1989–90 Los Angeles Kings season

1989–90 Los Angeles Kings
Division4th Smythe
Conference8th Campbell
1989–90 record34–39–7
Home record21–16–3
Road record13–23–4
Goals for338
Goals against337
Team information
General managerRogatien Vachon
CoachTom Webster
CaptainWayne Gretzky
Alternate captainsLarry Robinson
Dave Taylor
ArenaGreat Western Forum
Team leaders
GoalsLuc Robitaille (52)
AssistsWayne Gretzky (102)
PointsWayne Gretzky (142)
Penalty minutesMarty McSorley (322)
Plus/minusTim Watters (+23)
WinsKelly Hrudey (22)
Goals against averageRon Scott (3.67)

The 1989–90 Los Angeles Kings season, was the Kings' 23rd season in the National Hockey League. It saw the Kings compile a record of 34-39-7 for 75 points, good enough for fourth place in the Smythe Division. They defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames in the first round of the playoffs before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers in the second round. For the Kings, this was the second consecutive year that they eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round of the playoffs, only to be swept in the following round by the eventual Cup champions. In both years, they involved both teams from the province of Alberta.

This season saw the Kings' captain, Wayne Gretzky, become the all-time leading scorer in NHL history (see below for more details). Gretzky also led the league in scoring for the year, winning the Art Ross Trophy.

Offseason

[edit]

NHL Draft

[edit]

Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1989 NHL Entry Draft held at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
2 39 Brent Thompson  Canada Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
4 81 Jim Maher  United States University of Illinois at Chicago (CCHA)
5 102 Eric Richard  Canada Granby Bisons (QMJHL)
5 103 Tom Newman  United States Blaine High School (USHS-MN)
6 123 Daniel Rydmark  Sweden Farjestad BK (Sweden)
7 144 Ted Kramer  United States University of Michigan (CCHA)
8 165 Sean Whyte  Canada Guelph Platers (OHL)
9 182 Jim Giacin  United States Culver Military Academy (USHS-IN)
9 186 Martin Maskarinec  Czechoslovakia Sparta Prague (Czechoslovakia)
10 207 Jim Hiller  Canada Melville Millionaires (SJHL)
11 228 Steve Jaques  Canada Tri-City Americans (WHL)
12 249 Kevin Sneddon  Canada Harvard University (ECAC)
S 23 Carl Repp  Canada University of British Columbia (CWUAA)

Regular season

[edit]

Mario Gosselin was the first goaltender in NHL history to lose a game without giving up a goal.[1] Gosselin filled in for Kelly Hrudey and the Kings would give up an empty net goal. The result was a 7-6 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

On Wednesday, October 25, 1989, the Kings were shut out at home 5-0 by the Calgary Flames. It was the first time the team had been shut out in a regular-season game since Wednesday, March 12, 1986, when they lost at home 3-0 to the Detroit Red Wings. Prior to the loss against the Flames, the Kings had scored at least one goal in 261 consecutive regular-season games.[2][3][4][5][6]

Wayne Gretzky's scoring record

[edit]

On October 15, 1989, playing in only his 780th career game, Wayne Gretzky became the all-time leading scorer in NHL history, breaking the record of 1,850 career points set by his idol, Gordie Howe. Gretzky set the new record on a game-tying goal against Bill Ranford in the final minute of a contest against his former team, the Edmonton Oilers, in Edmonton. Afterwards, Howe was on hand to congratulate Gretzky on his accomplishment. The Kings went on to win the game in overtime.

Final standings

[edit]
Smythe Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Calgary Flames 80 42 23 15 348 265 99
Edmonton Oilers 80 38 28 14 315 283 90
Winnipeg Jets 80 37 32 11 298 290 85
Los Angeles Kings 80 34 39 7 338 337 75
Vancouver Canucks 80 25 41 14 245 306 64

[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.

