1981–82 Washington Capitals season

1981–82 Washington Capitals
1981–82 Washington Capitals
Division	5th Patrick
Conference	9th Wales
1981–82 record	26–41–13
Home record	16–16–8
Road record	10–25–5
Goals for	319
Goals against	338
Team information
General manager	Max McNab; Roger Crozier
Coach	Gary Green; Roger Crozier; Bryan Murray
Captain	Ryan Walter
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Capital Centre
Team leaders
Goals	Dennis Maruk (60)
Assists	Dennis Maruk (76)
Points	Dennis Maruk (136)
Penalty minutes	Randy Holt (250)
Plus/minus	Lee Norwood (+7)
Wins	Dave Parro (16)
Goals against average	Al Jensen (3.82)

The 1981–82 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals eighth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals did not qualify for the playoffs for the eighth straight year.

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Patrick Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
New York Islanders	80	54	16	10	385	250	118
New York Rangers	80	39	27	14	316	306	92
Philadelphia Flyers	80	38	31	11	325	313	87
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	31	36	13	310	337	75
	80	26	41	13	319	338	65

^[1]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. Wales Conference

Vs. Patrick Division

1981–82 NHL records^[2]
Team	NYI	NYR	PHI	PIT	WSH	Total
N.Y. Islanders	—	6−2	6−1−1	6−2	7−0−1	25−5−2
N.Y. Rangers	2−6	—	4−2−2	4−3−1	3−2−3	13−13−6
Philadelphia	1−6−1	2−4−2	—	5−2−1	3−4−1	11−16−5
Pittsburgh	2−6	3−4−1	2–5–1	—	5−2−1	12−17−3
	0−7−1	2−3−3	4–3–1	2–5–1	—	8−18−6

Vs. Adams Division

1981–82 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	HFD	MTL	QUE	Total
N.Y. Islanders	1−2	1−2	2−0−1	2−1	1−1−1	7−6−2
N.Y. Rangers	1−2	2−0−1	1−1−1	1−2	1−1−1	6−6−3
Philadelphia	2−1	2−1	3−0	1−2	1−1−1	9−5−1
Pittsburgh	1−1−1	1−2	2−0−1	1−2	3−0	8−5−2
	0−3	0−3	2−1	2−1	0−2−1	4−10−1

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Norris Division

1981–82 NHL records
Team	CHI	DET	MIN	STL	TOR	WIN	Total
N.Y. Islanders	3−0	3−0	2−0−1	2−0−1	3−0	2−1	15−1−2
N.Y. Rangers	3−0	2−1	2−1	2−0−1	1−1−1	1−1−1	11−4−3
Philadelphia	1−1−1	2−0−1	1−1−1	3−0	2−1	1−2	10−5−3
Pittsburgh	0−1−2	1−2	1−2	1−2	0−1−2	2−1	5−9−4
	1−2	1−0−2	0−2−1	2−1	2−1	2−1	8−7−3

Vs. Smythe Division

1981–82 NHL records
Team	CGY	COL	EDM	LAK	VAN	Total
N.Y. Islanders	1−0−2	2−0−1	1−1−1	1−2	2−1	7−4−4
N.Y. Rangers	2−0−1	2−0−1	0−3	2−1	3−0	9−4−2
Philadelphia	3−0	2−1	1−2	2−0−1	0−2−1	8−5−2
Pittsburgh	0−1−2	3−0	0−3	1−1−1	2−0−1	6−5−4
	3−0	1−2	0−2−1	1−1−1	1−1−1	6−6−3

Schedule and results

1981–82 regular season^[3]

