1988–89 NHL season

1988–89 NHL season
League National Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Duration October 6, 1988 – May 25, 1989
Number of games 80
Number of teams 21
Regular season
Presidents' Trophy Calgary Flames
Season MVP Wayne Gretzky, (Los Angeles)
Top scorer Mario Lemieux, (Pittsburgh)
Playoffs
Eastern champions Montreal Canadiens
  Eastern runners-up Philadelphia Flyers
Western champions Calgary Flames
  Western runners-up Chicago Blackhawks
Playoffs MVP Al MacInnis, (Calgary)
Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup champions Calgary Flames
  Runners-up Montreal Canadiens
NHL seasons
← 1987–88

1989–90 →

The 1988–89 NHL season was the 72nd season of the National Hockey League. The Calgary Flames won an all-Canadian Stanley Cup final against the Montreal Canadiens four games to two. As of the end of the 2011 NHL season this is the last time two Canadian teams faced each other for the Stanley Cup.

Contents

Regular season

This year saw the start of the great Wayne Gretzky's tenure with the Los Angeles Kings, having been traded in the off-season after leading the Edmonton Oilers to the 1988 Stanley Cup. Coinciding with Gretzky's acquisition, the team also changed its uniforms and colours for 1988-89, scrapping the purple and gold associated with its co-tenant at the Great Western Forum, the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, in favour of black and silver. Gretzky's presence signaled a dramatic on-ice turnaround for the Kings. Prior to his arrival via trade with the Edmonton Oilers on August 9, 1988, Los Angeles had the fourth-worst record in the NHL at 30 wins, 42 losses, and 8 ties. After Gretzky's first season with the Kings, however, they moved all the way up to fourth-best in the NHL, with a record of 42 wins, 31 losses, and 7 ties for 91 points. They also managed to defeat Gretzky's former team, the Oilers, in seven games in the Smythe Division Semifinal before falling victim to a four-game sweep at the hands of the eventual Cup champion Flames in the Division Final.

Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Art Ross Trophy for the second consecutive season, leading the league with 199 points. Lemieux remains the only person other than Gretzky to approach the 200 point plateau (Gretzky surpassed the 200 point mark four times in five years during the 1980s). This was the only season that there were four players that scored 150 or more points; Gretzky tallied 168, while Steve Yzerman and Bernie Nicholls totalled 155 and 150 points, respectively. This was also the only time that two teammates, Gretzky and Nicholls of the Los Angeles Kings, had hit the 150 point mark. Narrowly edging out Lemieux, Gretzky won his ninth Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP, while Yzerman finished third in the balloting. Yzerman was voted by his fellow players as the NHLPA MVP, taking the Lester B. Pearson Award.

New York Rangers rookie Brian Leetch broke the record for goals by a rookie defenceman with 23. He finished that season with 71 points and easily captured the Calder Memorial Trophy.

On March 22, a horrific incident took place in Buffalo during a game between the Buffalo Sabres and the St. Louis Blues. During a goalmouth collision between the Blues' Steve Tuttle and the Sabres' Uwe Krupp, Tuttle's skate blade slashed the throat of Buffalo goaltender Clint Malarchuk, severing the latter's jugular vein. Thanks to some timely action by Sabres trainer Jim Pizzutelli, Malarchuk quickly received treatment and was released from the hospital the next day.

Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Montreal Canadiens 80 53 18 9 315 218 115
Boston Bruins 80 37 29 14 289 256 88
Buffalo Sabres 80 38 35 7 291 299 83
Hartford Whalers 80 37 38 5 299 290 79
Quebec Nordiques 80 27 46 7 269 342 61

[1]

Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Washington Capitals 80 41 29 10 305 259 92
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 40 33 7 347 349 87
New York Rangers 80 37 35 8 310 307 82
Philadelphia Flyers 80 36 36 8 307 285 80
New Jersey Devils 80 27 41 12 281 325 66
New York Islanders 80 28 47 5 265 325 61

[1]

Clarence Campbell Conference

Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Detroit Red Wings 80 34 34 12 313 316 80
St. Louis Blues 80 33 35 12 275 285 78
Minnesota North Stars 80 27 37 16 258 278 70
Chicago Blackhawks 80 27 41 12 297 335 66
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 28 46 6 259 342 62

[1]

Smythe Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Calgary Flames 80 54 17 9 354 226 117
Los Angeles Kings 80 42 31 7 376 335 91
Edmonton Oilers 80 38 34 8 325 306 83
Vancouver Canucks 80 33 39 8 251 253 74
Winnipeg Jets 80 26 42 12 300 355 64

[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.

Playoffs

Main article: 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs

The 1989 Stanley Cup Final featured two Canadian hockey teams, the Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames. Montreal finished the regular season with 115 points, only two behind the league leader Calgary. They had last faced each other only three years earlier, with Montreal winning a five-game series in 1986. Calgary was only the second opposing team in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup at the Montreal Forum (the New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Maroons in 1928) and the first to do so against the Canadiens.

Final

Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary Flames

Main article: 1989 Stanley Cup Finals

The Stanley Cup Finals was decided between the top two teams during the 1988–89 NHL regular season. Captain Lanny McDonald scored the second Flames goal in Game 6. This turned out to be the last goal in his NHL Hall of Fame career because he retired during the following off-season. Doug Gilmour scored two goals in the third period, including the eventual game and Cup winner to cement the victory for the Flames.

