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1987–88 NHL season

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The 1987-88 NHL season was the 71st regular 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 was Wayne Gretzky's final season with the Edmonton Oilers, and as injuries held out of 20% of the season, the only season of the decade in which he was not the winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy and did not hold or share the league lead in points. Mario Lemieux would capture his first Hart Trophy nad lead the league in scoring.

Regular Season

Standings

Wales Conference

Adams Division:

Team W L T GF GA PTS
Montreal Canadiens 45 22 13 298 238 103
Boston Bruins 44 30 6 300 251 94
Buffalo Sabres 37 32 11 283 305 85
Hartford Whalers 35 38 7 249 267 77
Quebec Nordiques 32 43 5 279 306 69

Patrick Division:

Team W L T GF GA PTS
New York Islanders 39 31 10 308 267 88
Philadelphia Flyers 38 33 9 292 292 85
Washington Capitals 38 33 9 281 249 85
New Jersey Devils 38 36 6 295 296 82
New York Rangers 36 34 10 300 283 82
Pittsburgh Penguins 36 35 9 319 316 81

Campbell Conference

Norris Division:

Team W L T GF GA PTS
Detroit Red Wings 41 28 11 322 269 93
St. Louis Blues 34 38 8 278 294 76
Chicago Blackhawks 30 41 9 284 328 69
Toronto Maple Leafs 21 49 10 273 345 52
Minnesota North Stars 19 48 13 242 349 51

Smythe Division:

Team W L T GF GA PTS
Calgary Flames 48 23 9 397 305 105
Edmonton Oilers 44 25 11 363 288 99
Winnipeg Jets 33 36 11 292 310 77
Los Angeles Kings 30 42 8 318 359 68
Vancouver Canucks 25 46 9 272 320 59

Leading Scorers

Player Team GP G A PTS
Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh 77 70 98 168
Wayne Gretzky Edmonton 64 40 109 149
Denis Savard Chicago 80 44 87 131
Dale Hawerchuk Winnepeg 80 44 77 121
Luc Robitaille Los Angeles 80 53 58 111
Peter Stastny Quebec 76 46 65 111
Mark Messier Edmonton 77 37 74 111
Jimmy Carson Los Angeles 80 55 52 107
Michel Goulet Quebec 80 48 58 106
Hakan Loob Calgary 80 50 56 106

Playoffs

The 1988 Stanley Cup Playoffs started on April 6, and ended on May 26. The Presidents' Trophy winning Calgary Flames had home ice throughout the playoffs thanks in part to Edmonton's struggles without Gretzky. The Oilers, who had won the cup in three of the previous four years were still the favourite to repeat as Gretzky had returned.

  • In spite of Lemieux's prolific offense, the Penguins missed the playoffs.
  • Five of the North Stars' final six games were on the road. Minnesota went 1-4-1 in that stretch allowing Toronto survive their 1-8 finish.
  • On March 18, Quebec was three points ahead of the Whalers (68-65). Quebec finished 0-7-1, costing themselves a chance to fend off Hartford who finished 6-3.


Division Semifinals

Adams Division

#3 Buffalo vs. #2 Boston

The Boston Bruins were led by team captain Ray Bourque, the goaltending duo of Reggie Lemelin and the newly acquired Andy Moog. The Buffalo Sabres returned to the playoffs thanks to added depth provided by rokkie Ray Sheppard.

April 6 Buffalo 3 at Boston 7 April 7 Buffalo 1 at Boston 4 April 9 Boston 2 at Buffalo 6 April 10 Boston 5 at Buffalo 6 April 12 Buffalo 4 at Boston 5 April 14 Boston 5 at Buffalo 2

Boston wins best-of-seven series 4-2

#4 Hartford vs. #1 Montreal

The Habs almost squadered a 3-0 series lead. The deep Habs roster was the best team in the Wales Conference during the season, consisting of six 20-goal scorers and another six with between 10 and 20 goals. Their best asset was goalteder 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.

Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4-2

Patrick Division

#3 Philadelphia vs. #2 Washington

The Flyers needed to beat Washington at home in their season finale to gain home ice advantage, but only managed to tie them 2-2. The Flyers were lead by Vezina Trophy winner Ron Hextall who was playoff MVP the previous season. In a very physical series, Washington overcame a 3-1 deficit to advance to the second round for the first time in two years.

  • April 6 - Philadelphia 4 at Washington 2
  • April 7 - Philadelphia 4 at Washington 5
  • April 9 - Washington 3 at Philadelphia 4
  • April 10 - Washington 4 at Philadelphia 5
  • April 12 - Philadelphia 2 at Washington 5
  • April 14 - Washington 7 at Philadelphia 2
  • April 16 - Philadelphia 4 at Washington 5

Washington wins best-of-seven series 4-3

#4 New Jersey vs. #1 NY Islanders

This would be the last hurrah for both the Islanders and Denis Potvin whose departure would signal dark days for the Isles, as his arrival had brought them to prominence. The Isles would be upset by the Devils, who finished 7-0-1, including two wins over Pittsburgh in which they stifled Lemieux, and a 7-2 win over the Rangers, whom they edged out for the final Patrick Division playoff spot. The physical Devils would keep former MVP Bryan Trottier pointless, as they won in 6.