October

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 7, 1981	3–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1981–82)	0–1–0
2	W	October 10, 1981	6–3	Detroit Red Wings (1981–82)	1–1–0
3	L	October 11, 1981	3–6	@ Boston Bruins (1981–82)	1–2–0
4	L	October 14, 1981	4–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82)	1–3–0
5	L	October 15, 1981	2–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82)	1–4–0
6	L	October 17, 1981	2–4	Buffalo Sabres (1981–82)	1–5–0
7	L	October 21, 1981	3–6	Quebec Nordiques (1981–82)	1–6–0
8	L	October 23, 1981	2–4	New York Islanders (1981–82)	1–7–0
9	L	October 24, 1981	4–6	@ New York Islanders (1981–82)	1–8–0
10	L	October 28, 1981	0–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1981–82)	1–9–0
11	L	October 29, 1981	3–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1981–82)	1–10–0
12	L	October 31, 1981	4–6	@ Colorado Rockies (1981–82)	1–11–0

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
13	L	November 4, 1981	1–6	Minnesota North Stars (1981–82)	1–12–0
14	L	November 7, 1981	1–3	New York Rangers (1981–82)	1–13–0
15	L	November 11, 1981	2–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82)	1–14–0
16	T	November 13, 1981	3–3	Detroit Red Wings (1981–82)	1–14–1
17	W	November 14, 1981	4–0	@ Hartford Whalers (1981–82)	2–14–1
18	W	November 18, 1981	7–1	Colorado Rockies (1981–82)	3–14–1
19	W	November 21, 1981	10–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82)	4–14–1
20	W	November 22, 1981	3–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82)	5–14–1
21	T	November 25, 1981	4–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1981–82)	5–14–2
22	W	November 27, 1981	5–2	Montreal Canadiens (1981–82)	6–14–2
23	L	November 28, 1981	2–6	@ Hartford Whalers (1981–82)	6–15–2

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
24	W	December 2, 1981	9–3	Calgary Flames (1981–82)	7–15–2
25	W	December 4, 1981	7–3	Winnipeg Jets (1981–82)	8–15–2
26	L	December 5, 1981	4–9	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82)	8–16–2
27	L	December 9, 1981	3–7	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82)	8–17–2
28	W	December 11, 1981	11–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82)	9–17–2
29	L	December 12, 1981	4–7	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82)	9–18–2
30	L	December 14, 1981	3–6	@ Montreal Canadiens (1981–82)	9–19–2
31	L	December 17, 1981	1–4	@ New York Islanders (1981–82)	9–20–2
32	L	December 19, 1981	4–6	Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82)	9–21–2
33	W	December 20, 1981	3–2	@ New York Rangers (1981–82)	10–21–2
34	L	December 23, 1981	4–7	Boston Bruins (1981–82)	10–22–2
35	T	December 26, 1981	4–4	New York Rangers (1981–82)	10–22–3
36	L	December 27, 1981	2–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1981–82)	10–23–3
37	L	December 30, 1981	2–6	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82)	10–24–3

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
38	W	January 2, 1982	5–2	Vancouver Canucks (1981–82)	11–24–3
39	W	January 3, 1982	4–3	@ New York Rangers (1981–82)	12–24–3
40	L	January 5, 1982	0–3	@ Quebec Nordiques (1981–82)	12–25–3
41	T	January 7, 1982	3–3	Los Angeles Kings (1981–82)	12–25–4
42	L	January 9, 1982	4–7	@ St. Louis Blues (1981–82)	12–26–4
43	T	January 13, 1982	6–6	Edmonton Oilers (1981–82)	12–26–5
44	T	January 16, 1982	5–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1981–82)	12–26–6
45	T	January 17, 1982	2–2	New York Islanders (1981–82)	12–26–7
46	L	January 20, 1982	0–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1981–82)	12–27–7
47	L	January 23, 1982	1–3	@ Boston Bruins (1981–82)	12–28–7
48	T	January 24, 1982	4–4	@ New York Rangers (1981–82)	12–28–8
49	L	January 27, 1982	4–5	New York Rangers (1981–82)	12–29–8
50	W	January 30, 1982	5–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82)	13–29–8
51	W	January 31, 1982	8–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82)	14–29–8

