1988–89 New York Rangers season

NHL hockey team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1988–89 1988 New York Rangers Wales 6th Patrick 3rd 37–35–8 21–17–2 16–18–6 310 307 Phil Esposito Michel Bergeron Phil Esposito (interim) Kelly Kisio Madison Square Garden Tony Granato (36) Tomas Sandström (56) Tomas Sandstrom (88) Rudy Poeschek (199) John Vanbiesbrouck (28) John Vanbiesbrouck (3.69) The 1988–89 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 63rd season. The team returned to the playoffs for the 11th time in 12 seasons. A major storyline of the season was Guy Lafleur's comeback from retirement. 2 Regular season Guy Lafleur After being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Guy Lafleur returned to the NHL during the 1988–89 season with the New York Rangers. Lafleur remained one of the few players that did not wear protective helmets due to the Grandfather clause. A highlight of Lafleur's season was the opportunity to be on the same team with Marcel Dionne. During his first game back in the Montreal Forum, he scored twice against Patrick Roy during the Rangers' 7–5 loss to the Canadiens. Although his high-scoring days were well behind him, his stint with the Rangers was moderately successful and he helped the team to first place in the Patrick Division until being knocked out by a knee injury. The Rangers would finish the season in third place. Season standings NYR Record vs. opponents NYR Schedule and results background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 5px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 5px solid; 1988–89 regular season1988-89 New York Rangers Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NYR/1989_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 30, 2025 y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; October: 8–2–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 3–0–1) Game October Opponent Score Record |- | 1 || 6 || @ Chicago Blackhawks || 2 – 2 OT || 0–0–1 |- | 2 || 8 || @ St. Louis Blues || 4 – 2 || 1–0–1 |- | 3 || 10 || New Jersey Devils || 5 – 0 || 1–1–1 |- | 4 || 12 || Hartford Whalers || 4 – 3 || 1–2–1 |- | 5 || 16 || Vancouver Canucks || 3 – 2 || 2–2–1 |- | 6 || 19 || Washington Capitals || 5 – 1 || 3–2–1 |- | 7 || 21 || @ Washington Capitals || 4 – 1 || 4–2–1 |- | 8 || 23 || Quebec Nordiques || 8 – 2 || 5–2–1 |- | 9 || 26 || Philadelphia Flyers || 4 – 3 || 6–2–1 |- | 10 || 29 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 6 – 5 || 7–2–1 |- | 11 || 30 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 9 – 2 || 8–2–1 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; November: 6–6–2 (home: 2–2–1; road: 4–4–1) Game November Opponent Score Record |- | 12 || 2 || @ Buffalo Sabres || 6 – 4 || 8–3–1 |- | 13 || 6 || @ New Jersey Devils || 6 – 5 || 8–4–1 |- | 14 || 8 || @ New York Islanders || 4 – 3 || 8–5–1 |- | 15 || 9 || Philadelphia Flyers || 5 – 3 || 9–5–1 |- | 16 || 11 || Boston Bruins || 4 – 4 OT || 9–5–2 |- | 17 || 13 || Detroit Red Wings || 5 – 3 || 9–6–2 |- | 18 || 15 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 3 – 3 OT || 9–6–3 |- | 19 || 17 || @ Los Angeles Kings || 6 – 5 || 10–6–3 |- | 20 || 19 || @ Minnesota North Stars || 4 – 1 || 11–6–3 |- | 21 || 21 || Montreal Canadiens || 4 – 2 || 11–7–3 |- | 22 || 23 || @ Pittsburgh Penguins || 8 – 2 || 11–8–3 |- | 23 || 26 || @ New York Islanders || 6 – 4 || 12–8–3 |- | 24 || 27 || New York Islanders || 5 – 3 || 13–8–3 |- | 25 || 29 || @ Winnipeg Jets || 4 – 3 || 14–8–3 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; December: 6–6–2 (home: 4–2–0; road: 2–4–2) Game December Opponent Score Record |- | 26 || 1 || @ Calgary Flames || 6 – 3 || 14–9–3 |- | 27 || 4 || @ Edmonton Oilers || 10 – 6 || 14–10–3 |- | 28 || 6 || @ Vancouver Canucks || 5 – 3 || 15–10–3 |- | 29 || 8 || @ Hartford Whalers || 5 – 4 || 15–11–3 |- | 30 || 10 || @ Boston Bruins || 1 – 1 OT || 15–11–4 |- | 31 || 12 || Los Angeles Kings || 5 – 2 || 15–12–4 |- | 32 || 14 || New York Islanders || 2 – 1 || 16–12–4 |- | 33 || 17 || @ Montreal Canadiens || 6 – 3 || 16–13–4 |- | 34 || 19 || Washington Capitals || 3 – 1 || 17–13–4 |- | 35 || 21 || Buffalo Sabres || 5 – 2 || 17–14–4 |- | 36 || 23 || @ Washington Capitals || 2 – 2 OT || 17–14–5 |- | 37 || 26 || New Jersey Devils || 5 – 1 || 18–14–5 |- | 38 || 27 || @ New Jersey Devils || 7 – 5 || 19–14–5 |- | 39 || 31 || Chicago Blackhawks || 4 – 1 || 20–14–5 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; January: 8–2–3 (home: 3–1–1; road: 5–1–2) Game January Opponent Score Record |- | 40 || 2 || Hartford Whalers || 5 – 4 || 21–14–5 |- | 41 || 4 || Washington Capitals || 3 – 3 OT || 21–14–6 |- | 42 || 7 || @ New York Islanders || 5 – 1 || 22–14–6 |- | 43 || 9 || New Jersey Devils || 5 – 4 || 22–15–6 |- | 44 || 14 || @ Pittsburgh Penguins || 4 – 4 OT || 22–15–7 |- | 45 || 15 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 6 – 4 || 23–15–7 |- | 46 || 18 || @ Chicago Blackhawks || 6 – 4 || 24–15–7 |- | 47 || 19 || @ St. Louis Blues || 5 – 0 || 25–15–7 |- | 48 || 21 || @ Vancouver Canucks || 5 – 4 OT || 26–15–7 |- | 49 || 23 || @ Edmonton Oilers || 3 – 2 || 27–15–7 |- | 50 || 26 || @ Calgary Flames || 5 – 3 || 27–16–7 |- | 51 || 28 || @ Toronto Maple Leafs || 1 – 1 OT || 27–16–8 |- | 52 || 30 || New York Islanders || 7 – 3 || 28–16–8 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; February: 5–7–0 (home: 3–5–0; road: 2–2–0) Game February Opponent Score Record |- | 53 || 1 || Washington Capitals || 4 – 3 OT || 28–17–8 |- | 54 || 4 || @ Montreal Canadiens || 7 – 5 || 28–18–8 |- | 55 || 5 || Minnesota North Stars || 5 – 3 || 28–19–8 |- | 56 || 9 || Winnipeg Jets || 4 – 3 || 29–19–8 |- | 57 || 12 || Edmonton Oilers || 3 – 1 || 29–20–8 |- | 58 || 14 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 3 – 1 || 29–21–8 |- | 59 || 17 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 10 – 6 || 29–22–8 |- | 60 || 18 || @ Pittsburgh Penguins || 5 – 3 || 30–22–8 |- | 61 || 20 || New Jersey Devils || 7 – 4 || 31–22–8 |- | 62 || 22 || Philadelphia Flyers || 6 – 4 || 31–23–8 |- | 63 || 25 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 7 – 2 || 32–23–8 |- | 64 || 27 || Los Angeles Kings || 6 – 4 || 33–23–8 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; March: 4–10–0 (home: 4–4–0; road: 0–6–0) Game March Opponent Score Record |- | 65 || 1 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 7 – 4 || 34–23–8 |- | 66 || 3 || @ New Jersey Devils || 6 – 3 || 34–24–8 |- | 67 || 