1979–80 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1979–80 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their 13th in the National Hockey League.

1979–80 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	3rd Norris
Conference	7th Wales
1979–80 record	30-37-13
Goals for	251
Goals against	303
Team information
General manager	Baz Bastien
Coach	Johnny Wilson
Captain	Orest Kindrachuk
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Rick Kehoe (30)
Assists	Greg Malone (32)
Points	Rick Kehoe (60)
Penalty minutes	Kim Clackson (166)
Wins	Greg Millen (18)
Goals against average	Nick Ricci (3.50)

Regular season

The Penguins changed their team colors from two-tone blue to Black and Gold in January. This move was done in part to honor the other two professional teams in Pittsburgh (the Steelers and Pirates) both of whom won their respective championships in 1979. The Boston Bruins initially challenged the change in colors as the new scheme closely matched their own. However, as the original NHL franchise in Pittsburgh, the Pirates, had nearly the same colors from their inception while the Bruins wore brown and yellow sweaters, NHL president John Ziegler Jr. eventually denied the Bruins claim. The new Pittsburgh jerseys were debuted on January 30 against the visiting St. Louis Blues.

Division standings

Norris Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	80	47	20	13	328	240	107
Los Angeles Kings	80	30	36	14	290	313	74
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	30	37	13	251	303	73
Hartford Whalers	80	27	34	19	303	312	73
Detroit Red Wings	80	26	43	11	268	306	63

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

Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Norris Division 1979–80 NHL records Team DET HFD LAK MTL PIT Total Detroit — 1–2–1 0–3–1 0–3–1 2–2 3–10–3 Hartford 2–1–1 — 2–1–1 0–1–3 2–1–1 6–4–6 Los Angeles 3–0–1 1–2–1 — 0–4 1–1–2 5–7–4 Montreal 3–0–1 1–0–3 4–0 — 2–1–1 10–1–5 Pittsburgh 2–2 1–2–1 1–1–2 1–2–1 — 5–7–4 Vs. Adams Division 1979–80 NHL records Team BOS BUF MIN QUE TOR Total Detroit 1–2–1 1–3 2–1–1 2–1–1 0–4 6–11–3 Hartford 1–2–1 1–3 0–4 1–1–2 2–2 5–12–3 Los Angeles 1–2–1 0–3–1 2–0–2 3–1 3–0–1 9–6–5 Montreal 3–1 1–1–2 3–1 2–1–1 3–1 12–5–3 Pittsburgh 2–2 0–4 1–3 2–2 2–2 7–13–0 Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Patrick Division 1979–80 NHL records Team ATL NYI NYR PHI WSH Total Detroit 1–2–1 3–1 1–3 0–3–1 2–1–1 7–10–3 Hartford 3–1 1–3 1–2–1 0–2–2 1–2–1 6–10–4 Los Angeles 1–2–1 1–2–1 1–3 0–4 1–3 4–14–2 Montreal 3–0–1 0–3–1 3–0–1 2–1–1 2–1–1 10–5–5 Pittsburgh 2–1–1 1–0–3 2–2 0–3–1 3–1 8–7–5 Vs. Smythe Division 1979–80 NHL records Team CHI COL EDM STL VAN WIN Total Detroit 1−3 1−3 2−1–1 1−2−1 2−2 3−1 10−12−2 Hartford 1–1–2 2−1−1 2–1–1 2–2 1−1−2 2−2 10−8−6 Los Angeles 3−0−1 4−0 1−2−1 1−3 2−2 1−2−1 12−9−3 Montreal 2−2 3−1 3−1 2−2 2−2 3−1 15−9−0 Pittsburgh 0−2–2 2−2 1−3 1−2–1 2−1–1 4−0 10−10−4

