records
Team	CHI	COL	EDM	STL	VAN	WIN	Total
Calgary	0−1−3	1−3	2−1−1	2−2	3−1	3−0−1	11−8−5
N.Y. Islanders	4−0	3−1	2−0−2	2−0−2	3−1	3−0−1	17−2−5
N.Y. Rangers	2−1−1	1−3	2−1−1	0−4	2−1−1	3−1	10−11−3
Philadelphia	1−1−2	4−0	2−2	3−0−1	1−2−1	3−1	14−6−4
Washington	1−1−2	3−0−1	2−1−1	0−2−2	1−1−2	3−0−1	10−5−9

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Norris Division

1980–81 NHL records
Team	DET	HFD	LAK	MTL	PIT	Total
Calgary	2−1−1	3−1	3−1	1−2−1	2−1−1	11−6−3
N.Y. Islanders	4−0	2−0−2	2−2	2−1−1	1−2−1	11−5−4
N.Y. Rangers	1−2−1	3−1	1−3	1−2−1	1−2−1	7−10−3
Philadelphia	3−1	3−0−1	4−0	1−2−1	4−0	15−3−2
Washington	2−1−1	3−1	1−2−1	0−2−2	1−2−1	7−8−5

Playoffs

After a tough, five-game preliminary round series win against the Quebec Nordiques, the Flyers moved on to face the Calgary Flames in the quarterfinals. After falling behind 3 games to 1, they managed to force a Game 7 by winning the next two games. The Flyers lost Game 7, 4–1, at the Spectrum.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1980–81 regular season^[9]

October: 7–3–1, 15 points (home: 5–2–1; road: 2–1–0)

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	Record	Points	Recap
1	October 9	Pittsburgh Penguins	7–4	1–0–0	2	Recap
2	October 11	@ St. Louis Blues	5–1	2–0–0	4	Recap
3	October 12	Toronto Maple Leafs	2–4	2–1–0	4	Recap
4	October 16	Vancouver Canucks	2–5	2–2–0	4	Recap
5	October 18	@ Toronto Maple Leafs	2–6	2–3–0	4	Recap
6	October 19	Montreal Canadiens	2–1	3–3–0	6	Recap
7	October 23	New York Islanders	4–2	4–3–0	8	Recap
8	October 25	@ New York Islanders	3–1	5–3–0	10	Recap
9	October 26	Hartford Whalers	6–1	6–3–0	12	Recap
10	October 28	Calgary Flames	8–0	7–3–0	14	Recap
11	October 30	New York Rangers	3–3	7–3–1	15	Recap

November: 10–2–3, 23 points (home: 6–0–1; road: 4–2–2)

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	Record	Points	Recap
12	November 1	@ Quebec Nordiques	3–3	7–3–2	16	Recap
13	November 2	Boston Bruins	4–2	8–3–2	18	Recap
14	November 6	Los Angeles Kings	8–2	9–3–2	20	Recap
15	November 8	@ Hartford Whalers	5–4	10–3–2	22	Recap
16	November 9	Quebec Nordiques	3–1	11–3–2	24	Recap
17	November 13	Edmonton Oilers	8–1	12–3–2	26	Recap
18	November 15	Detroit Red Wings	5–2	13–3–2	28	Recap
19	November 16	@ Boston Bruins	0–1	13–4–2	28	Recap
20	November 19	@ New York Rangers	5–1	14–4–2	30	Recap
21	November 20	Minnesota North Stars	1–1	14–4–3	31	Recap
22	November 22	@ Montreal Canadiens	3–7	14–5–3	31	Recap
23	November 23	Winnipeg Jets	3–1	15–5–3	33	Recap
24	November 26	@ Los Angeles Kings	4–2	16–5–3	35	Recap
25	November 28	@ Colorado Rockies	7–4	17–5–3	37	Recap
26	November 29	@ Vancouver Canucks	3–3	17–5–4	38	Recap

December: 7–4–1, 15 points (home: 4–1–0; road: 3–3–1)

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	Record	Points	Recap
27	December 4	Chicago Black Hawks	7–5	18–5–4	40	Recap
28	December 6	@ Detroit Red Wings	2–4	18–6–4	40	Recap
29	December 7	Colorado Rockies	4–2	19–6–4	42	Recap
30	December 10	@ Chicago Black Hawks	2–2	19–6–5	43	Recap
31	December 13	@ Pittsburgh Penguins	6–5	20–6–5	45	Recap
32	December 14	St. Louis Blues	5–4	21–6–5	47	Recap
33	December 18	Colorado Rockies	2–0	22–6–5	49	Recap
34	December 20	@ Washington Capitals	5–2	23–6–5	51	Recap
35	December 21	Washington Capitals	0–6	23–7–5	51	Recap
36	December 27	@ Calgary Flames	1–2	23–8–5	51	Recap
37	December 28	@ Edmonton Oilers	2–1	24–8–5	53	Recap
38	December 30	@ Minnesota North Stars	5–6	24–9–5	53	Recap

