1990–91 Los Angeles Kings season

The 1990–91 Los Angeles Kings season, was the Kings' 24th season in the National Hockey League. It saw the Kings finish first in the Smythe Division with a 46–24–10 record for 102 points. This was the first (and as of 2024, only) regular season division title in Kings history. It also served as the second-best regular-season finish in franchise history. The team defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the Smythe Division Semifinals in six games before falling to the Edmonton Oilers in the Division Finals in six games.

1990–91 Los Angeles Kings
Smythe Division champions
Division	1st Smythe
Conference	3rd Campbell
1990–91 record	46–24–10
Home record	26–9–5
Road record	20–15–5
Goals for	340
Goals against	254
Team information
General manager	Rogatien Vachon
Coach	Tom Webster
Captain	Wayne Gretzky
Alternate captains	Larry Robinson Dave Taylor
Arena	Great Western Forum
Team leaders
Goals	Luc Robitaille and Tomas Sandstrom (45)
Assists	Wayne Gretzky (122)
Points	Wayne Gretzky (163)
Penalty minutes	Jay Miller (259)
Plus/minus	Marty McSorley (+48)
Wins	Kelly Hrudey (26)
Goals against average	Kelly Hrudey (2.90)
← 1989–90 1991–92 →

Offseason

NHL Draft

Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft held at the BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	7	Darryl Sydor	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
2	28	Brandy Semchuk	Canada	Canadian National Team
3	49	Bob Berg	Canada	Belleville Bulls (OHL)
5	91	David Goverde	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
6	112	Erik Andersson	Sweden	Danderyds HC (Sweden)
7	133	Robert Lang	Czechoslovakia	HC CHZ Litvinov (Czechoslovakia)
8	154	Dean Hulett	United States	Lake Superior State University (CCHA)
9	175	Denis LeBlanc	Canada	Saint-Hyacinthe Laser (QMJHL)
10	196	Patrik Ross	Sweden	HV71 (Sweden)
11	217	Kevin White	Canada	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
12	238	Troy Mohns	Canada	Colgate University (ECAC)
S	12	Peter Sentner	United States	University of Massachusetts Lowell (Hockey East)

Regular season

Final standings

Smythe Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Los Angeles Kings	80	46	24	10	340	254	102
Calgary Flames	80	46	26	8	344	263	100
Edmonton Oilers	80	37	37	6	272	272	80
Vancouver Canucks	80	28	43	9	243	315	65
Winnipeg Jets	80	26	43	11	260	288	63

^[1]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^[2]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Chicago Blackhawks	NRS	80	49	23	8	284	211	106
2	St. Louis Blues	NRS	80	47	22	11	310	250	105
3	Los Angeles Kings	SMY	80	46	24	10	340	254	102
4	Calgary Flames	SMY	80	46	26	8	344	263	100
5	Edmonton Oilers	SMY	80	37	37	6	272	272	80
6	Detroit Red Wings	NRS	80	34	38	8	273	298	76
7	Minnesota North Stars	NRS	80	27	39	14	256	266	68
8	Vancouver Canucks	SMY	80	28	43	9	243	315	65
9	Winnipeg Jets	SMY	80	26	43	11	260	288	63
10	Toronto Maple Leafs	NRS	80	23	46	11	241	318	57