  • April 6 - New Jersey 4 at NY Islanders 3
  • April 7 - New Jersey 2 at NY Islanders 3
  • April 9 - NY Islanders 0 at New Jersey 3
  • April 10 - NY Islanders 5 at New Jersey 4
  • April 12 - New Jersey 4 at NY Islanders 2
  • April 14 - NY Islanders 5 at New Jersey 6

New Jersey wins best-of-seven series 4-2

Norris Division

#3 Chicago vs. #2 St. Louis

The Chicago Blackhawks were led by their three 40-goal scorers Denis Savard, Rick Vaive and Steve Larmer. They were poor defensively, and were matched up against a similar St. Louis Blues squad that was better defensively if not in goal. Vaive had 8 points, Larmer and Savard had 7 each.

St. Louis wins best-of-seven series 4-1'

#4 Toronto vs. #1 Detroit

The storied rivalry continued as the Detroit Red Wings met the Toronto Maple Leafs. While the seemingly lame-duck Leafs finished 1-8, the one win was 5-3 over Detriot in the season finale that pushed them into the playoffs. Game 6 in Maple Leaf Gardens was future Hall of Famer Borje Salming's final game in the NHL. Toronto lost all three home games.

Detroit wins best-of-seven series 4-2

Smythe Division

#3 Winnipeg vs. #2 Edmonton

The high-flying offense of the Edmonton Oilers played exactly as they were expected to, averaging 5 goals a game. Despite their best efforts, the team that Oilers Captain Wayne Gretzky would one day own couldn't keep pace with his Oilers.

Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4-1

#4 Los Angeles vs. #1 Calgary

The Kings fourth place finish in the Smythe Division tied their best finish in their history, since being moved to the Smythe. Their defense was the worst in the league, and they relied on both their offense and the fact that the Vancouver Canucks were horrible. The Kings met Calgary twice in the week before the playoffs and triumphed 9-7 at home and 6-3 in Calgary. The Flames' would make a mockery of the Kings defense and would light the lamp 26 times, more than even the Oilers would score against the jets.

  • April 6 - Los Angeles 2 at Calgary 9
  • April 7 - Los Angeles 4 at Calgary 6
  • April 9 - Calgary 2 at Los Angeles 5
  • April 10 - Calgary 7 at Los Angeles 3
  • April 12 - Los Angeles 4 at Calgary 6

Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4-1

  • 4 of the 5 teams who trailed a series 2-0 won game 3 of the series at home(L.A., Winnipeg, Buffalo, Chicago). The fifth team was Hartford, who rallied to 3-2 from 3-0.


Division Finals

Adams Division

#2 Boston vs. #1 Montreal

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 defense would wear down Montreal, as Ken Linseman, Ray Bourque and Cam Neely provided the offense to finally conquer the Canadiens.

Boston wins best-of-seven series 4-1

Patrick Division

# 4 New Jersey vs. #2 Washington

After upsetting the Islanders, whose defense was second in the division, the Devils were now matched up with the #1 defense in the division. Patrik Sundstrom and Kirk Muller led the Devils to a series win in seven games in a surprisingly high scoring series.

  • April 18 - New Jersey 1 at Washington 3
  • April 20 - New Jersey 5 at Washington 2
  • April 22 - Washington 4 at New Jersey 10
  • April 24 - Washington 4 at New Jersey 1
  • April 26 - New Jersey 3 at Washington 1
  • April 28 - Washington 7 at New Jersey 2
  • April 30 - New Jersey 3 at Washington 2


New Jersey wins best-of-seven series 4-3

Norris Divison

#2 St. Louis vs. #1 Detroit

In another case of a team down 2-0 rallying to win game 3, the Red Wings got aggressive, unafraid of the Blues offense and won in five.

Detroit wins best-of-seven series 4-3

Smythe Division

#2 Edmonton vs. #1 Calgary

In the final "Battle of Alberta" including Gretzky and Brett Hull, the Oilers would claim the first sweep of the playoffs.

Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4-0

Conference Finals

Prince of Wales Conference

New Jersey vs. Boston

The Devils would take Boston to the limit, but their offense couldn't compete with the Bruins who would make their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals since consecutive appearances in 1976-77 and 1977-78.

  • May 2 - New Jersey 1 at Boston
  • May 4 - New Jersey 3 at Boston
  • May 6 - Boston at New Jersey
  • May 8 - Boston 1 at New Jersey
  • May 10 - New Jersey 2 at Boston
  • May 12 - Boston at New Jersey
  • May 14 - New Jersey at Boston

Boston wins best-of-seven series 4-3

Detroit vs. Edmonton

Steve Yzerman and the Wings were no match for the Oilers in Edmonton, and were edged out in Game 4.

  • May 3 - Detroit 1 at Edmonton 4
  • May 5 - Detroit 3 at Edmonton 5
  • May 7 - Edmonton 2 at Detroit 5
  • May 9 - Edmonton 4 at Detroit 3
  • May 11 - Detroit 4 at Edmonton 8

Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4-1

Stanley Cup Final

The 1988 Stanley Cup Final pitted the Oilers offensive juggernaut against the Bruins more balanced team. The Oilers showed their defensive prowess, surrendering just 9 goals in games that were decided. (Game 4 is well-known for fog that interfered with the game and a power outage that caused its cancellation before a faceoff. This would allow the Oilers to win the Cup at the Northlands Coliseum and complete the sweep in Game 5.)

Michael Thelven was physical in his defense of Gretzky, but that wouldn't ground The Great One on his way to claiming his second Conn Smythe Trophy and setting a playoff record with 31 assists in just 19 games.

Boston vs. Edmonton

  • May 18 - Boston 1 at Edmonton 2
  • May 20 - Boston 2 at Edmonton 4
  • May 22 - Edmonton 6 at Boston 3
  • May 24 - Edmonton 3 at Boston 3 [game cancelled]
  • May 26 - Boston 3 at Edmonton 6

Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4-0

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