Schedule and results

1979–80 Schedule
October: 4–4–1 (home: 3–1–1 ; road: 1–3–0), 9 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 1 Oct 10 Winnipeg Jets 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,752) 1–0–0 2 2 Oct 13 Hartford Whalers 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,623) 1–0–1 3 3 Oct 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 Boston Bruins Boston Garden (9,494) 2–0–1 5 4 Oct 17 Los Angeles Kings 5–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (4,815) 2–1–1 5 5 Oct 20 Washington Capitals 1–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (7,629) 3–1–1 7 6 Oct 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) (17,425) 3–2–1 7 7 Oct 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–7 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (16,433) 3–3–1 7 8 Oct 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–8 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum (15,969) 3–4–1 7 9 Oct 31 Colorado Rockies 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (4,173) 4–4–1 9
November: 5–4–3 (home: 3–1–2 ; road: 2–3–1), 13 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 10 Nov 3 Atlanta Flames 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,543) 4–4–2 10 11 Nov 7 Montreal Canadiens 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (9,064) 4–4–3 11 12 Nov 10 Boston Bruins 6–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (12,208) 4–5–3 11 13 Nov 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) (17,419) 5–5–3 13 14 Nov 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Los Angeles Kings The Forum (7,698) 5–5–4 14 15 Nov 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–5 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum (15,127) 5–6–4 14 16 Nov 18 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena (12,668) 6–6–4 16 17 Nov 21 St. Louis Blues 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (11,547) 7–6–4 18 18 Nov 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 Atlanta Flames Omni Coliseum (13,081) 7–7–4 18 19 Nov 24 New York Rangers 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (11,629) 8–7–4 20 20 Nov 28 Quebec Nordiques 2–7 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,396) 9–7–4 22 21 Nov 30 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–7 Hartford Whalers Springfield Civic Center (7,627) 9–8–4 22
December: 5–3–7 (home: 3–1–3 ; road: 2–2–4), 17 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 22 Dec 1 Colorado Rockies 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (12,051) 10–8–4 24 23 Dec 5 Vancouver Canucks 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (7,511) 10–8–5 25 24 Dec 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3 Washington Capitals Capital Centre (7,652) 11–8–5 27 25 Dec 8 Chicago Black Hawks 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (10,284) 11–8–6 28 26 Dec 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 St. Louis Blues The Checkerdome (8,605) 11–8–7 29 27 Dec 12 New York Islanders 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,036) 11–8–8 30 28 Dec 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (14,995) 11–8–9 31 29 Dec 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 Quebec Nordiques Quebec Coliseum (10,279) 11–9–9 31 30 Dec 19 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–0 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium (8,215) 11–9–10 32 31 Dec 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum (17,077) 11–9–11 33 32 Dec 22 New York Rangers 4–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (11,587) 11–10–11 33 33 Dec 26 Detroit Red Wings 4–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (11,243) 12–10–11 35 34 Dec 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 Atlanta Flames Omni Coliseum (9,133) 13–10–11 37 35 Dec 29 Atlanta Flames 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (10,416) 14–10–11 39 36 Dec 31 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Minnesota North Stars Met Center (11,475) 14–11–11 39
January: 5–10–0 (home: 3–5–0 ; road: 2–5–0), 10 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 37 Jan 2 Montreal Canadiens 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (13,309) 15–11–11 41 38 Jan 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–3 New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (14,580) 16–11–11 43 39 Jan 5 Buffalo Sabres 5–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (15,583) 16–12–11 43 40 Jan 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–9 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens (16,485) 16–13–11 43 41 Jan 9 Vancouver Canucks 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,784) 17–13–11 45 42 Jan 12 Chicago Black Hawks 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (13,825) 17–14–11 45 43 Jan 16 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (9,002) 18–14–11 47 44 Jan 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–7 Hartford Whalers Springfield Civic Center (7,627) 18–15–11 47 45 Jan 19 Edmonton Oilers 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (12,896) 18–16–11 47 46 Jan 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Edmonton Oilers Northlands Coliseum (15,423) 18–17–11 47 47 Jan 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 Colorado Rockies McNichols Sports Arena (7,615) 18–18–11 47 48 Jan 26 Boston Bruins 6–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (16,033) 18–19–11 47 49 Jan 27 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3 Boston Bruins Boston Garden (13,131) 19–19–11 49 50 Jan 30 St. Louis Blues 4–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (12,345) 19–20–11 49 51 Jan 31 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena (14,432) 19–21–11 49
February: 4–7–0 (home: 3–2–0 ; road: 1–5–0), 8 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 52 Feb 2 Philadelphia Flyers 4–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (16,033) 19–22–11 49 53 Feb 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–9 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (16,433) 19–23–11 49 54 Feb 9 Minnesota North Stars 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (13,011) 19–24–11 49 55 Feb 10 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium (12,272) 19–25–11 49 56 Feb 13 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens (16,485) 20–25–11 51 57 Feb 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–8 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum (17,075) 20–26–11 51 58 Feb 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–6 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum (17,077) 20–27–11 51 59 Feb 20 Detroit Red Wings 5–7 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,077) 21–27–11 53 60 Feb 23 Quebec Nordiques 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (14,116) 22–27–11 55 61 Feb 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–2 Quebec Nordiques Quebec Coliseum (10,227) 22–28–11 55 62 Feb 27 Winnipeg Jets 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,977) 23–28–11 57
March: 6–7–2 (home: 4–2–1 ; road: 2–5–1), 14 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 63 Mar 2 New York Islanders 0–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (14,879) 23–28–12 58 64 Mar 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–5 St. Louis Blues The Checkerdome (12,752) 23–29–12 58 65 Mar 5 Toronto Maple Leafs 5–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,925) 23–30–12 58 66 Mar 8 Edmonton Oilers 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (10,660) 24–30–12 60 67 Mar 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–6 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena (12,819) 24–31–12 60 68 Mar 11 Philadelphia Flyers 4–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (9,972) 24–32–12 60 69 Mar 12 Los Angeles Kings 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (9,294) 25–32–12 62 70 Mar 15 Minnesota North Stars 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (10,426) 26–32–12 64 71 Mar 18 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Minnesota North Stars Met Center (10,797) 26–33–12 64 72 Mar 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–9 Edmonton Oilers Northlands Coliseum (15,423) 26–34–12 64 73 Mar 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena (12,377) 27–34–12 66 74 Mar 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum (12,998) 28–34–12 68 75 Mar 27 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–2 Los Angeles Kings The Forum (9,781) 28–34–13 69 76 Mar 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–5 Colorado Rockies McNichols Sports Arena (11,610) 28–35–13 69 77 Mar 30 Washington Capitals 0–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (9,638) 29–35–13 71
April: 1–2–0 (home: 1–1–0 ; road: 0–1–0), 2 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 78 Apr 1 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–6 Washington Capitals Capital Centre (15,821) 29–36–13 71 79 Apr 2 Hartford Whalers 4–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (11,491) 30–36–13 73 80 Apr 5 Buffalo Sabres 9–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (12,397) 30–37–13 73
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie

Playoffs

Preliminary round vs. Boston

April 8	Pittsburgh Penguins		4–2		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No Scoring
Mark Johnson (1) – pp – 08:25 Gary McAdam (1) – 14:47		Second period			No Scoring
Mark Johnson (2) – 03:10 Gregg Sheppard (1) – en – 19:24		Third period			13:44 – pp – Terry O'Reilly (1) 18:47 – Craig MacTavish (1)
Greg Millen 36 saves / 38 shots		Goalie stats			Gerry Cheevers 18 saves / 22 shots

April 10	Pittsburgh Penguins		1–4		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No Scoring
No Scoring		Second period			01:42 – Rick Middleton (1) 10:38 – Don Marcotte (1) 11:41 – Brad Park (1)
Rod Schutt (1) – 12:16		Third period			11:15 – Wayne Cashman (1)
Greg Millen 38 saves / 42 shots		Goalie stats			Gerry Cheevers 16 saves / 17 shots

April 12	Boston Bruins		1–4		Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			13:28 – Ross Lonsberry (1)
No Scoring		Second period			01:17 – Ross Lonsberry (2) 16:37 – Randy Carlyle (1)
Rick Middleton (2) – 03:48		Third period			13:51 – Rod Schutt (2)
Gerry Cheevers 24 saves / 28 shots		Goalie stats			Greg Millen 19 saves / 20 shots

April 13	Boston Bruins		8–3		Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena	Recap
Peter McNab (1) – 05:13 Rick Middleton (3) – 06:42 Ray Bourque (1) – 13:26 Peter McNab (2) – pp – 16:00 Craig MacTavish (2) – 18:09		First period			No Scoring
Bob Miller (1) – sh – 06:31 Dwight Foster (1) – sh – 10:08		Second period			No Scoring
Dwight Foster 2 – 16:45		Third period			06:43 – pp – Rick Kehoe (1) 14:40 – pp – Ron Stackhouse (1) 14:47 – pp – Rick Kehoe (2)
Gerry Cheevers 23 saves / 26 shots		Goalie stats			Greg Millen 21 saves / 29 shots

