Don Maloney: 1980-81 O-Pee-Chee 231

1980-81 O-Pee-Chee 231 Don Maloney Hockey Card (Front)

1980-81 O-Pee-Chee 231 Don Maloney Hockey Card (Back)

1980-81 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist

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Card Notes

Very strong in the corners, he rarely loses battle for loose puck. Finished 1978-79 NHL playoffs with 7 goals and 13 assists for the most points ever by rookie.

En Français

Très habile dans les coins, il en sort normalement avec la rondelle. Durant les éliminatoires de la LNH de 1978-79, il produisit 7 buts et 13 assistances, un record de points pour une recrue.

Details

Don Maloney’s NHL rookie record of 20 points in the 1978-79 Stanley Cup playoffs was eclipsed two years later by Dino Ciccarelli of the Minnesota North Stars, although just by a single point. Since, Maloney still stands fourth all-time with just Ville Leino and Jake Guentzel equaling Ciccarelli’s mark.

In 1980-81, Maloney would score a career best 29 goals for the Rangers. That total was reached again in 1982-83. Six of those came on his third and fourth hat tricks of his career, both in the month of February.

The first of those three goal games came on February 4, 1981 at Madison Square Garden in a 9-3 route over the New York Islanders. Don also assisted on goals by Ron Duguay and Dean Talafous for a five point game. His first of the game and 14th of the 1980-81 NHL season opened the game’s scoring and was put in shorthanded at 4:49 of the first period.

His second hat trick of the season was truly magical. On February 21 at MSG in a 6-4 win over the Washington Capitals, Maloney scored two of his goals shorthanded on the same penalty kill (while brother Dave Maloney was in the box). The second of those goals remained as the game winner. We take a closer look at that game in the Facebook post embedded below.

Between 1978-78 and 1990-91, Don Maloney played 765 regular season and 94 playoff games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers, Hartford Whalers and New York Islanders. In five straight seasons, he scored no less than 22 goals.

Don Maloney NHL Career Stats

Regular Season

Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1978-79	New York Rangers	28	9	17	26	39
1979-80	New York Rangers	79	25	48	73	97
1980-81	New York Rangers	61	29	23	52	99
1981-82	New York Rangers	54	22	36	58	73
1982-83	New York Rangers	78	29	40	69	88
1983-84	New York Rangers	79	24	42	66	62
1984-85	New York Rangers	37	11	16	27	32
1985-86	New York Rangers	68	11	17	28	56
1986-87	New York Rangers	72	19	38	57	117
1987-88	New York Rangers	66	12	21	33	60
1988-89	New York Rangers	31	4	9	13	16
1988-89	Hartford Whalers	21	3	11	14	23
1989-90	New York Islanders	79	16	27	43	47
1990-91	New York Islanders	12	0	5	5	6
	Totals	765	214	350	564	815

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1978-79	New York Rangers	18	7	13	20	19
1979-80	New York Rangers	9	0	4	4	10
1980-81	New York Rangers	13	1	6	7	13
1981-82	New York Rangers	10	5	5	10	10
1982-83	New York Rangers	5	0	1	1	0
1983-84	New York Rangers	5	1	4	5	0
1984-85	New York Rangers	3	4	0	4	2
1985-86	New York Rangers	16	2	1	3	31
1986-87	New York Rangers	6	2	1	3	6
1987-88	New York Rangers	0	0	0	0	0
1988-89	New York Rangers	0	0	0	0	0
1988-89	Hartford Whalers	4	0	0	0	8
1989-90	New York Islanders	5	0	0	0	2
1990-91	New York Islanders	0	0	0	0	0
	Totals	94	22	35	57	101