1987–88 NHL season

The 1987–88 NHL season was the 71st season of the National Hockey League. It was an 80-game season with the top four teams in each division advancing to the Stanley Cup playoffs. This season would see the Edmonton Oilers win their fourth Stanley Cup in five years by sweeping the Boston Bruins 4–0^[1] in the Stanley Cup Finals. In the process of their Cup win, Edmonton lost only two games, a record for the "16 wins" playoff format.

1987–88 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 8, 1987 – May 26, 1988
Number of games	80
Number of teams	21
TV partner(s)	CBC, Canwest/Global, TSN, SRC (Canada) ESPN (United States)
Draft
Top draft pick	Pierre Turgeon
Picked by	Buffalo Sabres
Regular season
Presidents' Trophy	Calgary Flames
Season MVP	Mario Lemieux (Penguins)
Top scorer	Mario Lemieux (Penguins)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Wayne Gretzky (Oilers)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Edmonton Oilers
Runners-up	Boston Bruins

Entry draft

The 1987 NHL entry draft was held on June 13, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. This was the first draft held in the United States instead of in Canada. Pierre Turgeon was selected first overall by the Buffalo Sabres.

Regular season

This was Wayne Gretzky's final season with the Edmonton Oilers and, as injuries held him out of 20% of the season, this would be the only season of the decade in which he was not the winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy and the first season of his career that he did not hold or share the league lead in points. Mario Lemieux would capture his first Hart Trophy and lead the league in scoring.

On December 8, Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers became the first goalie to directly score a goal, shooting the puck into an empty net after their opponent had pulled their goalie for a sixth attacker.

On December 19, the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins combined to score two goals in two seconds. The Bruins were trailing 6-4 in the third period when Ken Linseman scored with 10 seconds remaining, followed by Blues center Doug Gilmour scoring off the resulting faceoff into an empty net.^[2]

The New Jersey Devils qualified for the playoffs for the first time, since their move from Denver in 1982.

Linesman John D'Amico retires after the season, becoming the last on-ice official from the Original Six era.

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.

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	80	45	22	13	298	238	103
Boston Bruins	80	44	30	6	300	251	94
Buffalo Sabres	80	37	32	11	283	305	85
Hartford Whalers	80	35	38	7	249	267	77
Quebec Nordiques	80	32	43	5	271	306	69

^[3]

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
New York Islanders	80	39	31	10	308	267	88
Philadelphia Flyers	80	38	33	9	292	292	85
Washington Capitals	80	38	33	9	281	249	85
New Jersey Devils	80	38	36	6	295	296	82
New York Rangers	80	36	34	10	300	283	82
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	36	35	9	319	316	81

^[3]

Clarence Campbell Conference

Norris Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Detroit Red Wings	80	41	28	11	322	269	93
St. Louis Blues	80	34	38	8	278	294	76
Chicago Blackhawks	80	30	41	9	284	328	69
Toronto Maple Leafs	80	21	49	10	273	345	52
Minnesota North Stars	80	19	48	13	242	349	51

^[3]

Smythe Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Calgary Flames	80	48	23	9	397	305	105
Edmonton Oilers	80	44	25	11	363	288	99
Winnipeg Jets	80	33	36	11	292	310	77
Los Angeles Kings	80	30	42	8	318	359	68
Vancouver Canucks	80	25	46	9	272	320	59

^[3]

Playoffs

Main article: 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs

Bracket

The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). In the division semifinals, the fourth seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. The two winning teams from each division's semifinals then met in the division finals. The two division winners of each conference then played in the conference finals. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Division semifinals

Division finals

Conference finals

Stanley Cup Finals

A1

Montreal

4

A4

Hartford

2

A1

Montreal

1

A2

Boston

4

A2

Boston

4

A3

Buffalo

2

A2

Boston

4

Prince of Wales Conference

P4

New Jersey

3

P1

NY Islanders

2

P4

New Jersey

4

P4

New Jersey

4

P2

Washington

3

P2

Washington

4

P3

Philadelphia

3

A2

Boston

0

S2

Edmonton

4

N1

Detroit

4

N4

Toronto

2

N1

Detroit

4

N2

St. Louis

1

N2

St. Louis

4

N3

Chicago

1

N1

Detroit

1

Clarence Campbell Conference

S2

Edmonton

4

S1

Calgary

4

S4

Los Angeles

1

S1

Calgary

0

S2

Edmonton

4

S2

Edmonton

4

S3

Winnipeg

1

Awards

The NHL introduced a new trophy, the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which was to be awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution in his community.

