Division 5th Adams Goals for 264 General Manager Larry Pleau | 1981–82 record 21–41–18 Goals against 351 Coach Larry Pleau | |
October
The Whalers opened the 1981–82 season on the road against the Quebec Nordiques in front of a sold out crowd at Le Colisée on October 6, losing a close one to the Nordiques, by a 6-5 score. Two nights later, Hartford earned their first point of the season, as the Whalers and Montreal Canadiens skated to a 5-5 tie.
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Hartford had their home opener on October 10 against their new divisional rivals, the Boston Bruins, in front of 13,107 fans at the Civic Center. The Whalers and Bruins fought to a 1-1 tie, as Hartford goaltender Greg Millen led the way with 23 saves, while Blaine Stoughton scored the only goal for the team.
After going winless in their first four games of the season (0-2-2), the Whalers finally earned their first victory, as Rick Meagher recorded a hat trick, as Hartford crushed the Detroit Red Wings by an 8-1 score.
The victory over Detroit would be the Whalers only win of the month, as Hartford finished October with a five-game winless streak (0-2-3), finishing October with a 1-4-5 record, earning seven points, and sat in last place in the Adams Division, six points behind the Buffalo Sabres for fourth place.
November
Hartford opened November with a pair of 4-1 losses to the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks to fall to 1-6-5 on the season, before earning their second win of the year, a 4-2 decision against the Minnesota North Stars on November 9.
The Whalers would follow the victory with a four-game winless skid (0-2-2), to fall to 2-8-7 on the season through their first 17 games of the year. Hartford would snap the winless streak with an 8-5 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. A highlight in the game was when Ron Francis scored his first career goal.
Wins would be scarce for the Whalers in November, as they would record only one more victory in November, and ended the month with a record of 3-7-3 in 13 games, and fall to 4-11-8 on the season, earning 16 points, in last place in the Adams Division, 14 points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final playoff spot.
December
The Whalers opened December with their first road win of the season, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on December 2. Overall, Hartford would win three of their first four games of the month, as they recorded wins against the New York Rangers and the St. Louis Blues.
After their 3-1-0 start to the month, Hartford fell into a five-game winless streak (0-4-1), getting their only point in a 5-5 tie against the Los Angeles Kings, before earning a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings to snap their skid in their final game before Christmas.
The team then went 2-2-0 in their final four games of December, to finish the month with a 6-7-1 record in 14 games, and post a 10-18-9 record on the season. The Whalers remained in last place in the Adams Division, 14 points behind the fourth place Quebec Nordiques.
January
Hartford got off to a terrible start in January, as the club dropped their first five games of the month, before finally earning a tie against the Boston Bruins on January 16, as Blaine Stoughton scored two goals in a 3-3 tie. Hartford then lost their next game by a 7-1 score against the Buffalo Sabres the next night to extend their winless skid to seven games.
The team ended their winless skid with a solid 4-2 victory over the Quebec Nordiques on January 20. This marked the start of a six-game unbeaten streak (4-0-2) for the Whalers to end the month.
Hartford managed to post a 4-6-3 record in 13 games in January, and an overall record of 14-24-12 on the season, earning 40 points. The Whalers were stuck in the Adams Division cellar, 18 points behind the fourth place Quebec Nordiques.
February
The Whalers continued to stay hot at the start of February, as Hartford went 2-0-2 on a four-game road trip, and extended their overall unbeaten streak to a team record 10 games (6-0-4). The unbeaten streak came to an end on February 13, as the New York Rangers defeated Hartford by a 3-2 score.
The loss to the Rangers began a string of losses for the Whalers, as the team went on a six-game losing streak, before snapping the skid with a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins on February 24. Hartford then lost their last two games of the month, and eight of nine overall.
The club went 3-8-2 in their 13 February games, slipping to a 17-32-14 record on the season, registering 48 points, and 23 points behind the Quebec Nordiques.
March/April
The team opened March with two ties against the Buffalo Sabres, followed by a two-game winning streak, defeating the Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets. The Whalers four game unbeaten streak came to an end on March 13, as the Montreal Canadiens shutout Hartford 5-0. The club lost their second straight game the next night, 4-3 to the Colorado Rockies.
The Whalers managed to snap their two-game losing streak, and won consecutive games, beating the Quebec Nordiques and Buffalo Sabres. Those wins were the Whalers last of the season, as the team finished the season with a nine-game winless streak (0-7-2).
Hartford finished the year with a 21-41-18 record for the second straight season, earning 60 points, and were the last place team in the Adams Division, 22 points behind the Quebec Nordiques for the fourth and final playoff spot in the division.
Final standings
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.
Draft picks
Hartford's draft picks from the 1981 NHL Entry Draft which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, on June 10, 1981.