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
52	L	February 2, 1982	6–7	@ New York Islanders (1981–82)	14–30–8
53	L	February 4, 1982	2–5	New York Islanders (1981–82)	14–31–8
54	W	February 6, 1982	6–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82)	15–31–8
55	T	February 7, 1982	5–5	Quebec Nordiques (1981–82)	15–31–9
56	W	February 11, 1982	5–3	@ Calgary Flames (1981–82)	16–31–9
57	L	February 12, 1982	3–5	@ Edmonton Oilers (1981–82)	16–32–9
58	L	February 14, 1982	3–5	@ Colorado Rockies (1981–82)	16–33–9
59	W	February 17, 1982	5–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1981–82)	17–33–9
60	L	February 20, 1982	3–7	@ Minnesota North Stars (1981–82)	17–34–9
61	W	February 21, 1982	6–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1981–82)	18–34–9
62	W	February 25, 1982	9–1	St. Louis Blues (1981–82)	19–34–9
63	W	February 27, 1982	7–1	Hartford Whalers (1981–82)	20–34–9
64	L	February 28, 1982	1–4	Edmonton Oilers (1981–82)	20–35–9

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
65	W	March 3, 1982	8–4	St. Louis Blues (1981–82)	21–35–9
66	W	March 5, 1982	8–6	Calgary Flames (1981–82)	22–35–9
67	L	March 7, 1982	1–7	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82)	22–36–9
68	L	March 10, 1982	2–7	Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82)	22–37–9
69	W	March 13, 1982	6–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82)	23–37–9
70	T	March 14, 1982	5–5	@ New York Rangers (1981–82)	23–37–10
71	T	March 17, 1982	6–6	Vancouver Canucks (1981–82)	23–37–11
72	L	March 20, 1982	3–4	New York Rangers (1981–82)	23–38–11
73	L	March 21, 1982	2–3	New York Islanders (1981–82)	23–39–11
74	L	March 23, 1982	1–8	@ New York Islanders (1981–82)	23–40–11
75	W	March 25, 1982	4–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82)	24–40–11
76	T	March 27, 1982	4–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82)	24–40–12
77	L	March 28, 1982	5–6	Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82)	24–41–12
78	T	March 31, 1982	4–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82)	24–41–13

April

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
79	W	April 3, 1982	6–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82)	25–41–13
80	W	April 4, 1982	3–1	Montreal Canadiens (1981–82)	26–41–13

