1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers season

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1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers
Division	3rd Patrick
Conference	4th Wales
1987–88 record	38–33–9
Home record	20–14–6
Road record	18–19–3
Goals for	292
Goals against	292
General Manager	Bob Clarke
Coach	Mike Keenan
Captain	Dave Poulin
Alternate captains	Mark Howe Brad Marsh
Arena	The Spectrum
Average attendance	17,405[1]
Team leaders
Goals	Rick Tocchet (31)
Assists	Brian Propp (49)
Points	Murray Craven (70) Brian Propp (70)
Penalties in minutes	Rick Tocchet (299)
Plus/Minus	Kjell Samuelsson (+28)
Wins	Ron Hextall (30)
Goals against average	Ron Hextall (3.51)

The 1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers 21st season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Flyers stumbled in 1987–88, finishing third in the Patrick Division (after a first-place finish the previous three years). Ron Hextall scored a goal on December 8, 1987 versus the Boston Bruins, the first time a goaltender shot the puck into the opposing team's net. In their first round playoff series with the Washington Capitals, the Flyers blew a 3–1 series lead as Washington forced a Game 7. They then blew a 3–0 lead in Game 7 as Washington won in overtime 5–4. It was because of this playoff collapse that head coach Mike Keenan was fired. Paul Holmgren was named Keenan's replacement, the first time a former Flyer was named the club's head coach.

Contents:	Regular season – Playoffs – Player stats – Awards and records - Transactions Draft picks – Farm teams – See also – References

[edit] Regular season

The season was one of many ups and downs. With Ron Hextall lost to an eight-game suspension to start the year after slashing Kent Nilsson in the Stanley Cup Finals, Tim Kerr lost indefinitely with a shoulder problem, and Brad McCrimmon traded to Calgary over a salary dispute, the club limped to a 3–6–2 record in October.

The free-fall continued until late November. After blowing a 4–1 lead into a 6–4 loss to the Islanders at home, the Flyers were at 6–13–3. However, just as quickly, the club rebounded with a 14-game unbeaten streak (12–0–2). The run was highlighted by Hextall's goal, a game-winning two-man short tally by Murray Craven in Winnipeg, and a post-Christmas comeback win in Landover against the Capitals.

A 6–0–1 run through late February and early March saw Rick Tocchet post three hat tricks in a span of four games (Detroit, at Los Angeles, at Vancouver). On February 23, the club set a still-standing franchise record with 11 goals in an amazing 11–6 win in Detroit, including a team-record 7 third-period goals.

After a 7–3 win over the Canucks March 1, the Flyers finished the year in free-fall due to almost daily injuries, going 4–11–2, ending up the lower seed in a second-place tie with Washington. Kerr returned to the lineup finally on March 10, but was unable to find his range before the playoffs began.

[edit] Season standings

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

[edit] Game log

      Win (2 points)       Loss (0 points)       Tie (1 point)

1987–88 Game Log
October: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 1 October 8 Montreal 2 – 2 Philadelphia Laforest 17,423 0–0–1 1
November: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts November 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
December: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts December 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
January: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts January 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
February: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts February 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
March: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts March 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
April: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts April 1 0 – 0 0–0–0

[edit] Playoffs

[edit] Game log

      Win       Loss

1988 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Patrick Division Semifinals vs. Washington - Capitals win 4–3 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series 1 April 6 Philadelphia 4 – 2 Washington Hextall 16,667 Flyers lead 1–0 2 April 7 Philadelphia 4 – 5 Washington Hextall 17,339 Series tied 1–1 3 April 9 Washington 3 – 4 Philadelphia Hextall 17,423 Flyers lead 2–1 4 April 10 Washington 4 – 5 Philadelphia OT Laforest 17,423 Flyers lead 3–1 5 April 12 Philadelphia 2 – 5 Washington Hextall 17,409 Flyers lead 3–2 6 April 14 Washington 7 – 2 Philadelphia Hextall 17,423 Series tied 3–3 7 April 16 Philadelphia 4 – 5 Washington OT Hextall 18,130 Capitals win 4–3

