1980–81 Washington Capitals season

NHL hockey team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1980–81 1980 Washington Capitals 26–36–18 16–17–7 10–19–11 Campbell 9th Patrick 5th 286 317 Max McNab Gary Green Ryan Walter None Capital Centre Dennis Maruk (50) Dennis Maruk (47) Dennis Maruk (97) Alan Hangsleben (198) Bengt-Ake Gustafsson (+11) Mike Palmateer (18) Dave Parro (3.64) The 1980–81 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals seventh season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals did not qualify for the playoffs for the seventh straight season for the first time in franchise history. 2 Regular season Final standings WAS WAS Record vs. opponents WSH Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 5px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 5px solid; 1980–81 regular season1980-81 Washington Capitals Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/WSH/1981_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 22, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||W||October 10, 1980||4–1 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) ||1–0–0 |- |2||L||October 12, 1980||1–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1980–81) ||1–1–0 |- |3||T||October 15, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) ||1–1–1 |- |4||W||October 18, 1980||8–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1980–81) ||2–1–1 |- |5||L||October 19, 1980||4–8 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||2–2–1 |- |6||W||October 21, 1980||2–0 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||3–2–1 |- |7||L||October 24, 1980||2–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1980–81) ||3–3–1 |- |8||T||October 25, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) ||3–3–2 |- |9||L||October 29, 1980||2–4 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) ||3–4–2 |- |10||T||October 30, 1980||5–5 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) ||3–4–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |11||T||November 1, 1980||2–2 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) ||3–4–4 |- |12||T||November 2, 1980||4–4 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) ||3–4–5 |- |13||L||November 5, 1980||3–5 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) ||3–5–5 |- |14||T||November 8, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) ||3–5–6 |- |15||T||November 9, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) ||3–5–7 |- |16||W||November 12, 1980||3–1 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||4–5–7 |- |17||W||November 15, 1980||8–4 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) ||5–5–7 |- |18||L||November 18, 1980||2–6 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) ||5–6–7 |- |19||W||November 20, 1980||4–2 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1980–81) ||6–6–7 |- |20||T||November 22, 1980||2–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1980–81) ||6–6–8 |- |21||T||November 26, 1980||7–7 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) ||6–6–9 |- |22||W||November 28, 1980||6–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) ||7–6–9 |- |23||W||November 29, 1980||7–3 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) ||8–6–9 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |24||T||December 3, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) ||8–6–10 |- |25||W||December 6, 1980||8–6 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1980–81) ||9–6–10 |- |26||L||December 7, 1980||3–7 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1980–81) ||9–7–10 |- |27||L||December 9, 1980||2–4 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) ||9–8–10 |- |28||L||December 10, 1980||2–6 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1980–81) ||9–9–10 |- |29||L||December 12, 1980||2–6 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||9–10–10 |- |30||L||December 14, 1980||4–5 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) ||9–11–10 |- |31||W||December 17, 1980||5–2 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) ||10–11–10 |- |32||L||December 20, 1980||2–5 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) ||10–12–10 |- |33||W||December 21, 1980||6–0 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) ||11–12–10 |- |34||W||December 26, 1980||7–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1980–81) ||12–12–10 |- |35||L||December 27, 1980||4–7 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) ||12–13–10 |- |36||T||December 30, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) ||12–13–11 |- |37||W||December 31, 1980||5–3 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) ||13–13–11 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |38||L||January 3, 1981||0–3 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) ||13–14–11 |- |39||L||January 4, 1981||1–8 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) ||13–15–11 |- |40||L||January 7, 1981||3–6 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) ||13–16–11 |- |41||L||January 8, 1981||0–6 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1980–81) ||13–17–11 |- |42||L||January 10, 1981||2–3 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) ||13–18–11 |- |43||W||January 12, 1981||2–1 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) ||14–18–11 |- |44||W||January 15, 1981||3–0 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) ||15–18–11 |- |45||L||January 17, 1981||4–6 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1980–81) ||15–19–11 |- |46||W||January 18, 1981||3–2 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1980–81) ||16–19–11 |- |47||L||January 21, 1981||1–2 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) ||16–20–11 |- |48||L||January 24, 1981||4–7 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) ||16–21–11 |- |49||W||January 