April 14	Pittsburgh Penguins		2–6		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No Scoring		First period			03:49 – Peter McNab (3) 04:57 – Bob Miller (2)
No Scoring		Second period			05:22 – Dwight Foster (3) 10:20 – pp – Wayne Cashman (2)
Bob Stewart (1) – 03:18 Nick Libett (1) – pp – 16:10		Third period			06:25 – pp – Terry O'Reilly (2) 14:22 – Brad Park (2)
Greg Millen 24 saves / 30 shots		Goalie stats			Gerry Cheevers 22 saves / 24 shots

Boston won series 3–2

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Rick Kehoe	79	30	30	60	–3	4
Greg Malone	51	19	32	51	4	46
George Ferguson	73	21	28	49	0	36
Orest Kindrachuk	52	17	29	46	4	63
Peter Lee	74	16	29	45	–13	20
Gary McAdam	78	19	22	41	–17	63
Rod Schutt	73	18	21	39	–8	43
Gregg Sheppard	76	13	24	37	–22	20
Randy Carlyle	67	8	28	36	–23	45
Ross Lonsberry	76	15	18	33	–4	36
Ron Stackhouse	78	6	27	33	16	36
Pat Hughes	76	18	14	32	–38	78
Russ Anderson	76	5	22	27	11	150
Nick Libett	78	14	12	26	–19	14
Paul Marshall	46	9	12	21	–2	9
Mario Faubert	49	5	13	18	–19	31
Dale Tallon	32	5	9	14	–4	18
Kim Davis	24	3	7	10	–7	43
Bob Stewart†	65	3	7	10	–27	52
Tom Bladon	57	2	6	8	–25	35
Mark Johnson	17	3	5	8	–4	4
Kim Clackson	45	0	3	3	–8	166
Jim Hamilton	10	2	0	2	–6	0
Blair Chapman‡	1	0	0	0	0	0
Total		251	398	649	–	1,012

Playoffs

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Rick Kehoe	5	2	5	7	0	0
Mark Johnson	5	2	2	4	0	0
Ross Lonsberry	5	2	1	3	0	2
George Ferguson	5	0	3	3	0	4
Gary McAdam	5	1	2	3	0	9
Rod Schutt	5	2	1	3	0	6
Bob Stewart	5	1	1	2	0	2
Russ Anderson	5	0	2	2	0	14
Nick Libett	5	1	1	2	0	0
Gregg Sheppard	5	1	1	2	0	0
Peter Lee	4	0	1	1	0	0
Tom Bladon	1	0	1	1	0	0
Ron Stackhouse	5	1	0	1	0	18
Mario Faubert	2	0	1	1	0	0
Randy Carlyle	5	1	0	1	0	4
Dale Tallon	4	0	0	0	0	4
Kim Clackson	3	0	0	0	0	37
Pat Hughes	5	0	0	0	0	21
Kim Davis	4	0	0	0	0	0
Paul Marshall	1	0	0	0	0	0
Total		14	22	36	–	121

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	W	L	T	GA	SO
Gregory Millen	44	18	18	7	157	2
Robert Holland	34	10	17	6	126	1
Nick Ricci	4	2	2	0	14	0
Total		30	37	13	297	3

Playoffs

Player	GP	W	L	T	GA	SO
Gregory Millen	5	2	3	0	21	0
Total		2	3	0	21	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1979–80 season:

Trades

August 30, 1979	To Montreal Canadiens Denis Herron 1982 2nd round pick	To Pittsburgh Penguins Rob Holland Pat Hughes
November 13, 1979	To St. Louis Blues Blair Chapman	To Pittsburgh Penguins Bob Stewart

Additions and subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via

Subtractions Player New team Via Wayne Bianchin Edmonton Oilers Expansion Draft (1979-06-13) Colin Campbell Edmonton Oilers Expansion Draft (1979-06-13) John Flesch Colorado Rockies free agency (1980-01-30)

Draft picks

See also: List of Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks

The 1979 NHL Entry Draft was held on August 9, 1979, in Montreal, Quebec.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	31	Paul Marshall	Left wing	Canada	Brantford Alexanders (OHA)
3	52	Bennett Wolf	Defense	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
4	73	Brian Cross	Defense	Canada	Brantford Alexanders (OHA)
5	94	Nick Ricci	Goaltender	Canada	Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA)
6	115	Marc Chorney	Defense	Canada	U. of North Dakota (NCAA)

References

• Penguins on Hockey Database