[edit] Player stats

[edit] Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

			Regular season						Playoffs
Player	#		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Murray Craven	32		72	30	46	76	58		7	2	5	7	4
Brian Propp	26		74	27	49	76	76		7	4	2	6	8
Rick Tocchet	22		65	31	33	64	299		5	1	4	5	55
Mark Howe	2		75	19	43	62	62		7	3	6	9	4
Peter Zezel	25		69	22	35	57	42		7	3	2	5	7
Scott Mellanby	19		75	25	26	51	185		7	0	1	1	16
Dave Poulin	20		68	19	32	51	32		7	2	6	8	4
Ilkka Sinisalo	23		68	25	17	42	30		7	4	2	6	0
Pelle Eklund	9		71	10	32	42	12		7	0	3	3	0
Doug Crossman	3		76	9	29	38	43		7	1	1	2	8
Ron Sutter	14		69	8	25	33	146		7	0	1	1	26
Kjell Samuelsson	28		74	6	24	30	184		7	2	5	7	23
Derrick Smith	24		76	16	8	24	104		7	0	0	0	6
Kerry Huffman	5		52	6	17	23	34		2	0	0	0	0
Dave Brown	21		47	12	5	17	114		7	1	0	1	27
Willie Huber†	44		10	4	9	13	16		5	0	0	0	2
Brad Marsh	8		70	3	9	12	57		7	1	0	1	8
Lindsay Carson‡	18		36	2	7	9	37		-	-	-	-	-
Brian Dobbin	7		21	3	5	8	6		-	-	-	-	-
Ron Hextall (G)	27		62	1	6	7	104		7	0	2	2	30
Greg Smyth	6 [2]		48	1	6	7	192		5	0	0	0	38
Magnus Roupe	10		33	2	4	6	32		-	-	-	-	-
Craig Berube	17 [3]		27	3	2	5	108		-	-	-	-	-
Tim Kerr	12		8	3	2	5	12		6	1	3	4	4
Paul Lawless†‡	18		8	0	5	5	0		-	-	-	-	-
J.J. Daigneault	15		28	2	2	4	12		-	-	-	-	-
Don Nachbaur	42		20	0	4	4	61		2	0	0	0	2
Bill Root	34 [4]		24	1	2	3	16		2	0	0	0	2
Gordie Roberts†‡	36		11	1	2	3	15		-	-	-	-	-
Al Hill	36		12	1	0	1	10		1	0	1	1	4
Glen Seabrooke	11		6	0	1	1	2		-	-	-	-	-
Nick Fotiu	29		23	0	0	0	40		-	-	-	-	-
Mark Laforest (G)	33		21	0	0	0	8		2	0	0	0	10
Wendell Young (G)	30		6	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
David Fenyves	39		5	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Mitch Lamoureux	37		3	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Jeff Chychrun	40 [5]		3	0	0	0	4		-	-	-	-	-
John Stevens	41		3	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Mike Stothers‡	44		3	0	0	0	13		-	-	-	-	-
Mark Freer	45		1	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Mike Murray	39		1	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Bench	X						26

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Flyers. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

[edit] Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

			Regular season										Playoffs
Player	#		GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA		GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Ron Hextall	27		62	3560	30	22	7	208	0	.885	3.51		7	379	2	4	30	0	.847	4.75
Mark Laforest	33		21	972	5	9	2	60	1	.874	3.70		2	48	1	0	1	0	.917	1.25
Wendell Young	30		6	320	3	2	0	20	0	.865	3.75		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

[edit] Awards and records

[edit] Awards

NHL
Award	Recipient
All-Star Game representative	Ron Hextall Mark Howe Mike Keenan (Coach) Dave Poulin Kjell Samuelsson
NHL Player of the Week	Ron Hextall (December 14) Mark Howe (December 28) Ron Hextall (January 18) Rick Tocchet (February 28) Rick Tocchet (March 10)
Team
Award	Recipient
Barry Ashbee Trophy	Mark Howe
Bobby Clarke Trophy	Ron Hextall
Class Guy Award	Rick Tocchet

[edit] Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions before/during the 1987–88 season.

[edit] Trades

June 13, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers Mark Laforest	To Detroit Red Wings 2nd round pick in 1987
June 13, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers 5th round pick in 1989	To Vancouver Canucks 5th round pick in 1987
July 21, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers cash	To New York Rangers Jeff Brubaker
August 26, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers 1st round pick in 1989 3rd round pick in 1988	To Calgary Flames Brad McCrimmon
August 31, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers Wendell Young 3rd round pick in 1990	To Vancouver Canucks Darren Jensen Daryl Stanley
December 4, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers 5th round pick in 1989	To Toronto Maple Leafs Mike Stothers
January 22, 1988	To Philadelphia Flyers Paul Lawless	To Hartford Whalers Lindsay Carson
February 9, 1988	To Philadelphia Flyers Gordie Roberts	To Minnesota North Stars 4th round pick in 1989
March 1, 1988	To Philadelphia Flyers Willie Huber	To Vancouver Canucks Paul Lawless 5th round pick in 1989
March 8, 1988	To Philadelphia Flyers 4th round pick in 1989[6]	To St. Louis Blues Gordie Roberts

[edit] Additions and subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via Don Biggs Edmonton free agency (7/17) Mark Lofthouse New Haven (AHL) free agency (8/15) David Fenyves Buffalo waiver draft (10/5) Nick Fotiu Calgary free agency (10/30) Bill Root St. Louis waivers (11/26)

Subtractions Player New team Via Ed Hospodar Buffalo waiver draft (10/5) Tim Tookey Los Angeles waiver draft (10/5)