Divisions: NRS – Norris, SMY – Smythe

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 4, 1990	4–1	New York Islanders (1990–91)	1–0–0
2	L	October 6, 1990	3–6	Vancouver Canucks (1990–91)	1–1–0
3	W	October 9, 1990	6–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1990–91)	2–1–0
4	T	October 11, 1990	5–5 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	2–1–1
5	W	October 13, 1990	7–1	Boston Bruins (1990–91)	3–1–1
6	W	October 14, 1990	4–1	St. Louis Blues (1990–91)	4–1–1
7	W	October 17, 1990	5–2	Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)	5–1–1
8	W	October 19, 1990	5–2	Hartford Whalers (1990–91)	6–1–1
9	W	October 23, 1990	6–4	Calgary Flames (1990–91)	7–1–1
10	L	October 26, 1990	2–6	@ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	7–2–1
11	W	October 28, 1990	6–2	@ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	8–2–1
12	W	October 30, 1990	4–1	@ New York Islanders (1990–91)	9–2–1
13	L	October 31, 1990	4–9	@ New York Rangers (1990–91)	9–3–1
14	L	November 2, 1990	3–4	@ Washington Capitals (1990–91)	9–4–1
15	W	November 4, 1990	2–0	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91)	10–4–1
16	W	November 8, 1990	5–1	Detroit Red Wings (1990–91)	11–4–1
17	W	November 10, 1990	7–4	Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	12–4–1
18	W	November 14, 1990	4–2	Buffalo Sabres (1990–91)	13–4–1
19	W	November 17, 1990	2–1 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91)	14–4–1
20	W	November 20, 1990	5–4	New Jersey Devils (1990–91)	15–4–1
21	L	November 22, 1990	3–6	@ Calgary Flames (1990–91)	15–5–1
22	W	November 24, 1990	4–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1990–91)	16–5–1
23	T	November 25, 1990	4–4 OT	@ Quebec Nordiques (1990–91)	16–5–2
24	L	November 27, 1990	3–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91)	16–6–2
25	T	November 29, 1990	4–4 OT	@ St. Louis Blues (1990–91)	16–6–3
26	L	December 1, 1990	3–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)	16–7–3
27	T	December 5, 1990	3–3 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	16–7–4
28	T	December 8, 1990	4–4 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	16–7–5
29	L	December 11, 1990	4–6	New York Rangers (1990–91)	16–8–5
30	L	December 13, 1990	1–4	Calgary Flames (1990–91)	16–9–5
31	W	December 15, 1990	8–3	Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	17–9–5
32	L	December 18, 1990	3–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	17–10–5
33	W	December 20, 1990	4–3 OT	@ Calgary Flames (1990–91)	18–10–5
34	L	December 22, 1990	3–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1990–91)	18–11–5
35	L	December 27, 1990	5–7	Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91)	18–12–5
36	L	December 29, 1990	2–3	Montreal Canadiens (1990–91)	18–13–5
37	W	December 31, 1990	4–2	@ Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)	19–13–5
38	L	January 2, 1991	1–4	@ New York Rangers (1990–91)	19–14–5
39	W	January 3, 1991	6–3	@ New York Islanders (1990–91)	20–14–5
40	W	January 5, 1991	4–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)	21–14–5
41	W	January 6, 1991	3–1	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91)	22–14–5
42	W	January 8, 1991	4–3 OT	Hartford Whalers (1990–91)	23–14–5
43	W	January 10, 1991	5–2	Buffalo Sabres (1990–91)	24–14–5
44	W	January 12, 1991	6–2	Vancouver Canucks (1990–91)	25–14–5
45	W	January 14, 1991	6–1	@ New Jersey Devils (1990–91)	26–14–5
46	L	January 16, 1991	3–4	@ Hartford Whalers (1990–91)	26–15–5
47	L	January 17, 1991	3–5	@ Boston Bruins (1990–91)	26–16–5
48	L	January 22, 1991	2–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	26–17–5
49	W	January 25, 1991	5–1	@ Vancouver Canucks (1990–91)	27–17–5
50	W	January 26, 1991	5–4	Vancouver Canucks (1990–91)	28–17–5
51	L	January 30, 1991	2–4	New Jersey Devils (1990–91)	28–18–5
52	W	February 2, 1991	9–1	Vancouver Canucks (1990–91)	29–18–5
53	W	February 4, 1991	6–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91)	30–18–5
54	W	February 5, 1991	3–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91)	31–18–5
55	T	February 8, 1991	4–4 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (1990–91)	31–18–6
56	L	February 9, 1991	4–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1990–91)	31–19–6
57	T	February 12, 1991	4–4 OT	Calgary Flames (1990–91)	31–19–7
58	W	February 14, 1991	4–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	32–19–7
59	L	February 16, 1991	4–5 OT	Boston Bruins (1990–91)	32–20–7
60	W	February 18, 1991	5–2	Washington Capitals (1990–91)	33–20–7
61	W	February 20, 1991	6–1	Quebec Nordiques (1990–91)	34–20–7
62	W	February 22, 1991	6–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	35–20–7
63	W	February 24, 1991	5–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	36–20–7
64	W	February 26, 1991	8–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91)	37–20–7
65	W	February 28, 1991	4–2	Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	38–20–7
66	W	March 2, 1991	6–3	Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	39–20–7
67	T	March 5, 1991	3–3 OT	@ Washington Capitals (1990–91)	39–20–8
68	L	March 7, 1991	2–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91)	39–21–8
69	W	March 9, 1991	3–0	@ Quebec Nordiques (1990–91)	40–21–8
70	T	March 10, 1991	4–4 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1990–91)	40–21–9
71	W	March 12, 1991	6–0	Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91)	41–21–9
72	L	March 14, 1991	3–6	Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91)	41–22–9
73	W	March 16, 1991	4–3	@ Calgary Flames (1990–91)	42–22–9
74	L	March 17, 1991	4–5 OT	@ Vancouver Canucks (1990–91)	42–23–9
75	T	March 20, 1991	4–4 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)	42–23–10
76	W	March 23, 1991	8–4	Calgary Flames (1990–91)	43–23–10
77	W	March 24, 1991	4–3 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	44–23–10
78	W	March 26, 1991	2–0	Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	45–23–10
79	W	March 28, 1991	6–5	Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)	46–23–10
80	L	March 31, 1991	3–5	@ Calgary Flames (1990–91)	46–24–10

