1987–88 New York Rangers season

NHL hockey team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1987–88 1987 New York Rangers Wales T-7th Patrick 5th 36–34–10 22–13–5 14–21–5 300 283 Phil Esposito Michel Bergeron Ron Greschner (Oct–Dec) Kelly Kisio (Dec–Apr) Madison Square Garden Walt Poddubny (38) Kelly Kisio (55) Walt Poddubny (88) Michel Petit (223) John Vanbiesbrouck (27) John Vanbiesbrouck (3.38) The 1987–88 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 62nd season. The Rangers compiled a 36–34–10 record during the regular season,1987–88 New York Rangers Roster and Statistics Hockey-Reference https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NYR/1988.html 2010-10-02 but despite having 82 points, they were eliminated from playoff contention after their last game when the New Jersey Devils beat the Chicago Blackhawks. It was the first time the Rangers missed the playoffs since the 1976–77 season, and the only time in the 1980s in which the Rangers did not qualify.New York Rangers Hockey-Reference https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NYR/history.html March 16, 2026 2 Offseason Rangers General Manager Phil Esposito 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, Canada, 2007, 978-0-7710-8942-8 Regular season The Rangers led the league in power-play goals scored, with 111. They also scored the fewest short-handed goals during the regular season out of all 21 teams, with just 6. Final standings NYR Record vs. opponents NYR Schedule and results background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 5px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 5px solid; 1987–88 regular season1987–88 New York Rangers Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NYR/1988_games.html Hockey-Reference March 30, 2025 y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; October: 4–5–3 (home: 2–3–2; road: 2–2–1) Game October Opponent Score Record |- | 1 || 8 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–4 OT || 0–0–1 |- | 2 || 10 || @ Hartford Whalers || 6–2 || 1–0–1 |- | 3 || 12 || Minnesota North Stars || 4–2 || 2–0–1 |- | 4 || 15 || @ Pittsburgh Penguins || 6–6 OT || 2–0–2 |- | 5 || 17 || @ Washington Capitals || 4–3 || 2–1–2 |- | 6 || 19 || Washington Capitals || 4–2 || 2–2–2 |- | 7 || 21 || Calgary Flames || 5–4 || 2–3–2 |- | 8 || 23 || Chicago Blackhawks || 7–3 || 3–3–2 |- | 9 || 24 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 5–3 || 4–3–2 |- | 10 || 26 || Philadelphia Flyers || 2–2 OT || 4–3–3 |- | 11 || 28 || Los Angeles Kings || 4–3 || 4–4–3 |- | 12 || 31 || @ New York Islanders || 8–2 || 4–5–3 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; November: 4–8–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–6–0) Game November Opponent Score Record |- | 13 || 1 || Edmonton Oilers || 7–6 || 4–6–3 |- | 14 || 3 || @ Calgary Flames || 5–3 || 4–7–3 |- | 15 || 4 || @ Edmonton Oilers || 7–2 || 4–8–3 |- | 16 || 7 || @ Los Angeles Kings || 5–4 || 4–9–3 |- | 17 || 10 || New Jersey Devils || 3–2 || 4–10–3 |- | 18 || 14 || @ Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–2 OT || 4–11–3 |- | 19 || 15 || Winnipeg Jets || 6–4 || 5–11–3 |- | 20 || 19 || @ Minnesota North Stars || 4–3 || 5–12–3 |- | 21 || 20 || @ Winnipeg Jets || 4–3 || 6–12–3 |- | 22 || 25 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 5–3 || 7–12–3 |- | 23 || 28 || @ New York Islanders || 5–4 || 7–13–3 |- | 24 || 29 || New York Islanders || 3–1 || 8–13–3 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; December: 6–6–2 (home: 4–2–1; road: 2–4–1) Game December Opponent Score Record |- | 25 || 3 || @ Boston Bruins || 4–3 || 8–14–3 |- | 26 || 5 || @ St. Louis Blues || 3–2 || 9–14–3 |- | 27 || 9 || Montreal Canadiens || 2–2 OT || 9–14–4 |- | 28 || 10 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 5–3 || 9–15–4 |- | 29 || 12 || @ Toronto Maple Leafs || 4–3 || 9–16–4 |- | 30 || 14 || Detroit Red Wings || 4–3 || 10–16–4 |- | 31 || 16 || New Jersey Devils || 9–3 || 11–16–4 |- | 32 || 19 || @ Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–3 || 11–17–4 |- | 33 || 20 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 8–4 || 11–18–4 |- | 34 || 22 || Philadelphia Flyers || 6–4 || 11–19–4 |- | 35 || 26 || @ New Jersey Devils || 5–3 || 12–19–4 |- | 36 || 27 || Boston Bruins || 4–1 || 13–19–4 |- | 37 || 29 || @ New York Islanders || 3–3 OT || 13–19–5 |- | 38 || 31 || Quebec Nordiques || 6–1 || 14–19–5 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; January: 6–6–1 (home: 2–2–1; road: 4–4–0) Game January Opponent Score Record |- | 39 || 2 || @ Minnesota North Stars || 5–3 || 15–19–5 |- | 40 || 4 || St. Louis Blues || 6–2 || 16–19–5 |- | 41 || 6 || Vancouver Canucks || 4–2 || 17–19–5 |- | 42 || 8 || @ Washington Capitals || 8–4 || 17–20–5 |- | 43 || 10 || @ Buffalo Sabres || 4–3 || 17–21–5 |- | 44 || 11 || Chicago Blackhawks || 2–2 OT || 17–21–6 |- | 45 || 13 || Detroit Red Wings || 7–4 || 17–22–6 |- | 46 || 16 || @ Montreal Canadiens || 4–3 || 17–23–6 |- | 47 || 17 || Philadelphia Flyers || 2–1 || 17–24–6 |- | 48 || 19 || @ Los Angeles Kings || 6–3 || 17–25–6 |- | 49 || 22 || @ Vancouver Canucks || 6–3 || 18–25–6 |- | 50 || 28 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 5–2 || 19–25–6 |- | 51 || 30 || @ Boston Bruins || 4–2 || 20–25–6 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; February: 7–4–2 (home: 5–2–1; road: 2–2–1) Game February Opponent Score Record |- | 52 || 2 || @ New York Islanders || 2–2 OT || 20–25–7 |- | 53 || 4 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 3–2 || 20–26–7 |- | 54 || 6 || @ Washington Capitals || 3–0 || 21–26–7 |- | 55 || 7 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 6–3 || 22–26–7 |- | 56 || 11 || Washington Capitals || 5–3 || 22–27–7 |- | 57 || 14 || New York Islanders || 4–4 OT || 22–27–8 |- | 58 || 15 || Montreal Canadiens || 3–1 || 23–27–8 |- | 59 || 17 || Calgary Flames || 5–3 || 24–27–8 |- | 60 || 19 || @ New Jersey Devils || 6–3 || 24–28–8 |- | 61 || 21 || Vancouver Canucks || 6–4 || 24–29–8 |- | 62 || 25 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–1 || 25–29–8 |- | 63 || 26 || @ New Jersey Devils || 2–1 || 26–29–8 |- | 64 || 29 || St. Louis Blues || 5–2 || 27–29–8 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; March: 8–5–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 3–3–1) Game March Opponent Score Record |- | 65 || 2 || New York Islanders || 3–1 || 28–29–8 |- | 66 || 4 || @ Buffalo Sabres || 6–3 || 28–30–8 |- | 67 || 5 || @ Hartford Whalers || 3–1 || 28–31–8 |- | 68 || 8 || New Jersey Devils || 7–4 || 29–31–8 |- | 69 || 12 || @ Washington Capitals || 4–2 || 30–31–8 |- | 70 || 15 || Philadelphia Flyers || 3–1 || 31–31–8 |- | 71 || 16 || Washington Capitals || 8–4 || 31–32–8 |- | 72 || 19 || @ Toronto Maple Leafs || 4–3 || 32–32–8 |- | 73 || 20 || Hartford Whalers || 2–1 || 33–32–8 |- | 74 || 22 || Buffalo Sabres || 3–2 || 33–33–8 |- | 75 || 24 || Edmonton Oilers || 6–1 || 34–33–8 |- | 76 || 26 || @ Detroit Red Wings || 4–4 OT || 34–33–9 |- | 77 || 27 || @ New Jersey Devils || 7–2 || 34–34–9 |- | 78 || 30 || @ Chicago Blackhawks || 4–3 || 35–34–9 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; April: 1–0–1 (home: 1–0–0; road: 0–0–1) Game April Opponent Score Record |- | 79 || 1 || @ Winnipeg Jets || 6–6 OT || 35–34–10 |- | 80 || 3 || Quebec Nordiques || 3–0 || 36–34–10 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs The Rangers failed to qualify for the 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs.1987–88 NHL Season Summary Hockey-Reference https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1988.html 2012-03-03 After a 6–6 tie against the Winnipeg Jets in the second-to-last game of the season,Elliott Helene A Point Not Well-Taken: Tie against Jets puts Rangers at mercy of the Devils Newsday 1988-04-02 31 the Rangers and New Jersey Devils entered their final game of the season with 80 points each. If the Rangers and Devils won, the Devils would go to the playoffs on a tiebreaker.Hafner Dan NHL Roundup: Devils Need One More Win to Gain Playoffs Los Angeles Times 1988-04-03 9 The Rangers defeated the Quebec Nordiques 3–0. Later that night, however, the Devils defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime to win the tiebreaker and the final Patrick Division spot. Both the Rangers and Devils finished tied with 82 points. However, the Devils had 38 wins to the Rangers' 36, so the Devils qualified for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division.Masi Vince 2011-04-09 Drama in New York NHL season finales http://www.espn.