27, 1981||4–3 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) ||17–21–11 |- |50||W||January 29, 1981||3–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) ||18–21–11 |- |51||T||January 31, 1981||4–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||18–21–12 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |52||W||February 1, 1981||7–4 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) ||19–21–12 |- |53||T||February 3, 1981||3–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) ||19–21–13 |- |54||L||February 5, 1981||2–5 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1980–81) ||19–22–13 |- |55||T||February 7, 1981||4–4 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) ||19–22–14 |- |56||L||February 12, 1981||3–6 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) ||19–23–14 |- |57||L||February 14, 1981||1–6 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) ||19–24–14 |- |58||T||February 18, 1981||5–5 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||19–24–15 |- |59||L||February 21, 1981||4–6 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1980–81) ||19–25–15 |- |60||L||February 22, 1981||7–11 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) ||19–26–15 |- |61||T||February 25, 1981||2–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||19–26–16 |- |62||L||February 26, 1981||5–7 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||19–27–16 |- |63||L||February 28, 1981||4–7 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) ||19–28–16 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |64||L||March 3, 1981||3–6 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1980–81) ||19–29–16 |- |65||L||March 4, 1981||4–7 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) ||19–30–16 |- |66||W||March 8, 1981||7–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) ||20–30–16 |- |67||W||March 10, 1981||4–3 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1980–81) ||21–30–16 |- |68||W||March 11, 1981||5–2 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) ||22–30–16 |- |69||L||March 13, 1981||1–7 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1980–81) ||22–31–16 |- |70||L||March 14, 1981||3–5 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) ||22–32–16 |- |71||L||March 18, 1981||4–6 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) ||22–33–16 |- |72||T||March 21, 1981||3–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1980–81) ||22–33–17 |- |73||T||March 22, 1981||2–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) ||22–33–18 |- |74||W||March 24, 1981||5–2 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) ||23–33–18 |- |75||W||March 26, 1981||2–0 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) ||24–33–18 |- |76||L||March 27, 1981||3–5 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1980–81) ||24–34–18 |- |77||L||March 29, 1981||4–5 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1980–81) ||24–35–18 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |78||W||April 2, 1981||3–2 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1980–81) ||25–35–18 |- |79||L||April 4, 1981||1–4 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1980–81) ||25–36–18 |- |80||W||April 5, 1981||7–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) ||26–36–18 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Dennis Maruk C 80 50 47 97 87-71625 Mike Gartner RW 80 48 46 94 100-51303 Ryan Walter C/LW 80 24 44 68 150-9401 Bob Kelly Bob Kelly (ice hockey b. 1950) LW 80 26 36 62 157-13804 Jean Pronovost RW 80 22 36 58 61-9614 Bengt-Ake Gustafsson Bengt-Åke Gustafsson RW 72 21 34 55 2611421 Dennis Ververgaert RW 79 14 27 41 40-5202 Rick Green ice hockey D 65 8 23 31 91-15201 Darren Veitch D 59 4 21 25 46-12101 Alan Hangsleben D 76 5 19 24 198-7000 Tim Tookey C 29 10 13 23 18-6601 Wes Jarvis C 55 9 14 23 30-9010 Paul Mulvey LW 55 7 14 21 166-9100 Guy Charron C 47 5 13 18 2-4210 Glen Currie C 40 5 13 18 16-5210 Pat Ribble D 67 3 15 18 103-13301 Rolf Edberg C 45 8 8 16 61000 Howard Walker Howard Walker (ice hockey) D 64 2 11 13 1009200 Pierre Bouchard D 50 3 7 10 28-18000 Rick Smith Rick Smith (ice hockey) D 40 5 4 9 367202 Mike Palmateer G 49 0 8 8 170000 Jim McTaggart D 52 1 6 7 185-5000 Yvon Labre D 25 2 4 6 100-2000 Mark Lofthouse RW/C 3 1 1 2 40000 Errol Rausse LW 5 1 1 2 01000 Archie Henderson RW 7 1 0 1 28-1000 Greg Theberge D 1 1 0 1 0-2000 Dwayne Lowdermilk D 2 0 1 1 2-1000 Dave Parro G 18 0 1 1 20000 Rollie Boutin G 2 0 0 0 00000 Tony Cassolato RW 2 0 0 0 00000 Gary Inness G 3 0 0 0 00000 Jay Johnston Jay Johnston (ice hockey) D 2 0 0 0 90000 Paul MacKinnon D 14 0 0 0 225000 Torrie Robertson LW 3 0 0 0 0-2000 Wayne Stephenson G 20 0 0 0 40000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LTGAGAA SO Mike Palmateer 2679 49 18 19 9 172 3.85 2 Dave Parro 811 18 4 7 2 49 3.63 1 Wayne Stephenson 1010 20 4 7 5 66 3.92 1 Rollie Boutin 120 2 0 2 0 11 5.50 0 Gary Inness 180 3 0 1 2 9 3.00 0 Team: 4800 80 26 36 18 307 3.84 4 hockey-reference.com 2009-06-02 1980-81 Washington Capitals Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/WSH/1981.html 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; Draft picks Washington's draft picks at the 1980 NHL entry draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal. Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)15Darren VeitchCanadaRegina Pats (WHL)347Dan MieleCanadaProvidence College (NCAA)355Torrie RobertsonCanadaVictoria Cougars (WHL)589Timo BlomqvistJokerit (Finland)6110Todd BidnerCanadaToronto Marlboros (OMJHL)7131Frank PerkinsUnited StatesSudbury Wolves (OMJHL)8152Bruce RaboinCanadaProvidence College (ECAC)9173Peter AnderssonSwedenLuleå (Sweden)10194Tony CamazzolaCanadaBrandon Wheat Kings (WHL) See also 1980–81 NHL season References Category:Washington Capitals seasons Wash Washington Capitals Washington Capitals