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Wayne Gretzky C 78 41 122 163 16 30 8 0 5 Luc Robitaille LW 76 45 46 91 68 28 11 0 5 Tomas Sandstrom RW 68 45 44 89 106 27 16 0 6 Tony Granato RW 68 30 34 64 154 22 11 1 3 Steve Duchesne D 78 21 41 62 66 19 8 0 3 Todd Elik C 74 21 37 58 58 20 2 0 4 Dave Taylor RW 73 23 30 53 148 27 6 0 2 Rob Blake D 75 12 34 46 125 3 9 0 2 Marty McSorley D 61 7 32 39 221 48 1 1 1 Bob Kudelski RW 72 23 13 36 46 9 2 3 3 Brian Benning D 61 7 24 31 127 12 2 0 1 John Tonelli LW 71 14 16 30 49 3 2 0 5 Steve Kasper C 67 9 19 28 33 3 0 1 1 Larry Robinson D 62 1 22 23 16 22 0 0 0 Brad Jones LW 53 9 11 20 57 11 0 1 1 Jay Miller LW 66 8 12 20 259 9 1 0 0 John McIntyre C 56 8 5 13 115 6 0 1 0 Mike Donnelly LW 53 7 5 12 41 3 0 0 2 Rod Buskas D 57 3 8 11 182 14 0 0 0 Scott Bjugstad RW 31 2 4 6 12 -5 0 0 1 Mike Krushelnyski LW/C 15 1 5 6 10 7 1 0 0 Francois Breault RW 17 1 4 5 6 -1 0 0 0 Bob Halkidis D 34 1 3 4 133 8 0 0 0 Tim Watters D 45 0 4 4 92 7 0 0 0 Jim Thomson RW 8 1 0 1 19 0 0 0 1 Rene Chapdelaine D 3 0 1 1 10 1 0 0 0 Sylvain Couturier C 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Daniel Berthiaume G 37 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 Rick Hayward D 4 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 Kelly Hrudey G 47 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 Ilkka Sinisalo RW 7 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 Dennis Smith D 4 0 0 0 4 3 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV% Kelly Hrudey 2730 47 26 13 6 132 2.90 3 1321 1189 .900 Daniel Berthiaume 2119 37 20 11 4 117 3.31 1 1086 969 .892 Team: 4849 80 46 24 10 249 3.08 4 2407 2158 .897

