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 (plus one cancelled game) in the Stanley Cup Final. In the process of their cup win, Edmonton lost only two games, a record for the "16 wins" playoff format.
League business
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.
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 since 1979-80 that he didn't hold or share the league lead in points. Mario Lemieux would capture his first Hart Trophy and lead the league in scoring.
Final standings
Prince of Wales Conference
Clarence Campbell Conference
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.
Playoffs
Note: all dates in 1988
The playoffs started on April 6, and ended on May 26. The Presidents' Trophy winning Calgary Flames had home ice during the playoffs thanks in part to Edmonton's struggles without Gretzky. The Oilers, who had won the Cup in three of the previous four seasons, were still thought to have a good chance at repeating with Gretzky's return. The clash between the Flames and Oilers in the Smythe Division Final was highly anticipated.
- In spite of Lemieux's prolific offence, the Penguins missed the playoffs.
- Five of the North Stars' final six games were on the road. Minnesota went 1–4–1 in that stretch allowing Toronto survive their 1–8 finish.
- On March 18, Québec was three points ahead of the Whalers (68–65). The Nordiques went winless in their final eight games (0–7–1), costing themselves a chance to fend off Hartford who finished 6–3.
- The New Jersey Devils made the playoffs for the first time in their history, winning in overtime at Chicago Stadium on the season's final day to edge the New York Rangers for the Patrick Division's fourth spot. This was only the second time they made the playoffs including their Colorado days.
Final
The series pitted the Oilers' offensive juggernaut against the Bruins' more balanced team. The Oilers showed their defensive prowess, surrendering just 9 goals in the four completed games. Game 4 is well-known for fog that interfered with the game and a power outage that caused its cancellation before a faceoff. This would allow the Oilers to win the Cup at home in the Northlands Coliseum and complete the "sweep" in a rescheduled Game 4.
Ray Bourque was physical in defending against Gretzky, but that wouldn't ground the Great One on his way to claiming his second Conn Smythe Trophy and setting playoff records with 31 assists in just 18 games, and 13 points in the Finals series.
Boston Bruins vs. Edmonton Oilers
| Date |
Away |
Score |
Home |
Score |
Notes |
| May 18 |
Boston |
1 |
Edmonton |
2 |
|
| May 20 |
Boston |
2 |
Edmonton |
4 |
|
| May 22 |
Edmonton |
6 |
Boston |
3 |
|
| May 24 |
Edmonton |
3 |
Boston |
3 |
Game cancelled at 16:37 of second period due to power failure. |
| May 26 |
Boston |
3 |
Edmonton |
6 |
|
Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4–0
Playoff bracket
NHL awards
| Presidents' Trophy: |
Calgary Flames |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: |
Boston Bruins |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: |
Edmonton Oilers |
| Art Ross Trophy: |
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: |
Bob Bourne, Los Angeles Kings |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: |
Joe Nieuwendyk, Calgary Flames |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: |
Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy: |
Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: |
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Jack Adams Award: |
Jacques Demers, Detroit Red Wings |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: |
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins |
| King Clancy Memorial Trophy: |
Lanny McDonald, Calgary Flames |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: |
Mats Naslund, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: |
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| NHL Plus/Minus Award: |
Brad McCrimmon, Calgary Flames, |
| William M. Jennings Trophy: |
Patrick Roy/Brian Hayward, Montreal Canadiens |
| Vezina Trophy: |
Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers |
| Lester Patrick Trophy: |
Keith Allen, Fred Cusick, Bob Johnson |
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[2]
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes, PPG = Powerplay Goals, SHG = Shorthanded Goals, GWG = Game Winning Goals
Leading goaltenders[3]
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage
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, Detoit Red Wings
- 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
- Scott Young, Hartford Whalers
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
- Steve Payne, Minnesota North Stars
- Denis Potvin, New York Islanders
- Doug Risebrough, Calgary Flames
- Dave Semenko, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Charlie Simmer, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Brian Sutter, St. Louis Blues
- Perry Turnbull, St. Louis Blues
- Tiger Williams, Hartford Whalers
Trading deadline
- Trading Deadline: March 8, 1988 [4]
- March 8, 1988: Charlie Bourgeois and Hartford's third round choice in 1989 Entry Draft traded from St. Louis to Hartford for Hartford's second round choice in 1989 Entry Draft.
- March 8, 1988: Geoff Courtnall, Bill Ranford and future considerations traded from Boston to Edmonton for Andy Moog.
- March 8, 1988: Brian Curran traded from NY Islanders to Toronto for Toronto's sixth round choice in 1988 Entry Draft.
- March 8, 1988: Moe Lemay traded from Edmonton to Boston for Alan May.
- March 8, 1988: Jim Pavese traded from NY Rangers to Detroit for future considerations.
- March 8, 1988: Gordie Roberts traded from Philadelphia to St. Louis for future considerations.
- March 8, 1988: Steve Tsujuira traded from New Jersey to Boston for Boston's 10th round choice in 1988 Entry Draft (Alexander Semak).
- March 8, 1988: Steve Weeks traded from Hartford to Vancouver for Richard Brodeur.
See also
References
- Diamond, Dan, ed (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, NY: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
- Dinger, Ralph, ed (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 9781894801225.
- Dryden, Steve, ed (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.. ISBN 0771041799.
- Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International Inc.. ISBN 0785396241.
- Notes
External links
|
1987–88 NHL season by team
|
|
| Patrick |
|
|
| Adams |
|
|
| Norris |
|
|
| Smythe |
|
|
| See also |
|
|