1981–82 Hartford Whalers season
| 1981–82 Hartford Whalers | |
|---|---|
| Division | 5th Adams |
| 1981–82 record | 21–41–18 |
| Goals for | 264 |
| Goals against | 351 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Larry Pleau |
| Coach | Larry Pleau |
| Captain | Dave Keon |
| Alternate captains | None |
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.
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.
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.
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