Campbell Conference[8]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Calgary Flames SMY 80 42 23 15 348 265 99
2 Edmonton Oilers SMY 80 38 28 14 315 283 90
3 Chicago Blackhawks NRS 80 41 33 6 316 294 88
4 Winnipeg Jets SMY 80 37 32 11 298 290 85
5 St. Louis Blues NRS 80 37 34 9 295 279 83
6 Toronto Maple Leafs NRS 80 38 38 4 337 358 80
7 Minnesota North Stars NRS 80 36 40 4 284 291 76
8 Los Angeles Kings SMY 80 34 39 7 338 337 75
9 Detroit Red Wings NRS 80 28 38 14 288 323 70
10 Vancouver Canucks SMY 80 25 41 14 245 306 64

Divisions: NRS – Norris, SMY – Smythe

bold – Qualified for playoffs


Record vs. opponents

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Vs. Campbell Conference

[edit]

Vs. Wales Conference


Schedule and results

[edit]
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 5, 1989 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90) 1–0–0
2 L October 7, 1989 5–6 Edmonton Oilers (1989–90) 1–1–0
3 W October 8, 1989 5–0 Detroit Red Wings (1989–90) 2–1–0
4 L October 11, 1989 4–7 New York Islanders (1989–90) 2–2–0
5 W October 13, 1989 6–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1989–90) 3–2–0
6 W October 15, 1989 5–4 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1989–90) 4–2–0
7 L October 17, 1989 2–3 Boston Bruins (1989–90) 4–3–0
8 W October 21, 1989 6–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1989–90) 5–3–0
9 L October 22, 1989 4–7 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1989–90) 5–4–0
10 L October 25, 1989 0–5 Calgary Flames (1989–90) 5–5–0
11 W October 27, 1989 3–1 @ Winnipeg Jets (1989–90) 6–5–0
12 L October 29, 1989 1–6 @ Winnipeg Jets (1989–90) 6–6–0
13 W October 31, 1989 8–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90) 7–6–0
14 L November 2, 1989 4–5 OT @ Boston Bruins (1989–90) 7–7–0
15 L November 4, 1989 3–6 @ Hartford Whalers (1989–90) 7–8–0
16 L November 5, 1989 3–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1989–90) 7–9–0
17 L November 8, 1989 4–5 Calgary Flames (1989–90) 7–10–0
18 W November 11, 1989 5–4 Montreal Canadiens (1989–90) 8–10–0
19 W November 14, 1989 8–6 @ Calgary Flames (1989–90) 9–10–0
20 T November 15, 1989 2–2 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1989–90) 9–10–1
21 W November 18, 1989 5–3 Washington Capitals (1989–90) 10–10–1
22 W November 22, 1989 6–3 Chicago Blackhawks (1989–90) 11–10–1
23 W November 25, 1989 7–4 Vancouver Canucks (1989–90) 12–10–1
24 T November 26, 1989 3–3 OT @ Vancouver Canucks (1989–90) 12–10–2
25 L November 30, 1989 6–7 Edmonton Oilers (1989–90) 12–11–2
26 W December 2, 1989 6–0 New York Rangers (1989–90) 13–11–2
27 W December 6, 1989 5–4 OT Vancouver Canucks (1989–90) 14–11–2
28 L December 8, 1989 4–5 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1989–90) 14–12–2
29 W December 10, 1989 8–4 @ Quebec Nordiques (1989–90) 15–12–2
30 T December 11, 1989 2–2 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1989–90) 15–12–3
31 W December 13, 1989 5–2 @ Hartford Whalers (1989–90) 16–12–3
32 L December 15, 1989 5–7 @ New Jersey Devils (1989–90) 16–13–3
33 L December 16, 1989 2–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90) 16–14–3