January: 6–5–3, 15 points (home: 2–2–1; road: 4–3–2)

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	Record	Points	Recap
39	January 2	@ Winnipeg Jets	3–4	24–10–5	53	Recap
40	January 4	@ Washington Capitals	8–1	25–10–5	55	Recap
41	January 8	St. Louis Blues	5–5	25–10–6	56	Recap
42	January 10	@ Toronto Maple Leafs	4–4	25–10–7	57	Recap
43	January 11	New York Islanders	2–4	25–11–7	57	Recap
44	January 15	Quebec Nordiques	1–4	25–12–7	57	Recap
45	January 17	@ Boston Bruins	4–6	25–13–7	57	Recap
46	January 18	Los Angeles Kings	7–2	26–13–7	59	Recap
47	January 21	@ Pittsburgh Penguins	5–0	27–13–7	61	Recap
48	January 22	Minnesota North Stars	5–4	28–13–7	63	Recap
49	January 24	@ Montreal Canadiens	3–6	28–14–7	63	Recap
50	January 28	@ Buffalo Sabres	4–4	28–14–8	64	Recap
51	January 30	@ Colorado Rockies	7–4	29–14–8	66	Recap
52	January 31	@ St. Louis Blues	3–2	30–14–8	68	Recap

February: 6–5–2, 14 points (home: 2–1–2; road: 4–4–0)

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	Record	Points	Recap
53	February 5	Buffalo Sabres	0–4	30–15–8	68	Recap
54	February 7	@ Quebec Nordiques	3–5	30–16–8	68	Recap
55	February 8	Hartford Whalers	6–6	30–16–9	69	Recap
56	February 12	Vancouver Canucks	4–3	31–16–9	71	Recap
57	February 14	@ Detroit Red Wings	3–1	32–16–9	73	Recap
58	February 15	Montreal Canadiens	5–5	32–16–10	74	Recap
59	February 17	Pittsburgh Penguins	4–1	33–16–10	76	Recap
60	February 19	@ Calgary Flames	4–5	33–17–10	76	Recap
61	February 21	@ Los Angeles Kings	3–1	34–17–10	78	Recap
62	February 24	@ Vancouver Canucks	4–6	34–18–10	78	Recap
63	February 25	@ Edmonton Oilers	2–6	34–19–10	78	Recap
64	February 27	@ Winnipeg Jets	6–3	35–19–10	80	Recap
65	February 28	@ Minnesota North Stars	4–2	36–19–10	82	Recap

March: 5–4–4, 14 points (home: 4–2–2; road: 1–2–2)

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	Record	Points	Recap
66	March 5	Winnipeg Jets	10–1	37–19–10	84	Recap
67	March 7	Edmonton Oilers	3–5	37–20–10	84	Recap
68	March 8	@ Buffalo Sabres	4–8	37–21–10	84	Recap
69	March 12	Detroit Red Wings	9–4	38–21–10	86	Recap
70	March 14	@ New York Islanders	3–3	38–21–11	87	Recap
71	March 15	Toronto Maple Leafs	4–4	38–21–12	88	Recap
72	March 18	@ Chicago Black Hawks	1–5	38–22–12	88	Recap
73	March 19	Boston Bruins	5–3	39–22–12	90	Recap
74	March 21	Chicago Black Hawks	4–4	39–22–13	91	Recap
75	March 22	Calgary Flames	6–2	40–22–13	93	Recap
76	March 24	Washington Capitals	2–5	40–23–13	93	Recap
77	March 29	@ Hartford Whalers	4–1	41–23–13	95	Recap
78	March 30	@ New York Rangers	0–0	41–23–14	96	Recap

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

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	Record	Points	Recap
79	April 2	Buffalo Sabres	2–2	41–23–15	97	Recap
80	April 5	New York Rangers	0–2	41–24–15	97	Recap

Legend:

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

Playoffs

1981 Stanley Cup playoffs^[9]

Preliminary Round vs. Quebec Nordiques - Flyers win 3–2

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	Series	Recap
1	April 8	Quebec Nordiques	6–4	Flyers lead 1–0	Recap
2	April 9	Quebec Nordiques	8–5	Flyers lead 2–0	Recap
3	April 11	@ Quebec Nordiques	0–2	Flyers lead 2–1	Recap
4	April 12	@ Quebec Nordiques	3–4 OT	Series tied 2–2	Recap
5	April 14	Quebec Nordiques	5–2	Flyers win 3–2	Recap

Quarterfinals vs. Calgary Flames – Flames win 4–3

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	Series	Recap
1	April 16	Calgary Flames	4–0	Flyers lead 1–0	Recap
2	April 17	Calgary Flames	4–5	Series tied 1–1	Recap
3	April 19	@ Calgary Flames	1–2	Flames lead 2–1	Recap
4	April 20	@ Calgary Flames	4–5	Flames lead 3–1	Recap
5	April 22	Calgary Flames	9–4	Flames lead 3–2	Recap
6	April 24	@ Calgary Flames	3–2	Series tied 3–3	Recap
7	April 26	Calgary Flames	1–4	Flames win 4–3	Recap

Legend:

Win Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
† = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

			Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
7	Bill Barber	LW	80	43	42	85	6	69	12	11	5	16	7	0
19	Rick MacLeish	LW	78	38	36	74	22	25	12	5	5	10	−1	0
27	Reggie Leach	RW	79	34	36	70	21	59	9	0	0	0	1	2
26	Brian Propp	LW	79	26	40	66	27	110	12	6	6	12	6	32
16^[b]	Bobby Clarke	C	80	19	46	65	17	140	12	3	3	6	3	6
3	Behn Wilson	D	77	16	47	63	39	237	12	2	10	12	7	36
17	Paul Holmgren	RW	77	22	37	59	12	306	12	5	9	14	6	49
10	Mel Bridgman	C	77	14	37	51	28	195	12	2	4	6	−1	39
14	Ken Linseman	C	51	17	30	47	9	150	12	4	16	20	10	67
12	Tim Kerr	C/RW	68	22	23	45	3	84	10	1	3	4	2	2
22	Tom Gorence	RW	79	24	18	42	17	46	12	3	2	5	2	29
2	Bob Dailey	D	53	7	27	34	8	141	7	0	1	1	0	18
15	Al Hill	LW	57	10	15	25	11	45	12	2	4	6	−1	18
24	Terry Murray	D	71	1	17	18	46	53	12	2	1	3	4	10
21	Gary Morrison	RW	33	1	13	14	10	68	—	—	—	—	—	—
8	Thomas Eriksson	D	24	1	10	11	4	14	7	0	2	2	1	6
6	Blake Wesley	D	50	3	7	10	13	107	—	—	—	—	—	—
11	Ron Flockhart	C	14	3	7	10	6	11	3	1	0	1	0	2
29^[c]	Glen Cochrane	D	31	1	8	9	3	219	6	1	1	2	6	18
18	Yves Preston	LW	19	4	2	6	1	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	Mike Busniuk	D	72	1	5	6	27	204	6	0	1	1	5	11
20	Jimmy Watson	D	18	2	2	4	14	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
9^[d]	Reid Bailey	D	17	1	3	4	8	55	12	0	2	2	0	23
25^[e]	Greg Adams	LW	6	3	0	3	0	8	—	—	—	—	—	—
5	Frank Bathe	D	44	0	3	3	−3	175	12	0	3	3	−2	16
25	Norm Barnes‡	D	22	0	3	3	−3	18	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Pete Peeters	G	40	0	1	1		8	3	0	0	0		19
30	Rick St. Croix	G	27	0	1	1		0	9	0	0	0		2
31	Phil Myre‡	G	16	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Jack McIlhargey‡	D	3	0	0	0	2	22	—	—	—	—	—	—
23	Paul Evans	C	1	0	0	0	0	2	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

† = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

		Regular season											Playoffs
No.	Player	GP	GS	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	GS	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
33	Pete Peeters	40	39	22	15	5	1115	115	2.97	.897	2	2,324:13	3	3	2	1	65	12	4.03	.815	0	178:32
30	Rick St. Croix	27	26	13	7	6	746	65	2.50	.913	2	1,563:05	9	9	4	5	250	27	3.01	.892	1	537:26
31	Phil Myre‡	16	15	6	5	4	450	61	4.08	.864	0	898:06	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL second All-Star team	Bill Barber (Left wing)	^[10]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Bill Barber	^[11]
		Bob Dailey
		Paul Holmgren
		Pete Peeters
		Pat Quinn (Coach)
		Behn Wilson
Team	Barry Ashbee Trophy	Bob Dailey	^[12]
Team	Class Guy Award	Bill Barber	^[12]