5 || Boston Bruins || 5 – 0 || 34–25–8 |- | 68 || 8 || Buffalo Sabres || 2 – 0 || 34–26–8 |- | 69 || 9 || @ Detroit Red Wings || 3 – 2 || 34–27–8 |- | 70 || 11 || @ Washington Capitals || 4 – 2 || 34–28–8 |- | 71 || 13 || Calgary Flames || 4 – 3 || 35–28–8 |- | 72 || 15 || Winnipeg Jets || 6 – 3 || 35–29–8 |- | 73 || 18 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 8 – 3 || 35–30–8 |- | 74 || 20 || St. Louis Blues || 7 – 4 || 36–30–8 |- | 75 || 22 || Minnesota North Stars || 3 – 1 || 37–30–8 |- | 76 || 25 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 6 – 1 || 37–31–8 |- | 77 || 26 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 6 – 4 || 37–32–8 |- | 78 || 29 || @ Detroit Red Wings || 4 – 3 || 37–33–8 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; April: 0–2–0 (home: 0–1–0; road: 0–1–0) Game April Opponent Score Record |- | 79 || 1 || @ Pittsburgh Penguins || 5 – 2 || 37–34–8 |- | 80 || 2 || New York Islanders || 6 – 4 || 37–35–8 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs background:#fff; border-top:#0161AB 5px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 5px solid; 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; Division semifinals vs. (P2) Pittsburgh Penguins – Pittsburgh wins 4–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Series |- | 1 || April 5 || New York Rangers || 1 – 3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || || Pittsburgh leads series 1-0 |- | 2 || April 6 || New York Rangers || 4 – 7 || Pittsburgh Penguins || || Pittsburgh leads series 2-0 |- | 3 || April 8 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5 – 4 || New York Rangers || OT || Pittsburgh leads series 3-0 |- | 4 || April 9 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4 – 3 || New York Rangers || || Pittsburgh wins series 4-0 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Player statistics Skaters Regular season Player GP Games played G Goals A Assists Pts Points +/- Plus/minus PIM Penalty minutes Tomas Sandstrom 79 32 56 88 5 148 Brian Leetch 68 23 48 71 8 50 Brian Mullen 78 29 35 64 7 60 Tony Granato 78 36 27 63 17 140 Kelly Kisio 70 26 36 62 14 91 Carey Wilson Carey Wilson (ice hockey)† 41 21 34 55 1 45 James Patrick James Patrick (ice hockey) 68 11 36 47 3 41 Guy Lafleur 67 18 27 45 1 12 Ulf Dahlen 56 24 19 43 -6 50 John Ogrodnick 60 13 29 42 0 14 Lucien DeBlois 73 9 24 33 -6 107 Michel Petit 69 8 25 33 -15 154 Jason Lafreniere 38 8 16 24 -3 6 Marcel Dionne 37 7 16 23 -6 20 Brian Lawton‡ 30 7 10 17 -2 39 David Shaw David Shaw (ice hockey) 63 6 11 17 14 88 Jan Erixon 44 4 11 15 -3 27 Chris Nilan 38 7 7 14 -8 177 Mark Hardy Mark Hardy (ice hockey)† 45 2 12 14 -8 45 Don Maloney‡ 31 4 9 13 2 16 Ron Greschner 58 1 10 11 9 94 Darren Turcotte 20 7 3 10 0 4 Norm Maciver‡ 26 0 10 10 -3 14 Kevin Miller Kevin Miller (ice hockey) 24 3 5 8 -1 2 Igor Liba‡ 10 2 5 7 1 15 Normand Rochefort 11 1 5 6 0 18 Lindy Ruff† 13 0 5 5 -6 31 Rudy Poeschek 52 0 2 2 -8 199 Doug Wickenheiser‡ 1 1 0 1 1 0 Simon Wheeldon 6 0 1 1 -1 2 Miloslav Horava 6 0 1 1 -2 0 Dean Kennedy‡ 16 0 1 1 -1 40 Joe Paterson ice hockey 20 0 1 1 -3 84 Stephane Brochu 1 0 0 0 1 0 Paul Cyr 1 0 0 0 0 2 James Latos 1 0 0 0 -1 0 Jayson More 1 0 0 0 -1 0 Ken Hammond Ken Hammond (ice