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Luc Robitaille LW 12 12 4 16 22 -2 5 0 2 Wayne Gretzky C 12 4 11 15 2 0 1 0 2 Steve Duchesne D 12 4 8 12 8 7 1 0 0 Steve Kasper C 10 4 6 10 8 4 0 1 0 Mike Donnelly LW 12 5 4 9 6 6 0 0 0 Todd Elik C 12 2 7 9 6 0 0 0 0 Tomas Sandstrom RW 10 4 4 8 14 1 3 0 0 John Tonelli LW 12 2 4 6 12 1 1 0 0 Bob Kudelski RW 8 3 2 5 2 4 0 0 0 Rob Blake D 12 1 4 5 26 -1 1 0 0 Tony Granato RW 12 1 4 5 28 1 0 0 0 Larry Robinson D 12 1 4 5 15 7 0 0 0 Brian Benning D 12 0 5 5 6 1 0 0 0 Dave Taylor RW 12 2 1 3 12 -3 0 0 1 Brad Jones LW 8 1 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 Rod Buskas D 2 0 2 2 22 2 0 0 0 John McIntyre C 12 0 1 1 24 -2 0 0 0 Ilkka Sinisalo RW 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 Scott Bjugstad RW 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bob Halkidis D 3 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 Kelly Hrudey G 12 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Marty McSorley D 12 0 0 0 58 -1 0 0 0 Jay Miller LW 8 0 0 0 17 -1 0 0 0 Tim Watters D 7 0 0 0 12 -4 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV% Kelly Hrudey 798 12 6 6 37 2.78 0 382 345 .903 Team: 798 12 6 6 37 2.78 0 382 345 .903

^[3]

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

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1990–91 season.^[4]

Trades

August 15, 1990	To Los Angeles Kings Shawn McCosh	To Detroit Red Wings 8th round pick in 1992 - Justin Krall
September 6, 1990	To Los Angeles Kings Daniel Berthiaume	To Minnesota North Stars Craig Duncanson
September 30, 1990	To Los Angeles Kings Mike Donnelly	To Buffalo Sabres Mikko Mäkelä
November 9, 1990	To Los Angeles Kings John McIntyre	To Toronto Maple Leafs Mike Krushelnyski
March 5, 1991	To Los Angeles Kings Ilkka Sinisalo	To Minnesota North Stars 8th round pick in 1991 - Michael Burkett

Free agent signings

July 1, 1990	From Hartford Whalers Tom Martin
July 2, 1990	From New Jersey Devils Jim Thomson
July 11, 1990	From Montreal Canadiens Stéphane Richer
July 11, 1990	From Boston Bruins Billy O'Dwyer
July 15, 1990	From Calgary Flames Rick Hayward
July 16, 1990	From Edmonton Oilers Steve Graves
July 27, 1990	From Boston Bruins Brian Lawton
September 28, 1990	From Washington Capitals Dennis Smith
April 5, 1991	From Boston University (HE) Peter Ahola

Free agents lost

July 11, 1990

To New York Rangers Eric Germain

Waivers

October 1, 1990

From Pittsburgh Penguins Rod Buskas

Playoffs

Round 1: (S1) Los Angeles Kings vs. (S4) Vancouver Canucks

April 4

Vancouver Canucks

6–5

Los Angeles Kings

Great Western Forum

April 6

Vancouver Canucks

2–3

OT

Los Angeles Kings

Great Western Forum

April 8

Los Angeles Kings

1–2

OT

Vancouver Canucks

Pacific Coliseum

April 10

Los Angeles Kings

6–1

Vancouver Canucks

Pacific Coliseum

April 12

Vancouver Canucks

4–7

Los Angeles Kings

Great Western Forum

April 14

Los Angeles Kings

4–1

Vancouver Canucks

Pacific Coliseum

Los Angeles won series 4–2

Round 2: (S1) Los Angeles Kings vs. (S3) Edmonton Oilers

April 18

Edmonton Oilers

3–4

OT

Los Angeles Kings

Great Western Forum

April 20

Edmonton Oilers

4–3

2OT

Los Angeles Kings

Great Western Forum

April 22

Los Angeles Kings

3–4

2OT

Edmonton Oilers

Northlands Coliseum

April 24

Los Angeles Kings

2–4

Edmonton Oilers

Northlands Coliseum

April 26

Edmonton Oilers

2–5

Los Angeles Kings

Great Western Forum

April 28

Los Angeles Kings

3–4

OT

Edmonton Oilers

Northlands Coliseum

Edmonton won series 4–2

Awards and records

• Wayne Gretzky, Art Ross Trophy
• Wayne Gretzky, Longest Consecutive Games Assist Streak, 23 games (48 assists during the streak)^[5]
• Marty McSorley, NHL Plus-Minus Award
• Dave Taylor, Masterton Trophy Winner^[6]
• Tom Webster, runner-up for the Jack Adams Trophy

References

• Kings on Hockey Database

1. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
2. "1990-1991 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
3. "1990-91 Los Angeles Kings Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
4. "Hockey Transactions Search Results".
5. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 187, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
6. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.220, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5