1987–88 NHL awards

Award	Recipient(s)	Runner(s)-up/Finalists
Stanley Cup	Edmonton Oilers	Boston Bruins
Presidents' Trophy (Best regular season record)	Calgary Flames	Montreal Canadiens
Prince of Wales Trophy (Wales Conference playoff champion)	Boston Bruins	New Jersey Devils
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl (Campbell Conference playoff champion)	Edmonton Oilers	Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross Trophy (Player with most points)	Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins)	Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers)
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Perseverance, Sportsmanship, and Dedication)	Bob Bourne (Los Angeles Kings)	N/A
Calder Memorial Trophy (Best first-year player)	Joe Nieuwendyk (Calgary Flames)	Darren Pang (Chicago Blackhawks) Ray Sheppard (Buffalo Sabres)
Conn Smythe Trophy (Most valuable player, playoffs)	Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers)	N/A
Emery Edge Award (Best plus-minus statistic)	Brad McCrimmon (Calgary Flames)	Petr Svoboda (Montreal Canadiens)
Frank J. Selke Trophy (Best defensive forward)	Guy Carbonneau (Montreal Canadiens)	Jan Erixon (New York Rangers) Steve Kasper (Boston Bruins)
Hart Memorial Trophy (Most valuable player, regular season)	Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins)	Grant Fuhr (Edmonton Oilers) Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers)
Jack Adams Award (Best coach)	Jacques Demers (Detroit Red Wings)	Terry Crisp (Calgary Flames) Jean Perron (Montreal Canadiens)
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best defenceman)	Ray Bourque (Boston Bruins)	Scott Stevens (Washington Capitals) Gary Suter (Calgary Flames)
King Clancy Memorial Trophy (Leadership and humanitarian contribution)	Lanny McDonald (Calgary Flames)	Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) Bryan Trottier (New York Islanders)
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Sportsmanship and excellence)	Mats Naslund (Montreal Canadiens)	Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) Joe Nieuwendyk (Calgary Flames)
Lester B. Pearson Award (Outstanding player)	Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins)	N/A
Vezina Trophy (Best goaltender)	Grant Fuhr (Edmonton Oilers)	Tom Barrasso (Buffalo Sabres) Kelly Hrudey (New York Islanders)
William M. Jennings Trophy (Goaltender(s) of team with fewest goals against)	Patrick Roy and Brian Hayward (Montreal Canadiens)	Clint Malarchuk and Pete Peeters (Washington Capitals)

All-Star teams

First Team	Position	Second Team
Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers	G	Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins	D	Gary Suter, Calgary Flames
Scott Stevens, Washington Capitals	D	Brad McCrimmon, Calgary Flames
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins	C	Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Hakan Loob, Calgary Flames	RW	Cam Neely, Boston Bruins
Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings	LW	Michel Goulet, Quebec Nordiques

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes, PPG = Powerplay Goals, SHG = Shorthanded Goals, GWG = Game Winning Goals

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Mario Lemieux	Pittsburgh Penguins	77	70	98	168	92	+23	22	10	7
Wayne Gretzky	Edmonton Oilers	64	40	109	149	24	+39	9	5	3
Denis Savard	Chicago Blackhawks	80	44	87	131	95	+4	14	7	6
Dale Hawerchuk	Winnipeg Jets	80	44	77	121	59	-9	20	3	4
Luc Robitaille	Los Angeles Kings	80	53	58	111	82	-9	17	0	6
Peter Stastny	Quebec Nordiques	76	46	65	111	69	+2	20	0	2
Mark Messier	Edmonton Oilers	77	37	74	111	103	+21	12	3	7
Jimmy Carson	Los Angeles Kings	80	55	52	107	45	-19	22	0	7
Hakan Loob	Calgary Flames	80	50	56	106	47	+41	9	8	4
Michel Goulet	Quebec Nordiques	80	48	58	106	56	-31	29	1	4

Source: NHL.^[4]

Leading goaltenders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage

Goalie	Team	GP	Min	W	L	T	SO	GAA	Sv%
Grant Fuhr	Edmonton Oilers	75	4304	40	24	9	4	3.43	88.1
Mike Vernon	Calgary Flames	64	3565	39	16	7	1	3.53	87.7
Ron Hextall	Philadelphia Flyers	62	3561	30	22	7	0	3.5	88.6
Mike Liut	Hartford Whalers	60	3532	25	28	5	2	3.18	88.5
John Vanbiesbrouck	New York Rangers	56	3319	27	22	7	2	3.38	89.0
Daniel Berthiaume	Winnipeg Jets	56	3010	22	19	7	2	3.51	88.2
Ken Wregget	Toronto Maple Leafs	56	3000	12	35	4	2	4.44	87.0
Tom Barrasso	Buffalo Sabres	54	3133	25	18	8	2	3.31	89.6
Mario Gosselin	Quebec Nordiques	54	3002	20	28	4	2	3.78	86.7
Clint Malarchuk	Washington Capitals	54	2926	24	20	4	4	3.16	88.5

