1987–88 Montreal Canadiens season

NHL hockey team season March 2026 August 2023 Montreal Canadiens NHL 1987–88 1987 Wales 1st Adams 1st 45–22–13 26–8–6 19–14–7 298 238 Serge Savard Jean Perron Bob Gainey Mats NaslundLarry Robinson Montreal Forum Stephane Richer (50) Bobby Smith (66) Bobby Smith (93) Petr Svoboda (+46) Chris Nilan (209) Patrick Roy (23) Brian Hayward (2.86) YesThe 1987–88 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 79th season. The club qualified for the playoffs, defeated the Hartford Whalers in the first round, but were eliminated in the Adams Division finals versus the Boston Bruins four games to one. 2 Offseason Canadiens General Manager Serge Savard was part of the four man committee that would select players and coaches for Team Canada at the 1987 Canada Cup.Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup, p.8, Ed Willies, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2007, 978-0-7710-8942-8 Canadiens head coach Jean Perron would be selected as one of the assistant coaches for Team Canada.Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup, p.4, Ed Willies, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2007, 978-0-7710-8942-8 Regular season Defensively, the Canadiens were the best team in the league, finishing the regular season with just 238 goals against. They also allowed the fewest power-play goals, with just 64https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1988.html 1987-88 NHL Summary On April 3, Stephane Richer becomes the sixth player in Montreal history to score 50 goals in a season with two in the season finale against Buffalo.Richer Pots No. 50. Our History – The Historical Website of the Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved 2013-June-19. Archived 2013-06-22. Final standings MON Record vs. opponents MTL Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 5px solid; border-bottom:#192168 5px solid; 1987–88 regular season1987-88 Montreal Canadiens Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/MTL/1988_games.html Hockey-Reference.com April 6, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||T||October 8, 1987||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers||0–0–1 |- |2||W||October 10, 1987||6–3 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres||1–0–1 |- |3||L||October 12, 1987||2–5 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques||1–1–1 |- |4||L||October 16, 1987||3–4 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils||1–2–1 |- |5||W||October 17, 1987||3–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins||2–2–1 |- |6||W||October 19, 1987||5–1 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars||3–2–1 |- |7||W||October 21, 1987||10–3 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs||4–2–1 |- |8||L||October 23, 1987||3–5 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres||4–3–1 |- |9||W||October 24, 1987||3–2 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals||5–3–1 |- |10||L||October 26, 1987||3–5 || align="left"| Calgary Flames||5–4–1 |- |11||W||October 28, 1987||3–1 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers||6–4–1 |- |12||W||October 30, 1987||5–4 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings||7–4–1 |- |13||T||October 31, 1987||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Boston Bruins||7–4–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |14||W||November 2, 1987||6–4 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues||8–4–2 |- |15||T||November 4, 1987||4–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks||8–4–3 |- |16||W||November 7, 1987||5–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers||9–4–3 |- |17||W||November 9, 1987||3–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs||10–4–3 |- |18||T||November 11, 1987||0–0 OT|| align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers||10–4–4 |- |19||L||November 12, 1987||2–3 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins||10–5–4 |- |20||W||November 14, 1987||3–0 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks||11–5–4 |- |21||T||November 16, 1987||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Hartford Whalers||11–5–5 |- |22||W||November 18, 1987||5–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders||12–5–5 |- |23||W||November 21, 1987||2–1 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils||13–5–5 |- |24||L||November 23, 1987||3–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques||13–6–5 |- |25||W||November 25, 1987||6–5 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers||14–6–5 |- |26||L||November 27, 1987||2–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars||14–7–5 |- |27||W||November 28, 1987||7–3 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets||15–7–5 |- |28||W||November 30, 1987||6–4 || align="left"| Boston Bruins||16–7–5 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |29||T||December 2, 1987||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Vancouver Canucks||16–7–6 |- |30||W||December 5, 1987||6–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings||17–7–6 |- |31||W||December 8, 1987||3–2 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders||18–7–6 |- |32||T||December 9, 1987||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ New York Rangers||18–7–7 |- |33||W||December 12, 1987||5–3 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings||19–7–7 |- |34||W||December 16, 1987||5–4 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques||20–7–7 |- |35||T||December 18, 1987||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres||20–7–8 |- |36||L||December 19, 1987||1–2 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres||20–8–8 |- |37||T||December 23, 1987||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Washington Capitals||20–8–9 |- |38||W||December 26, 1987||4–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs||21–8–9 |- |39||L||December 28, 1987||3–9 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames||21–9–9 |- |40||W||December 29, 1987||4–1 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks||22–9–9 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |41||L||January 2, 1988||2–5 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings||22–10–9 |- |42||L||January 6, 1988||5–6 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres||22–11–9 |- |43||T||January 9, 1988||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers||22–11–10 |- |44||W||January 13, 1988||5–4 || align="left"| Boston Bruins||23–11–10 |- |45||L||January 14, 1988||2–3 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins||23–12–10 |- |46||W||January 16, 1988||4–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers||24–12–10 |- |47||W||January 18, 1988||6–4 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers||25–12–10 |- |48||L||January 21, 1988||1–4 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues||25–13–10 |- |49||L||January 23, 1988||3–4 OT|| align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins||25–14–10 |- |50||W||January 24, 1988||5–3 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques||26–14–10 |- |51||W||January 27, 1988||4–1 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres||27–14–10 |- |52||L||January 29, 1988||3–4 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals||27–15–10 |- |53||W||January 30, 1988||6–2 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders||28–15–10 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |54||W||February 1, 1988||5–4 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers||29–15–10 |- |55||W||February 3, 1988||5–2 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers||30–15–10 |- |56||L||February 4, 1988||3–7 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins||30–16–10 |- |57||L||February 6, 1988||4–5 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings||30–17–10 |- |58||L||February 11, 1988||2–4 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils||30–18–10 |- |59||L||February 13, 1988||1–4 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers||30–19–10 |- |60||L||February 15, 1988||1–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers||30–20–10 |- |61||W||February 17, 1988||3–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins||31–20–10 |- |62||W||February 20, 1988||5–3 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques||32–20–10 |- |63||W||February 23, 1988||3–1 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques||33–20–10 |- |64||W||February 24, 1988||5–4 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks||34–20–10 |- |65||W||February 27, 1988||6–0 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets||35–20–10 |- |66||W||February 29, 1988||2–1 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques||36–20–10 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |67||W||March 3, 1988||4–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues||37–20–10 |- |68||W||March 5, 1988||7–6 OT|| align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings||38–20–10 |- |69||W||March 9, 1988||4–1 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers||39–20–10 |- |70||W||March 12, 1988||5–0 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers||40–20–10 |- |71||T||March 14, 1988||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars||40–20–11 |- |72||W||March 16, 1988||4–1 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets||41–20–11 |- |73||W||March 19, 1988||3–0 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks||42–20–11 |- |74||T||March 21, 1988||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Calgary Flames||42–20–12 |- |75||W||March 23, 1988||4–1 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques||43–20–12 |- |76||L||March 25, 1988||2–5 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins||43–21–12 |- |77||L||March 27, 1988||2–4 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers||43–22–12 |- |78||W||March 31, 1988||3–1 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins||44–22–12 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |79||W||April 2, 1988||9–4 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres||45–22–12 |- |80||T||April 3, 1988||4–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres||45–22–13 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs Adams Division semi-finals Hartford Whalers vs. Montreal Canadiens The Habs almost squandered a 3–0 series lead. The deep Habs roster was the best team in the Wales Conference during the season, consisting of one 50-goal scorer, five 20–goal scorers and another six with between 10 and 20 goals. Their best assets were goaltenders Patrick Roy and backup Brian Hayward who won 23 and 22 games respectively. The Ron Francis-led Whalers went 2–4–2 against the Canadiens