34 W December 19, 1989 9–5 Winnipeg Jets (1989–90) 17–14–3
35 W December 21, 1989 6–1 Quebec Nordiques (1989–90) 18–14–3
36 W December 23, 1989 4–1 Vancouver Canucks (1989–90) 19–14–3
37 T December 27, 1989 5–5 OT Calgary Flames (1989–90) 19–14–4
38 L December 30, 1989 3–6 Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90) 19–15–4
39 W January 1, 1990 7–4 @ Washington Capitals (1989–90) 20–15–4
40 L January 2, 1990 3–5 @ New York Islanders (1989–90) 20–16–4
41 L January 4, 1990 2–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1989–90) 20–17–4
42 L January 6, 1990 4–7 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90) 20–18–4
43 L January 9, 1990 3–4 St. Louis Blues (1989–90) 20–19–4
44 T January 11, 1990 3–3 OT Edmonton Oilers (1989–90) 20–19–5
45 L January 13, 1990 3–6 Hartford Whalers (1989–90) 20–20–5
46 L January 16, 1990 2–4 Buffalo Sabres (1989–90) 20–21–5
47 W January 18, 1990 9–4 Detroit Red Wings (1989–90) 21–21–5
48 T January 23, 1990 3–3 OT @ Vancouver Canucks (1989–90) 21–21–6
49 L January 25, 1990 6–7 @ Edmonton Oilers (1989–90) 21–22–6
50 L January 27, 1990 1–3 New York Rangers (1989–90) 21–23–6
51 W January 30, 1990 5–2 New Jersey Devils (1989–90) 22–23–6
52 L February 1, 1990 4–7 Chicago Blackhawks (1989–90) 22–24–6
53 W February 3, 1990 4–3 Calgary Flames (1989–90) 23–24–6
54 W February 6, 1990 5–3 @ Calgary Flames (1989–90) 24–24–6
55 L February 8, 1990 1–5 Winnipeg Jets (1989–90) 24–25–6
56 L February 10, 1990 6–7 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90) 24–26–6
57 L February 12, 1990 3–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90) 24–27–6
58 L February 14, 1990 5–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1989–90) 24–28–6
59 L February 15, 1990 3–6 @ Minnesota North Stars (1989–90) 24–29–6
60 W February 17, 1990 7–1 Quebec Nordiques (1989–90) 25–29–6
61 W February 19, 1990 3–2 Washington Capitals (1989–90) 26–29–6
62 W February 21, 1990 4–2 Minnesota North Stars (1989–90) 27–29–6
63 L February 24, 1990 4–6 Vancouver Canucks (1989–90) 27–30–6
64 W February 28, 1990 4–2 Edmonton Oilers (1989–90) 28–30–6
65 L March 2, 1990 3–9 @ Winnipeg Jets (1989–90) 28–31–6
66 L March 4, 1990 2–5 @ Winnipeg Jets (1989–90) 28–32–6
67 L March 5, 1990 0–5 @ Calgary Flames (1989–90) 28–33–6
68 L March 7, 1990 2–5 Montreal Canadiens (1989–90) 28–34–6
69 W March 10, 1990 8–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90) 29–34–6
70 W March 12, 1990 6–2 @ New York Rangers (1989–90) 30–34–6
71 W March 14, 1990 6–5 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1989–90) 31–34–6
72 W March 17, 1990 5–4 @ Boston Bruins (1989–90) 32–34–6
73 L March 18, 1990 4–7 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90) 32–35–6
74 L March 20, 1990 2–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1989–90) 32–36–6
75 W March 22, 1990 3–1 New York Islanders (1989–90) 33–36–6
76 W March 24, 1990 9–3 St. Louis Blues (1989–90) 34–36–6
77 T March 27, 1990 4–4 OT Winnipeg Jets (1989–90) 34–36–7
78 L March 29, 1990 0–1 Winnipeg Jets (1989–90) 34–37–7
79 L March 31, 1990 3–6 @ Vancouver Canucks (1989–90) 34–38–7
80 L April 1, 1990 4–8 @ Calgary Flames (1989–90) 34–39–7