Source: Quanthockey.com^[5]

Coaches

Patrick Division

• New Jersey Devils: Doug Carpenter and Jim Schoenfeld
• New York Islanders: Terry Simpson
• New York Rangers: Michel Bergeron
• Philadelphia Flyers: Mike Keenan and Paul Holmgren
• Pittsburgh Penguins: Pierre Creamer
• Washington Capitals: Bryan Murray

Adams Division

• Boston Bruins: Terry O'Reilly
• Buffalo Sabres: Ted Sator
• Hartford Whalers: Jack Evans
• Montreal Canadiens: Jean Perron
• Quebec Nordiques: Andre Savard and Ron Lapointe

Norris Division

• Chicago Blackhawks: Bob Murdoch
• Detroit Red Wings: Jacques Demers
• Minnesota North Stars: Herb Brooks
• St. Louis Blues: Jacques Martin
• Toronto Maple Leafs: John Brophy

Smythe Division

• Calgary Flames: Terry Crisp
• Edmonton Oilers: Glen Sather
• Los Angeles Kings: Robbie Ftorek
• Vancouver Canucks: Bob McCammon
• Winnipeg Jets: Dan Maloney

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1987–88:

• Tommy Albelin, Quebec Nordiques
• Rob Brown, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Sean Burke, New Jersey Devils
• Adam Graves, Detroit Red Wings
• Jiri Hrdina, Calgary Flames
• Craig Janney, Boston Bruins
• Calle Johansson, Buffalo Sabres
• Brian Leetch, New York Rangers
• Jeff Norton, New York Islanders
• Luke Richardson, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Mathieu Schneider, Montreal Canadiens
• Brendan Shanahan, New Jersey Devils
• Ray Sheppard, Buffalo Sabres
• Kevin Stevens, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Ron Tugnutt, Quebec Nordiques
• Pierre Turgeon, Buffalo Sabres
• Glen Wesley, Boston Bruins
• Trent Yawney, Chicago Blackhawks
• Scott Young, Hartford Whalers
• Zarley Zalapski, Pittsburgh Penguins

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1987–88:

• Bob Bourne, Los Angeles Kings
• Richard Brodeur, Hartford Whalers
• Clark Gillies, Buffalo Sabres
• Doug Jarvis, Hartford Whalers
• Pierre Larouche, New York Rangers
• Dave Lewis, Detroit Red Wings
• Gilles Meloche, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Rick Middleton, Boston Bruins
• Wilf Paiement, Pittsburgh Penguins (The last active player to have been a member of the Kansas City Scouts.)
• Steve Payne, Minnesota North Stars
• Denis Potvin, New York Islanders
• Dave Semenko, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Charlie Simmer, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Brian Sutter, St. Louis Blues
• Perry Turnbull, St. Louis Blues
• Tiger Williams, Hartford Whalers

Firsts

• Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers, First goaltender in NHL history to shoot and score a goal.

Broadcasting

In Canada, the cable network TSN began airing a schedule of Monday and Thursday night regular season games. The Molson-sponsored Hockey Night in Canada on CBC continued to air Saturday night regular season games. This was the last season of the Carling O'Keefe-sponsored telecasts on Canwest/Global, with Global airing selected regular season games between January and March. Coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs were split between CBC and Global, with the later branding its postseason broadcasts as Stanley Cup '88. Carling O'Keefe's rights expired at the end of the season,^[6] and 1989 merger between Molson and Carling O'Keefe eventually put an end to the competition.

This was the third and final season of the league's U.S. national broadcast rights deal with ESPN, airing up to 33 regular season games each season as well as the All-Star Game and the playoffs.^[7][8] SportsChannel America then signed a three-year contract to take over the rights from ESPN.^[9]

See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1987 NHL entry draft
• 1987 NHL supplemental draft
• 1987–88 NHL transactions
• 39th National Hockey League All-Star Game
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• NHL All-Rookie Team
• Ice hockey at the 1988 Winter Olympics
• 1987 Canada Cup
• 1987 in sports
• 1988 in sports