1987–88 New York Islanders season

NHL hockey team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1987–88 1987 New York Islanders 39–31–10 24–10–6 15–21–4 Wales 3rd Patrick 1st 308 267 Bill Torrey Terry Simpson Brent Sutter Bryan TrottierSteve Konroyd Nassau Coliseum Pat LaFontaine (47) Bryan Trottier (52) Pat LaFontaine (92) Alan Kerr (198) Kelly Hrudey (22) Billy Smith (3.22) Yes The 1987–88 New York Islanders season was the 16th season for the franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team improved on its performance from the previous season. They finished with 88 points, which turned out to be good enough for first place in a tightly contested Patrick Division – the Islanders, despite winning the division, finished only seven points ahead of the last place Pittsburgh Penguins. The Islanders were subsequently eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the New Jersey Devils. As of 2025, this remains the Islanders' most recent division title, the second longest active drought in the NHL. 2 Off-season Denis Potvin resigns the team captaincy, before playing his last season. Forward Brent Sutter is named team captain. Regular season Final standings NYI Record vs. opponents NYI Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#003087 5px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 5px solid; 1987–88 regular season1987-88 New York Islanders Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NYI/1988_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 24, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||W||October 8, 1987||4–1 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1987–88) ||1–0–0 |- |2||W||October 10, 1987||7–1 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) ||2–0–0 |- |3||W||October 15, 1987||6–0 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) ||3–0–0 |- |4||L||October 17, 1987||3–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) ||3–1–0 |- |5||W||October 20, 1987||5–4 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1987–88) ||4–1–0 |- |6||L||October 23, 1987||3–5 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) ||4–2–0 |- |7||W||October 24, 1987||2–1 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1987–88) ||5–2–0 |- |8||T||October 27, 1987||4–4 OT|| align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88) ||5–2–1 |- |9||L||October 28, 1987||2–5 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) ||5–3–1 |- |10||W||October 31, 1987||8–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1987–88) ||6–3–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |11||W||November 1, 1987||6–5 OT|| align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1987–88) ||7–3–1 |- |12||W||November 3, 1987||6–3 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1987–88) ||8–3–1 |- |13||L||November 5, 1987||2–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) ||8–4–1 |- |14||W||November 7, 1987||4–3 OT|| align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) ||9–4–1 |- |15||W||November 10, 1987||4–3 OT|| align="left"| Washington Capitals (1987–88) ||10–4–1 |- |16||W||November 12, 1987||4–3 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1987–88) ||11–4–1 |- |17||W||November 14, 1987||7–3 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) ||12–4–1 |- |18||W||November 17, 1987||4–3 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1987–88) ||13–4–1 |- |19||L||November 18, 1987||2–5 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) ||13–5–1 |- |20||W||November 21, 1987||6–4 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) ||14–5–1 |- |21||L||November 24, 1987||3–4 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) ||14–6–1 |- |22||W||November 28, 1987||5–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1987–88) ||15–6–1 |- |23||L||November 29, 1987||1–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1987–88) ||15–7–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |24||W||December 2, 1987||7–1 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) ||16–7–1 |- |25||W||December 4, 1987||6–4 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1987–88) ||17–7–1 |- |26||L||December 8, 1987||2–3 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) ||17–8–1 |- |27||L||December 11, 1987||4–6 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) ||17–9–1 |- |28||W||December 12, 1987||5–3 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1987–88) ||18–9–1 |- |29||T||December 15, 1987||2–2 OT|| align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1987–88) ||18–9–2 |- |30||L||December 17, 1987||3–4 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) ||18–10–2 |- |31||L||December 19, 1987||4–5 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) ||18–11–2 |- |32||L||December 22, 1987||2–5 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) ||18–12–2 |- |33||L||December 23, 1987||5–7 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88) ||18–13–2 |- |34||W||December 26, 1987||2–1 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1987–88) ||19–13–2 |- |35||L||December 28, 1987||4–6 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) ||19–14–2 |- |36||T||December 29, 1987||3–3 OT|| align="left"| New York Rangers (1987–88) ||19–14–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |37||W||January 2, 1988||3–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) ||20–14–3 |- |38||T||January 5, 1988||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) ||20–14–4 |- |39||L||January 8, 1988||4–7 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1987–88) ||20–15–4 |- |40||L||January 9, 1988||1–5 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) ||20–16–4 |- |41||T||January 12, 1988||5–5 OT|| align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) ||20–16–5 |- |42||W||January 14, 1988||8–5 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) ||21–16–5 |- |43||W||January 16, 1988||4–2 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1987–88) ||22–16–5 |- |44||L||January 17, 1988||2–5 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) ||22–17–5 |- |45||L||January 19, 1988||4–6 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) ||22–18–5 |- |46||L||January 21, 1988||3–4 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1987–88) ||22–19–5 |- |47||W||January 23, 1988||3–2 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) ||23–19–5 |- |48||L||January 27, 1988||1–2 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) ||23–20–5 |- |49||W||January 29, 1988||5–2 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) ||24–20–5 |- |50||L||January 30, 1988||2–6 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) ||24–21–5 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |51||T||February 2, 1988||2–2 OT|| align="left"| New York Rangers (1987–88) ||24–21–6 |- |52||W||February 5, 1988||4–2 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1987–88) ||25–21–6 |- |53||W||February 6, 1988||6–4 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) ||26–21–6 |- |54||L||February 11, 1988||3–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) ||26–22–6 |- |55||L||February 12, 1988||2–6 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1987–88) ||26–23–6 |- |56||T||February 14, 1988||4–4 OT|| align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1987–88) ||26–23–7 |- |57||W||February 16, 1988||9–3 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1987–88) ||27–23–7 |- |58||T||February 18, 1988||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) ||27–23–8 |- |59||W||February 20, 1988||3–0 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1987–88) ||28–23–8 |- |60||W||February 21, 1988||7–2 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1987–88) ||29–23–8 |- |61||W||February 23, 1988||6–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) ||30–23–8 |- |62||T||February 25, 1988||1–1 OT|| align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88) ||30–23–9 |- |63||L||February 27, 1988||0–3 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1987–88) ||30–24–9 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |64||W||March 1, 1988||2–0 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1987–88) ||31–24–9 |- |65||L||March 2, 1988||1–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1987–88) ||31–25–9 |- |66||L||March 5, 1988||3–8 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) ||31–26–9 |- |67||W||March 6, 1988||2–0 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) ||32–26–9 |- |68||W||March 8, 1988||7–4 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) ||33–26–9 |- |69||L||March 10, 1988||3–4 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) ||33–27–9 |- |70||L||March 12, 1988||3–4 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) ||33–28–9 |- |71||L||March 13, 1988||1–5 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) ||33–29–9 |- |72||T||March 18, 1988||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1987–88) ||33–29–10 |- |73||W||March 20, 1988||6–0 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) ||34–29–10 |- |74||W||March 21, 1988||5–1 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) ||35–29–10 |- |75||W||March 23, 1988||6–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1987–88) ||36–29–10 |- |76||W||March 26, 1988||5–4 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) ||37–29–10 |- |77||W||March 29, 1988||5–3 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) ||38–29–10 |- |78||W||March 31, 1988||7–3 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1987–88) ||39–29–10 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#003087 2px solid; border-bottom:#FC4C02 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |79||L||April 2, 1988||2–5 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) ||39–30–10 |- |80||L||April 3, 1988||2–3 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1987–88) ||39–31–10 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs Patrick Division Semifinals vs. New Jersey Devils Date Away Score Home Score OTApril 6 New Jersey 3 New York 4 (OT)April 7 New Jersey 3 New York 2April 9 New York 0 New Jersey 3April 10 New York 5 New Jersey 4 (OT)April 12 New Jersey 4 New York 2April 14 New York 5 New Jersey 6 New Jersey wins series 4-2 Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Pat LaFontaine C 75 47 45 92 52121507 Bryan Trottier C 77 30 52 82 48101503 Mikko Makela Mikko Mäkelä (ice hockey) RW 73 36 40 76 22141324 Brent Sutter C 70 29 31 60 55131122 Alan Kerr RW 80 24 34 58 19830402 Denis Potvin D 72 19 32 51 11226903 Tomas Jonsson D 72 6 41 47 1156101 Greg Gilbert LW 76 17 28 45 4614110 Randy Wood Randy Wood (ice hockey) LW/C 75 22 16 38 80-2012 Derek King LW 55 12 24 36 307104 Brad Lauer LW 69 17 18 35 6713304 Patrick Flatley RW 40 9 15 24 287510 Bob Bassen C 77 6 16 22 998102 Dale Henry LW 48 5 15 20 1158000 Gerald Diduck D 68 7 12 19 11322401 Ken Leiter D 51 4 13 17 2418101 Steve Konroyd D 62 2 15 17 9916100 Gord Dineen D 57 4 12 16 629100 Richard Kromm LW 71 5 10 15 202011 Brad Dalgarno RW 38 2 8 10 584001 Jeff Norton D 15 1 6 7 143101 Ken Morrow D 53 1 4 5 400000 Jeff Finley D 10 0 5 5 155000 Todd McLellan C 5 1 1 2 0-1000 Kelly Hrudey G 47 0 2 2 200000 Rod Dallman LW 3 1 0 1 61000 Mick Vukota RW 17 1 0 1 821000 Brian Curran D 22 0 1 1 68-9000 Neal Coulter RW 1 0 0 0 0-1000 Ari Haanpaa LW 1 0 0 0 0-2000 Todd Okerlund RW 4 0 0 0 20000 Chris Pryor D 1 0 0 0 21000 Billy Smith Billy Smith (ice hockey) G 38 0 0 0 200000 Mike Walsh ice hockey W 1 0 0 0 00000Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LTGAGAA SOSASVSV% Kelly Hrudey 2751 47 22 17 5 153 3.34 314671314.896 Billy Smith Billy Smith (ice hockey) 2107 38 17 14 5 113 3.22 21062949.894 Team: 4858 80 39 31 10 266 3.29 525292263.895 Playoffs Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Pat LaFontaine C 6 4 5 9 82101 Mikko Makela Mikko Mäkelä (ice hockey) RW 6 1 4 5 6-6100 Denis Potvin D 5 1 4 5 6-3100 Brad Lauer LW 5 3 1 4 45000 Tomas Jonsson D 5 2 2 4 10-3100 Brent Sutter C 6 2 1 3 182011 Derek King LW 5 0 2 2 22000 Jeff Norton D 3 0 2 2 13-1000 Gerald Diduck D 6 1 0 1 42-1100 Dale Henry LW 6 1 0 1 170010 Alan Kerr RW 6 1 0 1 140000 Steve Konroyd D 6 1 0 1 43010 Randy Wood Randy Wood (ice hockey) LW/C 5 1 0 1 64000 Bob Bassen C 6 0 1 1 232000 Ken Leiter D 4 0 1 1 21000 Brad Dalgarno RW 4 0 0 0 190000 Jeff Finley D 1 0 0 0 2-1000 Greg Gilbert LW 4 0 0 0 6-4000 Kelly Hrudey G 6 0 0 0 20000 Richard Kromm LW 5 0 0 0 50000 Ken Morrow D 6 0 0 0 8-2000 Bryan Trottier C 6 0 0 0 10-9000 Mick Vukota RW 2 0 0 0 230000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LGAGAA SOSASVSV% Kelly Hrudey 381 6 2 4 23 3.62 0154131.851 Team: 381 6 2 4 23 3.62 0154131.851 hockey-reference.com 2009-07-27 1987-88 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NYI/1988.html Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals       MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage; Draft picks New York's draft picks at the 1987 NHL entry draft held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)113Dean ChynowethCanadaMedicine Hat Tigers (WHL)234Jeff HackettCanadaOshawa Generals (OHL)355Dean EwenCanadaSpokane Chiefs (WHL)476George ManelukCanadaBrandon Wheat Kings (WHL)597Petr VlkDukla Jihlava (Czechoslovakia)6118Rob DiMaioCanadaMedicine Hat Tigers (WHL)7139Knut WalbyeFuruset Ishockey (Norway)8160Jeff SaterdalenUnited StatesBloomington Jefferson High School (USHS-MN)9181Shawn HowardCanadaPenticton Knights (BCJHL)10202John HerlihyUnited StatesBabson College (ECAC East)11223Mike EricksonUnited StatesSt. John's Hill School (USHS-MA)12244Will AverillUnited StatesBelmont High School (USHS-MA)S214Howie VandermastUnited StatesState University of New York at Potsdam (SUNYAC) See also 1987–88 NHL season References 1987-88 Category:1987–88 NHL season by team Category:1987 in sports in New York (state) Category:1988 in sports in New York (state) 1987–88