Player statistics

[edit]
Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Wayne Gretzky C 73 40 102 142 42 8 10 4 4
Luc Robitaille LW 80 52 49 101 38 8 20 0 7
Bernie Nicholls C 47 27 48 75 66 -6 8 0 1
John Tonelli LW 73 31 37 68 62 -8 15 0 4
Steve Duchesne D 79 20 42 62 36 -3 6 0 1
Steve Kasper C 77 17 28 45 27 4 1 1 4
Mike Krushelnyski LW/C 63 16 25 41 50 7 2 2 2
Dave Taylor RW 58 15 26 41 96 17 2 0 1
Larry Robinson D 64 7 32 39 34 7 1 0 1
Bob Kudelski RW 62 23 13 36 49 -7 2 2 3
Marty McSorley D 75 15 21 36 322 2 2 1 0
Tomas Sandstrom RW 28 13 20 33 28 -1 1 1 0
Todd Elik C 48 10 23 33 41 4 1 0 0
Brian Benning D 48 5 18 23 104 1 3 0 0
Mikko Makela RW 45 7 14 21 16 -4 0 0 0
Keith Crowder RW 55 4 13 17 93 2 0 0 1
Mike Allison LW 55 2 11 13 78 -6 0 0 1
Jay Miller LW 68 10 2 12 224 -6 0 0 1
Tony Granato RW 19 5 6 11 45 -2 1 0 0
Tim Watters D 62 1 10 11 92 23 0 0 0
Petr Prajsler D 34 3 7 10 47 -9 1 0 0
Tom Laidlaw D 57 1 8 9 42 4 0 0 0
Barry Beck D 52 1 7 8 53 3 0 0 0
Hubie McDonough C 22 3 4 7 10 4 0 0 1
Craig Duncanson LW 10 3 2 5 9 1 0 0 0
Chris Kontos LW/C 6 2 2 4 4 3 0 0 0
Mikael Lindholm C 18 2 2 4 2 2 0 0 0
Bob Halkidis D 20 0 4 4 56 4 0 0 0
Scott Bjugstad RW 11 1 2 3 2 2 0 0 1
Jim Fox RW 11 1 1 2 0 -1 0 0 1
Ken Baumgartner LW 12 1 0 1 28 -10 0 0 0
Rob Blake D 4 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Mario Gosselin G 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kelly Hrudey G 52 0 0 0 18 0 0 0 0
Ron Scott G 12 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Robb Stauber G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gord Walker RW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Kelly Hrudey 2860 52 22 21 6 194 4.07 2 1532 1338 .873
Mario Gosselin 1226 26 7 11 1 79 3.87 0 587 508 .865
Ron Scott 654 12 5 6 0 40 3.67 0 321 281 .875
Robb Stauber 83 2 0 1 0 11 7.95 0 43 32 .744
Team: 4823 80 34 39 7 324 4.03 2 2483 2159 .870
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Todd Elik C 10 3 9 12 10 1 1 0 0
Steve Duchesne D 10 2 9 11 6 -2 1 0 0
Luc Robitaille LW 10 5 5 10 12 -5 1 0 1
Wayne Gretzky C 7 3 7 10 0 -4 1 0 0
Tony Granato RW 10 5 4 9 12 -2 2 1 2
Tomas Sandstrom RW 10 5 4 9 19 -5 0 0 0
Dave Taylor RW 6 4 4 8 2 2 2 0 0
Larry Robinson D 10 2 3 5 10 2 0 0 0
Rob Blake D 8 1 3 4 4 -4 1 0 0
Mike Krushelnyski LW/C 10 1 3 4 12 0 0 0 1
Marty McSorley D 10 1 3 4 18 -8 1 0 0
Bob Kudelski RW 8 1 2 3 2 -5 0 0 0
John Tonelli LW 10 1 2 3 6 -6 0 0 0
Steve Kasper C 10 1 1 2 2 -4 0 0 0
Jay Miller LW 10 1 1 2 10 -6 0 0 0
Brian Benning D 7 0 2 2 10 -9 0 0 0
Mike Allison LW 4 1 0 1 2 -2 0 1 0
Keith Crowder RW 7 1 0 1 9 -1 0 0 0
Chris Kontos LW/C 5 1 0 1 0 -6 0 1 0
Bob Halkidis D 8 0 1 1 8 -7 0 0 0
Kelly Hrudey G 9 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Scott Bjugstad RW 2 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0
Mario Gosselin G 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mikko Makela RW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Petr Prajsler D 3 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Ron Scott G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tim Watters D 4 0 0 0 6 4 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Kelly Hrudey 539 9 4 4 39 4.34 0 265 226 .853
Mario Gosselin 63 3 0 2 3 2.86 0 23 20 .870
Ron Scott 32 1 0 0 4 7.50 0 10 6 .600
Team: 634 10 4 6 46 4.35 0 298 252 .846

[10]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

[edit]

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1989–90 season.[11]

