1987–88 NHL season

National Hockey League season January 2018 1987–88 NHL season National Hockey League Ice hockey October 8, 1987 – May 26, 1988 Draft 1987 NHL Draft List of first overall NHL draft picks Pierre Turgeon Buffalo Sabres Regular season Presidents' Trophy Calgary Flames Mario Lemieux (Penguins) Hart Memorial Trophy Mario Lemieux (Penguins) Art Ross Trophy Playoffs 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs Stanley Cup 1988 Stanley Cup Finals Edmonton Oilers Boston Bruins Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) Conn Smythe Trophy 1988–89 1986–87 NHL 80 21 CBC, Canwest/Global, TSN, SRC (Canada)ESPN (United States) 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 4–0The original fourth game was cancelled (score was tied) while in progress, due to a rink electrical outage. The original fourth game stats were not counted. The fourth game was rescheduled and replayed. 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. Entry draft The 1987 NHL entry draft was held on June 13, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. This was the first draft held in the United States instead of in Canada. Pierre Turgeon was selected first overall by the Buffalo Sabres. 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 of his career that he did not hold or share the league lead in points. Mario Lemieux would capture his first Hart Trophy and lead the league in scoring with 70 goals and 168 total points. His goals and points still rank first as of for the most by a player on a team that finished last place in their division.https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/Mx6u8 Stathead March 26, 2026 For single seasons, playing skater, team finished in last place or better, in the regular season, sorted by descending Goals. On December 8, Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers became the first goalie to directly score a goal, shooting the puck into an empty net after their opponent had pulled their goalie for a sixth attacker.https://www.nhl.com/news/this-date-in-nhl-history-december-8-284340322 Dec. 8: Hextall first goalie to score goal by shooting puck into net December 7, 2020 NHL.com On December 19, the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins combined to score two goals in two seconds. The Bruins were trailing 6-4 in the third period when Ken Linseman scored with 10 seconds remaining, followed by Blues center Doug Gilmour scoring off the resulting faceoff into an empty net.Etched in Stone: The Top 20 Most Unbreakable Records in NHL History https://bleacherreport.com/articles/486059-etched-in-stone-the-top-20-most-unbreakable-records-in-nhl-history Bleacherreport.com June 4, 2012 The New Jersey Devils qualified for the playoffs for the first time, since their move from Denver in 1982. Linesman John D'Amico retires after the season, becoming the last on-ice official from the Original Six era. Final standings 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. start Prince of Wales Conference break Clarence Campbell Conference end Playoffs 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs Bracket The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). In the division semifinals, the fourth seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. The two winning teams from each division's semifinals then met in the division finals. The two division winners of each conference then played in the conference finals. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. Playoff bracket Awards 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. + 1987–88 NHL awards Award Recipient(s) Runner(s)-up/Finalists Presidents' Trophy(Best regular season record) Calgary Flames Montreal Canadiens Prince of Wales Trophy(Wales Conference playoff champion) Boston Bruins New Jersey Devils Clarence S. Campbell Bowl(Campbell Conference playoff champion) Edmonton Oilers Detroit Red Wings Art Ross Trophy(Player with most points) Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy(Perseverance, Sportsmanship, and Dedication) Bob Bourne (Los Angeles Kings) N/A Calder Memorial Trophy(Best first-year player) Joe Nieuwendyk (Calgary Flames) Darren Pang (Chicago Blackhawks)Ray Sheppard (Buffalo Sabres) Conn Smythe Trophy(Most valuable player, playoffs) Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) N/A Emery Edge Award(Best plus-minus statistic) Brad McCrimmon (Calgary Flames) Petr Svoboda (Montreal Canadiens) Frank J. Selke Trophy(Best defensive forward) Guy Carbonneau (Montreal Canadiens) Jan Erixon (New York Rangers)Steve Kasper (Boston Bruins) Hart Memorial Trophy(Most valuable player, regular season) Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) Grant Fuhr (Edmonton Oilers)Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) Jack Adams Award(Best coach) Jacques Demers (Detroit Red Wings) Terry Crisp (Calgary Flames)Jean Perron (Montreal Canadiens) James Norris Memorial Trophy(Best defenceman) Ray Bourque (Boston Bruins) Scott Stevens (Washington Capitals)Gary Suter (Calgary Flames) King Clancy Memorial Trophy(Leadership and humanitarian contribution) Lanny McDonald (Calgary Flames) Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers)Bryan Trottier (New York Islanders) Lady Byng Memorial Trophy(Sportsmanship and excellence) Mats Naslund (Montreal Canadiens) Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers)Joe Nieuwendyk (Calgary Flames) Lester B. Pearson Award(Outstanding player) Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) N/A Vezina Trophy(Best goaltender) Grant Fuhr (Edmonton Oilers) Tom Barrasso (Buffalo Sabres)Kelly Hrudey (New York Islanders) William M. Jennings Trophy(Goaltender(s) of team with fewest goals against) Patrick Roy and Brian Hayward (Montreal Canadiens) Clint Malarchuk and Pete Peeters (Washington Capitals) All-Star teams First Team   Position   Second TeamGrant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers GPatrick