Records

Among the team records set during the 1980–81 season was Bobby Clarke tying the team record for goals in a single period (3) on December 13.^[13] The team's 2,621 penalty minutes during the regular season is a franchise record.^[14] During their preliminary round series against the Quebec Nordiques, the two shorthanded goals scored during game two tied a team record.^[15] Seven seconds into game four Terry Murray scored the fastest goal from the start of a playoff game in team history.^[16]

A number of team records were set or tied during game four of their quarterfinal series against the Calgary Flames, most notably setting a team record for most goals during a playoff game (9).^[17] Their five goals during the first period (5) is also tied for the team record.^[18] Ken Linseman tied team records for most assists in a playoff game (4) and period (3).^[19]^[20] Their 9–4 victory in the game ended a team record seven game playoff road losing streak dating back to May 17, 1980.^[21]

Milestones

Individual career milestones^[22]
Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
1000th point	Bobby Clarke	March 19, 1981^[f]	^[23]

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 25, 1980, the day after the deciding game of the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 21, 1981, the day of the deciding game of the 1981 Stanley Cup Finals.^[24]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 11, 1980	To Philadelphia Flyers Ron Areshenkoff 10th-round pick in 1980	To Edmonton Oilers Barry Dean	^[25]
August 11, 1980	To Philadelphia Flyers Cash	To Quebec Nordiques John Paddock	^[26]
August 21, 1980	To Philadelphia Flyers 3rd-round pick in 1982	To Washington Capitals Bob Kelly	^[27]
September 15, 1980	To Philadelphia Flyers 7th-round pick in 1981 Cash	To Quebec Nordiques André Dupont	^[28]
November 21, 1980	To Philadelphia Flyers 2nd-round pick in 1982	To Hartford Whalers Norm Barnes Jack McIlhargey	^[29]
January 6, 1981	To Philadelphia Flyers	To Wichita Wind (CHL) Loan of Yves Preston	^[30]
February 26, 1981	To Philadelphia Flyers Cash	To Colorado Rockies Phil Myre	^[31]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Via	Ref
July 2, 1980 (1980-07-02)	Ron Flockhart	Regina Pats (WCHL)	Free agency	^[32]
February 17, 1981 (1981-02-17)	Ilkka Sinisalo	HIFK (Liiga)	Free agency^[g]	^[33]
March 6, 1981 (1981-03-06)	Dave Logan	Vancouver Canucks	Free agency	^[34]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via	Ref
N/A	Dave Gardner	HC Ambri-Piotta (NLB)	Free agency	^[35]
October 6, 1980 (1980-10-06)	Dennis Ververgaert	Washington Capitals	Free agency	^[36]
October 1980 (1980-10)	Danny Lucas	Colorado Rockies^[h]	Buyout	^[37]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Ref
May 28, 1980 (1980-05-28)	Thomas Eriksson	3-year	^[38]
May 28, 1980 (1980-05-28)	Pelle Lindbergh	3-year	^[38]
June 6, 1980 (1980-06-06)	Mark Taylor		^[39]

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, on June 11, 1980.^[40]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	Notes
1	21	Mike Stothers	Defense	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHA)
2	42	Jay Fraser	Left wing	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHA)
3	63	Paul Mercier	Defense	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHA)
4	84	Taras Zytynsky	Defense	Canada	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
5	105	Dan Held	Forward	Canada	Seattle Breakers (WHL)
6	126	Brian Tutt	Defense	Canada	Calgary Wranglers (WHL)
7	147	Ross Fitzpatrick	Forward	Canada	Western Michigan University (CCHA)
8	168	Mark Botell	Defense	Canada	Brantford Alexanders (OHA)
9	189	Peter Dineen	Defense	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHA)
10	195	Bob O'Brien	Right wing	Canada	Dixie Beehives (OPJHL)	^[i]
10	210	Andy Brickley	Left wing	United States	University of New Hampshire (HE)

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Maine Mariners of the AHL^[42]^[43] and the Toledo Goaldiggers of the IHL.^[44]

Notes

References

General

"Philadelphia Flyers 1980–81 roster and statistics". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
"1980–81 Philadelphia Flyers Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
"Flyers History - Season Overview : 1980–81". Flyers History. FlyersAlumni.net. Retrieved February 10, 2022.

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Search

1980–81 Philadelphia Flyers season

Contents

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

Playoffs

Schedule and results

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Scoring

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Milestones

Transactions

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Draft picks

Farm teams

Notes

References