Trades

[edit]
June 17, 1989 To Los Angeles Kings
5th round pick in 1989 - Tom Newman 		To Washington Capitals
Alan May
September 1, 1989 To Los Angeles Kings
Barry Beck 		To New York Rangers
4th round pick in 1990 - Jeff Nielsen
October 4, 1989 To Los Angeles Kings
4th round pick in 1991 - Keith Redmond 		To Buffalo Sabres
Dean Kennedy
November 10, 1989 To Los Angeles Kings
Brian Benning 		To St. Louis Blues
3rd round pick in 1991 - Kyle Reeves
November 24, 1989 To Los Angeles Kings
Bob Halkidis
Future considerations 		To Buffalo Sabres
Dale DeGray
November 29, 1989 To Los Angeles Kings
Mikko Mäkelä 		To New York Islanders
Hubie McDonough
Ken Baumgartner
December 1, 1989 To Los Angeles Kings
Brad Jones 		To Winnipeg Jets
Phil Sykes
January 20, 1990 To Los Angeles Kings
Tony Granato
Tomas Sandstrom 		To New York Rangers
Bernie Nicholls

Free agent signings

[edit]
May 19, 1989 From Belleville Bulls (OHL)
Darryl Williams
June 14, 1989 From Quebec Nordiques
Mario Gosselin
June 17, 1989 From Boston Bruins
Keith Crowder
June 17, 1989 From University of Minnesota (WCHA)
Robb Stauber
July 26, 1989 From Montreal Canadiens
Larry Robinson (3 years, $1.7 million) [12]
August 24, 1989 From Pittsburgh Penguins
Scott Bjugstad
January 12, 1990 From New York Rangers
Ron Scott

Free agents lost

[edit]
July 6, 1989 To Boston Bruins
Jim Wiemer
August 10, 1989 To New Jersey Devils
Roland Melanson
August 16, 1989 To New York Islanders
Glenn Healy

Free agent compensation

[edit]
August 16, 1989 To Los Angeles Kings
4th round pick in 1990 - Jeff Nielsen 		To New York Islanders
Glenn Healy

Waivers

[edit]
March 6, 1990 To New York Islanders
Dave Pasin

Playoffs

[edit]

Round 1: (S1) Calgary Flames vs. (S4) Los Angeles Kings

[edit]
April 4 Los Angeles Kings 5–3 Calgary Flames Olympic Saddledome
April 6 Los Angeles Kings 5–8 Calgary Flames Olympic Saddledome
April 8 Calgary Flames 1–2 OT Los Angeles Kings Great Western Forum
April 10 Calgary Flames 4–12 Los Angeles Kings Great Western Forum
April 12 Los Angeles Kings 1–5 Calgary Flames Olympic Saddledome
April 14 Calgary Flames 3–4 2OT Los Angeles Kings Great Western Forum
Los Angeles won series 4–2


Round 2: (S2) Edmonton Oilers vs. (S4) Los Angeles Kings

[edit]
April 18 Los Angeles Kings 0–7 Edmonton Oilers Northlands Coliseum
April 20 Los Angeles Kings 1–6 Edmonton Oilers Northlands Coliseum
April 22 Edmonton Oilers 5–4 Los Angeles Kings Great Western Forum
April 24 Edmonton Oilers 6–5 OT Los Angeles Kings Great Western Forum
Edmonton won series 4–0


Awards and honors

[edit]
  • Wayne Gretzky, Runner Up, Lady Byng Memorial Trophy[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hockey's Book of Firsts, p.16, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
  2. ^ "1985-86 Los Angeles Kings Schedule and Results".
  3. ^ "1986-87 Los Angeles Kings Schedule and Results".
  4. ^ "1987-88 Los Angeles Kings Schedule and Results".
  5. ^ "1988-89 Los Angeles Kings Schedule and Results".
  6. ^ "1989-90 Los Angeles Kings Schedule and Results".
  7. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  8. ^ "1989-1990 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  9. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  10. ^ "1989-90 Los Angeles Kings Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  11. ^ "Hockey Transactions Search Results".
  12. ^ "Larry Robinson". HockeyZonePlus. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  13. ^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.221, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
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