The 1981–82 Los Angeles Kings season, was the Kings' 15th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). It saw the Kings make the playoffs, winning the first round before falling in the second round to the Vancouver Canucks. The first round upset of the heavily favored Edmonton Oilers is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in NHL history.

Offseason The Kings were moved to the Smythe Division. The Kings now were in a division with western teams.

Regular season

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|1||L||October 7, 1981||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Islanders (1981–82) ||0–1–0

|2||L||October 10, 1981||4–7 || style="text-align:left;"| Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) ||0–2–0

|3||W||October 13, 1981||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Calgary Flames (1981–82) ||1–2–0

|4||W||October 15, 1981||10–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Colorado Rockies (1981–82) ||2–2–0

|5||L||October 17, 1981||4–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins (1981–82) ||2–3–0

|6||W||October 20, 1981||9–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Islanders (1981–82) ||3–3–0

|7||W||October 21, 1981||5–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Rangers (1981–82) ||4–3–0

|8||L||October 24, 1981||3–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1981–82) ||4–4–0

|9||L||October 25, 1981||4–9 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1981–82) ||4–5–0

|10||W||October 27, 1981||8–7 || style="text-align:left;"| Quebec Nordiques (1981–82) ||5–5–0

|11||W||October 29, 1981||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Washington Capitals (1981–82) ||6–5–0

|12||L||October 31, 1981||4–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ St. Louis Blues (1981–82) ||6–6–0

|13||L||November 4, 1981||4–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82) ||6–7–0

|14||L||November 5, 1981||2–10 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1981–82) ||6–8–0

|15||L||November 7, 1981||4–9 || style="text-align:left;"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82) ||6–9–0

|16||W||November 10, 1981||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1981–82) ||7–9–0

|17||W||November 12, 1981||5–2 || style="text-align:left;"| St. Louis Blues (1981–82) ||8–9–0

|18||L||November 14, 1981||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Winnipeg Jets (1981–82) ||8–10–0

|19||W||November 18, 1981||8–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Detroit Red Wings (1981–82) ||9–10–0

|20||L||November 19, 1981||3–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Calgary Flames (1981–82) ||9–11–0

|21||L||November 21, 1981||1–7 || style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Sabres (1981–82) ||9–12–0

|22||L||November 25, 1981||4–11 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) ||9–13–0

|23||L||November 26, 1981||1–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Calgary Flames (1981–82) ||9–14–0

|24||W||November 28, 1981||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) ||10–14–0

|25||L||December 2, 1981||3–4 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Rangers (1981–82) ||10–15–0

|26||L||December 5, 1981||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82) ||10–16–0

|27||T||December 9, 1981||5–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) ||10–16–1

|28||W||December 12, 1981||7–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) ||11–16–1

|29||W||December 15, 1981||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1981–82) ||12–16–1

|30||L||December 16, 1981||6–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) ||12–17–1

|31||T||December 19, 1981||5–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Hartford Whalers (1981–82) ||12–17–2

|32||L||December 20, 1981||4–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins (1981–82) ||12–18–2

|33||L||December 22, 1981||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Colorado Rockies (1981–82) ||12–19–2

|34||W||December 23, 1981||8–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Colorado Rockies (1981–82) ||13–19–2

|35||T||December 26, 1981||2–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) ||13–19–3

|36||L||December 27, 1981||3–10 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) ||13–20–3

|37||L||December 30, 1981||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Colorado Rockies (1981–82) ||13–21–3

|38||T||January 2, 1982||5–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Calgary Flames (1981–82) ||13–21–4

|39||L||January 5, 1982||3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) ||13–22–4

|40||T||January 7, 1982||3–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Washington Capitals (1981–82) ||13–22–5

|41||L||January 9, 1982||3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82) ||13–23–5

|42||L||January 10, 1982||4–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1981–82) ||13–24–5

|43||L||January 12, 1982||1–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1981–82) ||13–25–5

|44||L||January 14, 1982||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Calgary Flames (1981–82) ||13–26–5

|45||T||January 15, 1982||3–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) ||13–26–6

|46||T||January 19, 1982||4–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Colorado Rockies (1981–82) ||13–26–7

|47||T||January 21, 1982||3–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota North Stars (1981–82) ||13–26–8

|48||T||January 23, 1982||3–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Colorado Rockies (1981–82) ||13–26–9

|49||T||January 24, 1982||5–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) ||13–26–10

|50||T||January 27, 1982||4–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) ||13–26–11

|51||W||January 30, 1982||7–4 || style="text-align:left;"| St. Louis Blues (1981–82) ||14–26–11

|52||L||January 31, 1982||3–6 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Rangers (1981–82) ||14–27–11

|53||L||February 2, 1982||3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Hartford Whalers (1981–82) ||14–28–11

|54||W||February 6, 1982||5–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) ||15–28–11

|55||L||February 7, 1982||2–7 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1981–82) ||15–29–11

|56||T||February 11, 1982||4–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Quebec Nordiques (1981–82) ||15–29–12

|57||T||February 13, 1982||3–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) ||15–29–13

|58||L||February 14, 1982||4–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) ||15–30–13

|59||L||February 17, 1982||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Washington Capitals (1981–82) ||15–31–13

|60||W||February 20, 1982||6–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Calgary Flames (1981–82) ||16–31–13

|61||W||February 24, 1982||5–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Detroit Red Wings (1981–82) ||17–31–13

|62||L||February 27, 1982||3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82) ||17–32–13

|63||T||March 1, 1982||5–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1981–82) ||17–32–14

|64||W||March 3, 1982||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82) ||18–32–14

|65||L||March 6, 1982||0–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins (1981–82) ||18–33–14