hockey)†‡ 3 0 0 0 -3 0 Mark Janssens 5 0 0 0 -4 0 Jeff Bloemberg 9 0 0 0 2 0 Peter Laviolette 12 0 0 0 2 6 Playoffs Player GP Games played G Goals A Assists Pts Points PIM Penalty minutes Brian Leetch 4 3 2 5 2 Tomas Sandstrom 4 3 2 5 12 Carey Wilson Carey Wilson (ice hockey) 4 1 2 3 2 David Shaw David Shaw (ice hockey) 4 0 2 2 30 Michel Petit 4 0 2 2 27 John Ogrodnick 3 2 0 2 0 Tony Granato 4 1 1 2 21 Ron Greschner 4 0 1 1 6 Mark Hardy Mark Hardy (ice hockey) 4 0 1 1 31 Chris Nilan 4 0 1 1 28 Jan Erixon 4 0 1 1 2 Guy Lafleur 4 1 0 1 0 James Patrick James Patrick (ice hockey) 4 0 1 1 2 Brian Mullen 3 0 1 1 4 Lindy Ruff 2 0 0 0 17 Darren Turcotte 1 0 0 0 0 Jason Lafreniere 3 0 0 0 17 Lucien DeBlois 4 0 0 0 4 Ulf Dahlen 4 0 0 0 0 Kelly Kisio 4 0 0 0 9 Goaltenders Regular season Player GP Games played TOI Time on ice W Win L Loss T Tie GA Goals against GAA Goals against average SA Shots against SV% Save percentage SO Shutouts John Vanbiesbrouck 56 3207 28 21 4 197 3.69 1662 .881 0 Bob Froese 30 1621 9 14 4 102 3.78 787 .870 1 Playoffs Player GP Games played TOI Time on ice W Win L Loss GA Goals against GAA Goals against average SA Shots against SV% Save percentage SO Shutouts John Vanbiesbrouck 2 107 0 1 6 3.36 55 .891 0 Bob Froese 2 72 0 2 8 6.67 51 .843 0 Mike Richter 1 58 0 1 4 4.14 30 .867 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. hockeydb.com 2010-08-08 1988-89 New York Rangers http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000481989.html https://web.archive.org/web/20100731013813/http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000481989.html 31 July 2010 live Awards and records Brian Leetch, Calder Memorial Trophy Brian Leetch, Most Goals by a Rookie Defenseman in One Season (23)National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 184, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 0-920445-98-5 Most goals by rookie, season – Tony Granato (1988–89) – 36 Draft picks New York's picks at the 1988 NHL entry draft in Montreal, Canada at the Montreal Forum. Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League) 2 22 Troy Mallette LW Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) 2 26 Murray Duval D Canada Spokane Chiefs (WHL) 4 68 Tony Amonte RW United States Thayer Academy (Massachusetts) 5 99 Martin Bergeron C Canada Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) 6 110 Dennis Vial D Canada Hamilton Steelhawks (OHL) 7 131 Mike Rosati G Canada Hamilton Steelhawks (OHL) 8 152 Eric Couvrette LW Canada Saint-Jean Castors (QMJHL) 10 194 Paul Cain C Canada Cornwall Royals (OHL) 10 202 Eric Fenton RW United States N. Yarmouth Academy (Maine) 11 215 Peter Fiorentino D Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) 12 236 Keith Slifstein RW United States Choate Academy (Connecticut) Supplemental Draft New York's picks at the 1988 NHL supplemental draft. Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League) Mike Hurlbut D United States St. Lawrence University (ECAC) Ron Lecinskas LW United States Salem State College (NCAA) References External links Rangers on Hockey Database 1988-89 Category:1988–89 NHL season by team Category:1988 in sports in New York City Category:1989 in sports in New York City 1988-89 New York Rangers season