[edit] Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft.^[7][8]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	20	Darren Rumble	Defenseman	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
2	30	Jeff Harding	Right Wing	Canada	St. Michael's Jr. B (Toronto)
3	62	Martin Hostak	Right Wing	Czech Republic	Sparta Praha (Cze)
4	83	Tomaz Eriksson	Left Wing	Sweden	Djurgardens IF (SEL)
5	104	Bill Gall	Defenseman	United States	New Hampton Prep (N.H.)
6	125	Tony Link	Defenseman	United States	Dimond H.S. (Alaska)
7	146	Marc Strapon	Defenseman	United States	Hayward H.S. (Wisconsin)
8	167	Daryl Ingham	Right Wing	Canada	U. of Manitoba (CIAU)
9	188	Bruce MacDonald	Right Wing	United States	Loomis-Chafee H.S. (Mass.)
10	209	Steve Morrow	Defenseman	United States	Westminster H.S. (Conn.)
11	230	Darius Rusnak	Center	Slovakia	Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)
12	251	Dale Roehl	Goaltender	United States	Minnetonka H.S. (Minn.)
SUP	14	David Whyte	Left Wing	United States	Boston College (HE)

[edit] Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL and the Flint Spirits of the IHL.^[9] Led by the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award winner as coach of the year (John Paddock), the Eddie Shore Award winner as top defenseman (Dave Fenyves), and the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as top goaltender (Wendell Young), Hershey finished first in their division and swept their way through the playoffs with a 12–0 record to a Calder Cup championship. Young was given the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP.^[10] In their only season as a Flyers affiliate, Flint finished fourth in the playoffs and lost in the finals to the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in six games.

[edit] See also

• 1987–88 NHL season

[edit] References

v • d • e 1987–88 NHL season by team Patrick New Jersey • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Philadelphia • Pittsburgh • Washington Adams Boston • Buffalo • Hartford • Montreal • Québec Norris Chicago • Detroit • Minnesota • St. Louis • Toronto Smythe Calgary • Edmonton • Los Angeles • Winnipeg • Vancouver See also 1987 NHL Entry Draft • All-Star Game • 1988 Stanley Cup Finals • Transactions

v • d • e Philadelphia Flyers Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Franchise History • Seasons • Records • General Managers • Head Coaches • Players • Award Winners • Draft Picks • Broadcasters Arenas The Spectrum • Wachovia Center Culture Broad Street Bullies • Flyers versus Red Army • Curse of Billy Penn • Legion of Doom • Treehouse of Horror IV Rivalries Flyers-Rangers • Battle of the Jersey Turnpike • Battle of Pennsylvania • Others Important Figures Keith Allen • Barry Ashbee • Bill Barber • Daniel Briere • Rod Brind'Amour • Bobby Clarke • Eric Desjardins • Gary Dornhoefer • Peter Forsberg • Simon Gagne • Gene Hart • Ron Hextall • Mark Howe • Tim Kerr • Reggie Leach • John LeClair • Pelle Lindbergh • Eric Lindros • Rick MacLeish • Bernie Parent • Dave Poulin • Keith Primeau • Brian Propp • Mark Recchi • Mike Richards • Jeremy Roenick • Dave Schultz • Joe Scott • Fred Shero • Kate Smith • Ed Snider • Kimmo Timonen • Rick Tocchet • Ed Van Impe • Joe Watson Retired Numbers 1 • 4 • 7 • 16 • 31 (unofficial) • 99 (league-wide) Team Awards Barry Ashbee Trophy • Bobby Clarke Trophy • Flyers Hall of Fame • Gene Hart Memorial Award • Pelle Lindbergh Memorial • Toyota Cup • Yanick Dupre Memorial Key Personnel Owner: Comcast-Spectacor • Chairman and Governor: Ed Snider • President and COO: Peter Luukko • General Manager: Paul Holmgren • Head Coach: John Stevens • Team Captain: Jason Smith Stanley Cup Finals (7) Wins: 1974 • 1975 • Losses: 1976 • 1980 • 1985 • 1987 • 1997 Seasons (41) 1967–68 • 1968–69 • 1969–70 • 1970–71 • 1971–72 • 1972–73 • 1973–74 • 1974–75 • 1975–76 • 1976–77 • 1977–78 • 1978–79 • 1979–80 • 1980–81 • 1981–82 • 1982–83 • 1983–84 • 1984–85 • 1985–86 • 1986–87 • 1987–88 • 1988–89 • 1989–90 • 1990–91 • 1991–92 • 1992–93 • 1993–94 • 1994–95 • 1995–96 • 1996–97 • 1997–98 • 1998–99 • 1999–2000 • 2000–01 • 2001–02 • 2002–03 • 2003–04 • 2004–05 • 2005–06 • 2006–07 • 2007–08 • 2008–09 Minor League Affiliates Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL) • Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)

v • d • e Philadelphia Flyers seasons 1960s 1967–68 | 1968–69 | 1969–70 1970s 1970–71 | 1971–72 | 1972–73 | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 1980s 1980–81 | 1981–82 | 1982–83 | 1983–84 | 1984–85 | 1985–86 | 1986–87 | 1987–88 | 1988–89 | 1989–90 1990s 1990–91 | 1991–92 | 1992–93 | 1993–94 | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 2000s 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 Bold indicates Stanley Cup victory