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

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Dennis Maruk	C	80	60	76	136	128	-4	20	2	1
Ryan Walter	C/LW	78	38	49	87	142	-3	19	1	3
Mike Gartner	RW	80	35	45	80	121	-11	5	2	5
Bobby Carpenter	C	80	32	35	67	69	-23	7	1	3
Chris Valentine	C	60	30	37	67	92	-15	18	0	5
Bengt-Ake Gustafsson	RW	70	26	34	60	40	-20	3	0	2
Darren Veitch	D	67	9	44	53	54	-17	5	0	1
Greg Theberge	D	57	5	32	37	49	-8	2	0	0
Bobby Gould	RW	60	18	13	31	69	-3	1	0	1
Rick Green	D	65	3	25	28	93	-12	1	0	0
Terry Murray	D	74	3	22	25	60	-14	0	0	0
Gaetan Duchesne	LW	74	9	14	23	46	-6	0	0	1
Torrie Robertson	LW	54	8	13	21	204	-1	3	0	0
Lee Norwood	D	26	7	10	17	125	7	3	0	1
Tim Tookey	C	28	8	8	16	35	-9	5	0	0
Glen Currie	C	43	7	7	14	14	-2	0	1	0
Wes Jarvis	C	26	1	12	13	18	5	0	0	0
Lou Franceschetti	RW	30	2	10	12	23	-4	0	0	1
Timo Blomqvist	D	44	1	11	12	62	-17	0	0	0
Paul MacKinnon	D	39	2	9	11	35	-10	0	0	0
Randy Holt	D	53	2	6	8	250	-7	0	0	0
Jim McTaggart	D	19	2	4	6	20	-2	0	1	1
Tony Cassolato	RW	12	1	4	5	4	1	0	0	0
Roland Stoltz	RW	14	2	2	4	14	-3	0	0	0
Bob Kelly	LW	16	0	4	4	12	-12	0	0	0
Todd Bidner	LW	12	2	1	3	7	0	0	0	1
Jean Pronovost	RW	10	1	2	3	4	-7	0	0	0
Pat Ribble	D	12	1	2	3	14	-4	0	0	0
Alan Hangsleben	D	17	1	1	2	19	-3	0	0	0
Tom Rowe	RW	6	1	1	2	18	0	0	0	0
Al Jensen	G	26	0	2	2	6	0	0	0	0
Howard Walker	D	16	0	2	2	26	-9	0	0	0
Orest Kindrachuk	C	4	1	0	1	2	-4	1	0	0
Mike Siltala	RW	3	1	0	1	2	-1	0	0	0
Doug Hicks	D	12	0	1	1	11	-7	0	0	0
Mike Palmateer	G	11	0	1	1	6	0	0	0	0
Dave Parro	G	52	0	1	1	4	0	0	0	0
Pierre Bouchard	D	1	0	0	0	10	-2	0	0	0
Eric Calder	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tony Camazzola	D	3	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0
Jay Johnston	D	6	0	0	0	4	-2	0	0	0
Jim McGeough	C	4	0	0	0	0	-2	0	0	0
Harvie Pocza	LW	2	0	0	0	2	-2	0	0	0
Errol Rausse	LW	2	0	0	0	0	-2	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Dave Parro	2942	52	16	26	7	206	4.20	1
Al Jensen	1274	26	8	8	4	81	3.81	0
Mike Palmateer	584	11	2	7	2	47	4.83	0
Team:	4800	80	26	41	13	334	4.17	1

^[4]

Note: 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;

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 1981 NHL entry draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	3	Bobby Carpenter	United States	St. John's School (USHS-MA)
3	45	Eric Calder	Canada	Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
4	68	Tony Kellin	United States	Grand Rapids High School (USHS-MN)
5	89	Mike Siltala	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OMJHL)
5	91	Peter Sidorkiewicz	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)
6	110	Jim McGeough	Canada	Billings Bighorns (WHL)
7	131	Risto Jalo	Finland	Ilves (Finland)
8	152	Gaetan Duchesne	Canada	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
9	173	George White	United States	University of New Hampshire (ECAC)
10	194	Chris Valentine	Canada	Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL)

References

^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
^ "1981-82 Washington Capitals Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
^ "1981-82 Washington Capitals Statistics – Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.

[nhl-gd-standings-1] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.

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

[Gamelog-3] "1981-82 Washington Capitals Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 22, 2025.

[4] "1981-82 Washington Capitals Statistics – Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Washington Capitals
Founded in 1974 Based in Washington, D.C.
Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks expansion draft Seasons Current season
History	Records Award winners Retired numbers Broadcasters
Personnel	Owner(s) Monumental Sports & Entertainment (Ted Leonsis) General manager Chris Patrick Head coach Spencer Carbery Team captain Alexander Ovechkin Current roster
Arenas	Capital Centre Capital One Arena
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Culture and lore	Abe Pollin Easter Epic Slapshot MedStar Capitals Iceplex "Let's Go Caps!" 2011 Winter Classic 2015 Winter Classic 2018 Stadium Series 2023 Stadium Series 2023 Big City Greens Classic
Category Commons

Washington Capitals seasons
1970s	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

1981–82 NHL season
Patrick	NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Pittsburgh
Adams	Boston Buffalo Hartford Montreal Quebec
Norris	Chicago Detroit Minnesota St. Louis Toronto Winnipeg
Smythe	Calgary Colorado Edmonton Los Angeles Vancouver
See also	Draft Waiver draft All-Star Game Stanley Cup playoffs Miracle on Manchester Towel Power Stanley Cup Finals

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference

Schedule and results

Player statistics

Regular season

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

See also

References