|66||L||March 7, 1982||6–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Hartford Whalers (1981–82) ||18–34–14

|67||W||March 9, 1982||2–0 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Colorado Rockies (1981–82) ||19–34–14

|68||W||March 10, 1982||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) ||20–34–14

|69||W||March 13, 1982||3–0 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Islanders (1981–82) ||21–34–14

|70||T||March 15, 1982||3–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) ||21–34–15

|71||W||March 17, 1982||9–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Calgary Flames (1981–82) ||22–34–15

|72||W||March 20, 1982||7–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) ||23–34–15

|73||L||March 22, 1982||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1981–82) ||23–35–15

|74||L||March 24, 1982||3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1981–82) ||23–36–15

|75||W||March 27, 1982||9–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Colorado Rockies (1981–82) ||24–36–15

|76||L||March 28, 1982||2–6 || style="text-align:left;"| Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) ||24–37–15

|77||L||March 30, 1982||5–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Calgary Flames (1981–82) ||24–38–15

|78||L||March 31, 1982||3–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) ||24–39–15

|79||L||April 3, 1982||0–6 || style="text-align:left;"| Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) ||24–40–15

|80||L||April 4, 1982||4–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) ||24–41–15

Legend:

Playoffs Miracle on Manchester

Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG C 78 50 67 117 50-101715 RW 78 39 67 106 130-41303 RW 77 30 38 68 23-15510 D 79 22 44 66 95-13812 LW 71 33 23 56 68-61005 D 77 6 39 45 130-12100 LW 50 15 24 39 42-7302 LW 61 15 22 37 23-12103 C 79 13 23 36 111-4100 C 22 14 18 32 272811 C 80 16 14 30 64-13101 LW 45 8 19 27 19-14101 D 42 11 15 26 810101 LW 70 12 11 23 100-21000 D 50 5 13 18 91-19300 RW 28 5 10 15 200020 RW 41 2 13 15 102-20000 D 64 1 13 14 75-19000 D 46 3 7 10 69-14000 D/RW 33 2 8 10 56-11100 D 60 1 8 9 1452000 LW 14 2 6 8 22000 D 18 2 6 8 653000 LW 11 0 7 7 500000 C 16 2 4 6 282010 RW 16 1 3 4 6-9000 LW 3 1 3 4 21100 LW 7 2 1 3 21000 D 8 1 1 2 16-3000 C 3 0 2 2 01000 G 52 0 2 2 60000 D 5 0 2 2 01000 G 2 0 0 0 00000 D 6 0 0 0 184000 RW 2 0 0 0 20000 G 31 0 0 0 00000 RW 4 0 0 0 0-1000 G 7 0 0 0 00000 C 4 0 0 0 2-2000Goaltending Player MIN GPW LTGAGAA SO 2933 52 13 28 8 213 4.36 2 1436 31 8 10 7 103 4.30 0 380 7 3 3 0 43 6.79 0 51 2 0 0 0 2 2.35 0 Team: 4800 80 24 41 15 361 4.51 2 Playoffs Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG LW 10 5 8 13 12101 C 10 7 4 11 0400 LW 10 4 7 11 22101 RW 10 4 6 10 20300 D 10 2 8 10 12100 LW 10 4 1 5 6201 C 10 3 2 5 11100 C 10 2 3 5 11000 RW 9 1 4 5 0000 C 10 4 0 4 23001 D 10 1 3 4 41000 RW 10 0 4 4 15000 D 10 0 4 4 36000 RW 10 2 1 3 32000 D 10 1 2 3 9000 D/RW 10 0 2 2 17000 D 10 0 2 2 26000 G 10 0 2 2 2000 LW 10 1 0 1 14100 G 2 0 0 0 0000 RW 1 0 0 0 0000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LGAGAA SO 583 10 4 5 41 4.22 0 32 2 0 1 1 1.88 0 Team: 615 10 4 6 42 4.10 0

Transactions The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1981–82 season.

Trades August 10, 1981To Los Angeles Kings5th round pick in 1983 – Garry GalleyTo Edmonton OilersJay McFarlane August 10, 1981To Los Angeles KingsBob Gladney 6th round pick in 1983 – Kevin StevensTo Toronto Maple LeafsDon Luce November 11, 1981To Los Angeles KingsIan TurnbullTo Toronto Maple LeafsJohn Gibson Billy Harris

Free agent signings May 11, 1981From Cornell University (ECAC)Brock Tredway July 8, 1981From Colorado RockiesBobby Sheehan August 5, 1981From Kingston Canadians (OHL)Howard Scruton January 4, 1982From Washington CapitalsAlan Hangsleben January 5, 1982From Ohio State University (NCAA)Mike Blake April 5, 1982From University of North Dakota (WCHA)Phil Sykes

Waivers October 5, 1981From Hartford WhalersAl Sims October 5, 1981From Colorado RockiesTrevor Johansen December 30, 1981From Pittsburgh PenguinsPaul Mulvey February 19, 1982To Toronto Maple LeafsTrevor Johansen February 23, 1982To Pittsburgh PenguinsAndré St. Laurent

Draft picks Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1981 NHL entry draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)12Doug SmithOttawa 67's (OMJHL)239Dean KennedyBrandon Wheat Kings (WHL)481Marty DallmanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC)6123Brad ThompsonLondon Knights (OMJHL)7134Craig HurleySaskatoon Blades (WHL)7144Peter SawkinsSt. Paul Academy (USHS-MN)8165Dan BrennanUniversity of North Dakota (WCHA)9186Al TuerRegina Pats (WHL)10207Jeff BaikieCornell University (ECAC)

See also 1981–82 NHL season

References