during the season, twice losing by just one goal. Date Away Score Home Score NotesApril 6 Hartford 3 Montreal 4April 7 Hartford 3 Montreal 7 April 9 Montreal 4 Hartford 3 April 10 Montreal 5 Hartford 7 April 12 Hartford 5 Montreal 3April 14 Montreal 4 Hartford 2 Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4–2 Adams Division finals Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens The Wales Conference's two best teams, and the NHL's two best defensive teams, met in this series with equal rest time. The Habs had beaten Boston in the Adams Division semi-finals four years in a row, sweeping the Bruins in three of the past four seasons, and beating them 3–2 in a best-of-five the other year. This time, the Bruins' defence would wear down Montreal, as Ken Linseman, Ray Bourque and Cam Neely provided the offence to finally conquer the Canadiens, this despite the fact that the Habs beat them in Game 1 by a score of 5–1. It was the first Bruins' playoff series win over the Habs since the 1942–43 season. Date Away Score Home Score Notes April 18 Boston 1 Montreal 5 April 20 Boston 4 Montreal 3 April 22 Montreal 1 Boston 3 April 24 Montreal 0 Boston 2 April 26 Boston 4 Montreal 1 Boston wins best-of-seven series 4–1 Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Bobby Smith Bobby Smith (ice hockey) C 78 27 66 93 7813804 Mats Naslund LW 78 24 59 83 1417402 Stephane Richer Stéphane Richer (ice hockey forward) RW 72 50 28 78 721216011 Claude Lemieux RW 78 31 30 61 13716603 Chris Chelios D 71 20 41 61 172141015 Mike McPhee LW 77 23 20 43 5319024 Larry Robinson D 53 6 34 40 3026201 Shayne Corson LW 71 12 27 39 15222202 Guy Carbonneau C 80 17 21 38 6114031 Ryan Walter C/LW 61 13 23 36 3912603 Brian Skrudland C 79 12 24 36 11214013 Petr Svoboda D 69 7 22 29 14946201 Kjell Dahlin RW 48 13 12 25 65202 Bob Gainey LW 78 11 11 22 148001 Sergio Momesso LW 53 7 14 21 1019100 Craig Ludwig D 74 4 10 14 6917000 Rick Green ice hockey D 59 2 11 13 3321100 Chris Nilan RW 50 7 5 12 209-2001 Gilles Thibaudeau C 17 5 6 11 06201 Mike Lalor D 66 1 10 11 1134000 John Kordic RW 60 2 6 8 1590000 Larry Trader D 30 2 4 6 192100 Serge Boisvert RW 5 1 1 2 20000 Jose Charbonneau RW 16 0 2 2 61000 Brian Hayward G 39 0 2 2 240000 Patrick Roy G 45 0 2 2 140000 Perry Ganchar RW 1 1 0 1 0-1000 Gaston Gingras D 2 0 1 1 21000 Scott Sandelin D 8 0 1 1 20000 Vincent Riendeau G 1 0 0 0 00000 Mathieu Schneider D 4 0 0 0 2-1000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LTGAGAA SOSASVSV% Patrick Roy 2586 45 23 12 9 125 2.90 312481123.900 Brian Hayward 2247 39 22 10 4 107 2.86 21032925.896 Vincent Riendeau 36 1 0 0 0 5 8.33 02217.773 Team: 4869 80 45 22 13 237 2.92 523022065.897 Playoffs Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Stephane Richer Stéphane Richer (ice hockey forward) RW 8 7 5 12 6102 Mike McPhee LW 11 4 3 7 8010 Bobby Smith Bobby Smith (ice hockey) C 11 3 4 7 8100 Mats Naslund LW 6 0 7 7 2000 Gilles Thibaudeau C 8 3 3 6 2100 Kjell Dahlin RW 11 2 4 6 2000 Ryan Walter C/LW 11 2 4 6 6201 Brian Skrudland C 11 1 5 6 24000 Claude Lemieux RW 11 3 2 5 20002 Larry Robinson D 11 1 4 5 4000 Petr Svoboda D 10 0 5 5 12000 Chris Chelios D 11 3 1 4 29100 John Kordic RW 7 2 2 4 26000 Guy Carbonneau C 11 0 4 4 2000 Craig Ludwig D 11 1 1 2 6000 Rick Green ice hockey D 11 0 2 2 2000 Sergio Momesso LW 6 0 2 2 16000 Shayne Corson LW 3 1 0 1 12000 Serge Boisvert RW 3 0 1 1 2000 Bob Gainey LW 6 0 1 1 6000 Jose Charbonneau RW 8 0 0 0 4000 Steven Fletcher Steven Fletcher (ice hockey) LW/D 1 0 0 0 5000 Brian Hayward G 4 0 0 0 0000 Mike Lalor D 11 0 0 0 11000 Patrick Roy G 8 0 0 0 0000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LGAGAA SOSASVSV% Patrick Roy 430 8 3 4 24 3.35 0218194.890 Brian Hayward 230 4 2 2 9 2.35 08576.894 Team: 660 11 5 6 33 3.00 0303270.891 hockey-reference.com 2009-05-28 1987-88 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/MTL/1988.html Awards and records Frank J. Selke Trophy: Guy Carbonneau Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Mats Naslund William M. Jennings Trophy: Patrick Roy/Brian Hayward Patrick Roy, goaltender, NHL Second Team All-Star Draft picks Montreal'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)117Andrew CasselsCanadaOttawa 67's (OHL)233John LeClairUnited StatesBellows Free Academy (USHS-VT)238Eric DesjardinsCanadaGranby Bisons (QMJHL)344Mathieu SchneiderUnited StatesCornwall Royals (OHL)358Francois GravelCanadaShawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)480Kris MillerUnited StatesGreenway High School (USHS-MN)5101Steve McCoolUnited StatesThe Hill School (USHS-PA)6122Les KuntarUnited StatesNichols School (USHS-NY)7143Robert KelleyUnited StatesMatignon High School (USHS-MA)8164Will GeistUnited StatesSt. Paul Academy and Summit School (USHS-MN)9185Eric TremblayCanadaDrummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)10206Barry McKinlayCanadaUniversity of Illinois at Chicago (CCHA)11227Ed RonanUnited StatesPhillips Andover Academy (USHS-MA)12248Bryan HerringUnited StatesDubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)S218Wayne GagneCanadaWestern Michigan University (CCHA) See also 1987–88 NHL season References Canadiens on Hockey Database Canadiens on NHL Reference Category:Montreal Canadiens seasons Montreal Canadiens Montreal Category:Adams Division champion seasons Category:1987 in Montreal Category:1988 in Montreal