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/18031/drama-in-new-york-nhl-season-finales 2017-05-23 ESPNHafner Dan NHL Roundup: Devils Need Overtime to Make the Playoffs Los Angeles Times 1988-04-04 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-04-04-sp-287-story.html 2017-05-23 Player statistics Skaters Regular season Player GP Games played G Goals A Assists Pts Points +/- Plus/minus PIM Penalty minutes Walt Poddubny 77 38 50 88 2 76 Kelly Kisio 77 23 55 78 8 88 Tomas Sandstrom 69 28 40 68 −6 95 Marcel Dionne 67 31 34 65 −14 54 James Patrick James Patrick (ice hockey) 70 17 45 62 16 52 Brian Mullen 74 25 29 54 −2 42 John Ogrodnick 64 22 32 54 −3 16 Ulf Dahlen 70 29 23 52 5 26 Don Maloney 66 12 21 33 12 60 Michel Petit† 64 9 24 33 3 223 David Shaw David Shaw (ice hockey) 68 7 25 32 −8 100 Lucien DeBlois 74 9 21 30 −3 103 Jan Erixon 70 7 19 26 3 33 Norm Maciver 37 9 15 24 10 14 Paul Cyr† 40 4 13 17 −5 41 Jari Gronstrand 62 3 11 14 8 63 Brian Leetch 17 2 12 14 5 0 Pierre Larouche 10 3 9 12 −3 13 Ron Duguay‡ 44 4 4 8 −9 23 Chris Nilan† 22 3 5 8 0 96 Ron Greschner 51 1 5 6 −9 82 Gordie Walker 18 1 4 5 −8 17 Mike Donnelly‡ 17 2 2 4 −5 8 Mark Hardy Mark Hardy (ice hockey)† 19 2 2 4 −5 31 Dave Pichette 6 1 3 4 −2 4 Willie Huber‡ 11 1 3 4 −4 14 Joe Paterson ice hockey† 21 1 3 4 −4 63 Bruce Bell 13 1 2 3 −10 8 Mark Tinordi 24 1 2 3 −5 50 Steve Nemeth 12 2 0 2 −4 2 Jeff Brubaker 31 2 0 2 0 78 Paul Boutilier‡ 4 0 1 1 −1 6 Simon Wheeldon 5 0 1 1 −2 4 Ron Talakoski 6 0 1 1 0 12 Chris Jensen 7 0 1 1 −1 2 Larry Melnyk 14 0 1 1 −7 34 Jim Pavese†‡ 14 0 1 1 −7 48 Mark Janssens 1 0 0 0 0 0 Rudy Poeschek 1 0 0 0 0 2 Mike Siltala 3 0 0 0 0 0 Curt Giles‡ 13 0 0 0 −5 10 Goaltenders Regular season Player GP Games played TOI Time on ice W Win L Loss T Tie GA Goals against GAA Goals against average SA Shots against SV% Save percentage SO Shutouts John Vanbiesbrouck 56 3319 27 22 7 187 3.38 1697 .890 2 Bob Froese 25 1443 8 11 3 85 3.53 695 .878 0 Ron Scott 2 90 1 1 0 6 4.00 41 .854 0 †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only. ‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only. hockeydb.com 2010-08-08 1987–88 New York Rangers http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000481988.html Draft picks New York's picks at the 1987 NHL entry draft in Detroit, Michigan at the Joe Louis Arena.1987 NHL Entry Draft Hockey-Reference https://www.hockey-reference.com/draft/NHL_1987_entry.html 2012-06-09NHL Draft History National Hockey League http://www.nhl.com/futures/drafthistory.html 2017-06-16 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20010128131400/http://nhl.com/futures/drafthistory.html 2001-01-28 Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League) 1 10 Jayson More D Canada New Westminster Bruins (WHL) 2 31 Daniel Lacroix LW Canada Granby Bisons (QMJHL) 3 46 Simon Gagne RW Canada Laval Titan (QMJHL) 4 69 Mike Sullivan C United States Boston University (NCAA) 5 94 Eric O'Borsky C United States Yale University (NCAA) 6 115 Ludek Cajka D Czechoslovakia Dukla Jihlava (Czech Extraliga) 7 136 Clint Thomas D United States Bartlett H.S. (Alaska) 8 157 Chuck Wiegand RW United States Essex Junction H.S. (Vermont) 9 178 Eric Burrill RW United States Tartan H.S. (Massachusetts) 10 199 Dave Porter F United States Northern Michigan University (NCAA) 10 205 Brett Barnett LW Canada Wexford Raiders (OPJHL) 11 220 Lance Marciano D United States Choate Academy (Connecticut) Supplemental Draft New York's picks at the 1987 NHL supplemental draft.1987 NHL Supplemental Draft hockeydb.com http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1987s.html 2011-10-15 Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League) 2 12 Joe Lockwood RW United States University of Michigan (CCHA) See also 1987–88 NHL season References 1987-88 Category:1987–88 NHL season by team Category:1987 in sports in New York City Category:1988 in sports in New York City 1987-88 New York Rangers season