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
May 14 Montreal 2 Calgary 3
May 17 Montreal 4 Calgary 2
May 19 Calgary 3 Montreal 4 (2 OT)
May 21 Calgary 4 Montreal 2
May 23 Montreal 2 Calgary 3
May 25 Calgary 4 Montreal 2

Calgary wins best-of-seven series four games to two.

Playoff bracket

  Division Semifinals Division Finals Conference Finals Finals
                                     
A1  Montreal Canadiens 4  
A4  Hartford Whalers 0  
  A1  Montreal Canadiens 4  
 
  A2  Boston Bruins 1  
A2  Boston Bruins 4
A3  Buffalo Sabres 1  
  A1  Montreal Canadiens 4  
  P4  Philadelphia Flyers 2  
P1  Washington Capitals 2  
P4  Philadelphia Flyers 4  
  P2  Pittsburgh Penguins 3
 
  P4  Philadelphia Flyers 4  
P2  Pittsburgh Penguins 4
P3  New York Rangers 0  
  A1  Montreal Canadiens 2
  S1  Calgary Flames 4
N1  Detroit Red Wings 2  
N4  Chicago Blackhawks 4  
  N2  St. Louis Blues 1
 
  N4  Chicago Blackhawks 4  
N2  St. Louis Blues 4
N3  Minnesota North Stars 1  
  N4  Chicago Blackhawks 1
  S1  Calgary Flames 4  
S1  Calgary Flames 4  
S4  Vancouver Canucks 3  
  S1  Calgary Flames 4
 
  S2  Los Angeles Kings 0  
S2  Los Angeles Kings 4
S3  Edmonton Oilers 3  

NHL awards

Presidents' Trophy: Calgary Flames
Prince of Wales Trophy: Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: Calgary Flames
Art Ross Trophy: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Tim Kerr, Philadelphia Flyers
Calder Memorial Trophy: Brian Leetch, New York Rangers
Conn Smythe Trophy: Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames
Frank J. Selke Trophy: Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy: Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
Jack Adams Award: Pat Burns, Montreal Canadiens
James Norris Memorial Trophy: Chris Chelios, Montreal Canadiens
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Joe Mullen, Calgary Flames
Lester B. Pearson Award: Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings
NHL Plus/Minus Award: Joe Mullen, Calgary Flames,
William M. Jennings Trophy: Patrick Roy/Brian Hayward, Montreal Canadiens
Vezina Trophy: Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens
Lester Patrick Trophy: Dan Kelly, Lou Nanne, Lynn Patrick, Bud Poile

All-Star teams

First team   Position   Second team
Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens G Mike Vernon, Calgary Flames
Chris Chelios, Montreal Canadiens D Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames
Paul Coffey, Pittsburgh Penguins D Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins C Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
Joe Mullen, Calgary Flames RW Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers
Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings LW Gerard Gallant, Detroit Red Wings

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

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh Penguins 76 85 114 199 100 +41 31 13 8
Wayne Gretzky Los Angeles Kings 78 54 114 168 26 +15 11 5 5
Steve Yzerman Detroit Red Wings 80 65 90 155 61 +17 17 3 7
Bernie Nicholls Los Angeles Kings 79 70 80 150 96 +30 21 8 6
Rob Brown Pittsburgh Penguins 68 49 66 115 118 +27 24 0 6
Paul Coffey Pittsburgh Penguins 75 30 83 113 195 -10 11 0 2
Joe Mullen Calgary Flames 79 51 59 110 16 +51 13 1 7
Jari Kurri Edmonton Oilers 76 44 58 102 69 +19 10 5 8
Jimmy Carson Edmonton Oilers 80 49 51 100 36 +3 19 0 5
Luc Robitaille Los Angeles Kings 78 46 52 98 65 +5 10 0 4

Leading goaltenders[3]

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

Player Team GP Min W L T SO GAA Sv%
Patrick Roy Montreal Canadiens 48 2743 33 5 6 4 2.47 .908
Mike Vernon Calgary Flames 52 2938 37 6 5 0 2.65 .897
Reggie Lemelin Boston Bruins 40 2392 19 15 6 0 3.01 .887
Peter Sidorkiewicz Hartford Whalers 44 2635 22 18 4 4 3.03 .890
Jon Casey Minnesota North Stars 55 2961 18 17 12 1 3.06 .900
Kirk McLean Vancouver Canucks 42 2477 20 17 3 4 3.08 .891
Andy Moog Boston Bruins 41 2482 18 14 8 1 3.22 .877
Ron Hextall Philadelphia Flyers 64 3756 30 28 6 0 3.23 .891
Clint Malarchuk Washington Capitals/Buffalo Sabres 49 2754 19 19 8 2 3.36 .880
Greg Millen St. Louis Blues 52 3019 22 20 7 6 3.38 .880

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1988–89 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1988–89 (listed with their last team):

Trading deadline

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b c d Dinger, Ralph, ed (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225. 
  2. ^ 1988-89 NHL Scoring Leaders | QuantHockey.com
  3. ^ 1988-89 NHL Goalie Leaders | QuantHockey.com
  4. ^ NHL trade deadline: Deals since 1980 | Habs Inside/Out

External links

 
Category · Portal  · 2011–12 season
1988–89 NHL season by team
Patrick
Adams
Norris
Smythe
See also