Roy, Montreal CanadiensRay Bourque, Boston Bruins DGary Suter, Calgary FlamesScott Stevens, Washington Capitals DBrad McCrimmon, Calgary FlamesMario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins CWayne Gretzky, Edmonton OilersHakan Loob, Calgary Flames RWCam Neely, Boston BruinsLuc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings LWMichel Goulet, Quebec Nordiques Player statistics Scoring leaders 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 77 70 98 168 92 +23 22 10 7 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers 64 40 109 149 24 +39 9 5 3 Denis Savard Chicago Blackhawks 80 44 87 131 95 +4 14 7 6 Dale Hawerchuk Winnipeg Jets 80 44 77 121 59 -9 20 3 4 Luc Robitaille Los Angeles Kings 80 53 58 111 82 -9 17 0 6 Peter Stastny Quebec Nordiques 76 46 65 111 69 +2 20 0 2 Mark Messier Edmonton Oilers 77 37 74 111 103 +21 12 3 7 Jimmy Carson Los Angeles Kings 80 55 52 107 45 -19 22 0 7 Hakan Loob Calgary Flames 80 50 56 106 47 +41 9 8 4 Michel Goulet Quebec Nordiques 80 48 58 106 56 -31 29 1 4 Source: NHL.Dinger 2011 153 Leading goaltenders GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage Goalie Team GP Min W L T SO GAA Sv% Grant Fuhr Edmonton Oilers 75 4304 40 24 9 4 3.43 88.1 Mike Vernon Calgary Flames 64 3565 39 16 7 1 3.53 87.7 Ron Hextall Philadelphia Flyers 62 3561 30 22 7 0 3.5 88.6 Mike Liut Hartford Whalers 60 3532 25 28 5 2 3.18 88.5 John Vanbiesbrouck New York Rangers 56 3319 27 22 7 2 3.38 89.0 Daniel Berthiaume Winnipeg Jets 56 3010 22 19 7 2 3.51 88.2 Ken Wregget Toronto Maple Leafs 56 3000 12 35 4 2 4.44 87.0 Tom Barrasso Buffalo Sabres 54 3133 25 18 8 2 3.31 89.6 Mario Gosselin Quebec Nordiques 54 3002 20 28 4 2 3.78 86.7 Clint Malarchuk Washington Capitals 54 2926 24 20 4 4 3.16 88.5 Source: Quanthockey.comNHL Goaltender Leaders During 1987-88 Season | QuantHockey.com Coaches Patrick Division New Jersey Devils: Doug Carpenter and Jim Schoenfeld New York Islanders: Terry Simpson New York Rangers: Michel Bergeron Philadelphia Flyers: Mike Keenan and Paul Holmgren Pittsburgh Penguins: Pierre Creamer Washington Capitals: Bryan Murray Adams Division Boston Bruins: Terry O'Reilly Buffalo Sabres: Ted Sator Hartford Whalers: Jack Evans Montreal Canadiens: Jean Perron Quebec Nordiques: Andre Savard and Ron Lapointe Norris Division Chicago Blackhawks: Bob Murdoch Detroit Red Wings: Jacques Demers Minnesota North Stars: Herb Brooks St. Louis Blues: Jacques Martin Toronto Maple Leafs: John Brophy Smythe Division Calgary Flames: Terry Crisp Edmonton Oilers: Glen Sather Los Angeles Kings: Robbie Ftorek Vancouver Canucks: Bob McCammon Winnipeg Jets: Dan Maloney 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, Detroit Red Wings Jiri Hrdina, Calgary Flames 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 Trent Yawney, Chicago Blackhawks Scott Young, Hartford Whalers Zarley Zalapski, Pittsburgh Penguins 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 (The last active player to have been a member of the Kansas City Scouts.) Steve Payne, Minnesota North Stars Denis Potvin, New York Islanders Dave Semenko, Toronto Maple Leafs Charlie Simmer, Pittsburgh Penguins Brian Sutter, St. Louis Blues Perry Turnbull, St. Louis Blues Tiger Williams, Hartford Whalers Firsts Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers, First goaltender in NHL history to shoot and score a goal. Broadcasting In Canada, the cable network TSN began airing a schedule of Monday and Thursday night regular season games. The Molson-sponsored Hockey Night in Canada on CBC continued to air Saturday night regular season games. This was the last season of the Carling O'Keefe-sponsored telecasts on Canwest/Global, with Global airing selected regular season games between January and March. Coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs were split between CBC and Global, with the later branding its postseason broadcasts as Stanley Cup '88. Carling O'Keefe's rights expired at the end of the season,Brian Propp determined to make Team Canada August 5, 1987 Rick Matsumoto Toronto Star F1 and 1989 merger between Molson and Carling O'Keefe eventually put an end to the competition. This was the third and final season of the league's U.S. national broadcast rights deal with ESPN, airing up to 33 regular season games each season as well as the All-Star Game and the playoffs.Strachan Al ESPN acquires NHL games Backroom bickering in TV deal The Globe and Mail July 30, 1985Mulligan Kevin NHL Finds a Home at ESPN Philadelphia Daily News July 26, 1985 SportsChannel America then signed a three-year contract to take over the rights from ESPN. April 2, 1991 The News - Apr 2, 1991 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1290&dat=19910402&id=UjBUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ao0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4322,509279 news.google.com See also List of Stanley Cup champions 1987 NHL entry draft 1987 NHL supplemental draft 1987–88 NHL transactions 39th National Hockey League All-Star Game National Hockey League All-Star Game NHL All-Rookie Team Ice hockey at the 1988 Winter Olympics 1987 Canada Cup 1987 in sports 1988 in sports References Total Hockey Diamond, Dan Total Sports 2000 Kingston, New York 1-892129-85-X Dinger Ralph 2011 The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012 Dan Diamond & Associates 978-1-894801-22-5 Toronto, ON registration https://archive.org/details/nationalhockeyle0000unse_u6g5 Dryden Steve Century of hockey McClelland & Stewart Ltd. Toronto, ON 2000 0-7710-4179-9 Fischler Stan Fischler Shirley Hughes Morgan Romain Joseph Duplacey James 2003 The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League Publications International Inc. 0-7853-9624-1 Lincolnwood, Illinois Fischler 2003 Notes External links Hockey Database NHL.com SI Flashback to '88 Finals 1987 Category:1987–88 in Canadian ice hockey by league Category:1987–88 in American ice hockey by league