# 1986–87 New York Islanders season

The 1986–87 New York Islanders season was the 15th season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.

## Offseason
### NHL draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 17 | Tom Fitzgerald | United States | Austin Prep (Massachusetts) |
| 2 | 38 | Dennis Vaske | United States | Plymouth Armstrong H.S. (Minn.) |
| 3 | 59 | Bill Berg | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHL) |
| 4 | 80 | Shawn Byram | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 5 | 101 | Dean Sexsmith | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 5 | 104 | Todd McLellan | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) |
| 6 | 122 | Tony Schmalzbauer | United States | Hill-Murray School (USHS-MN) |
| 7 | 138 | Will Andersen | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WHL) |
| 7 | 143 | Rich Pilon | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 8 | 164 | Peter Harris | United States | Haverhill High School (MIAA) |
| 9 | 185 | Jeff Jablonski | United States | London Diamonds (WOJBHL) |
| 10 | 206 | Kerry Clark | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) |
| 11 | 227 | Dan Beaudette | United States | Saint Thomas Academy (USHS-MN) |
| 12 | 248 | Paul Thompson | Canada | Northern Manitoba AAA All-Stars (MAAAMHL) |
| S2 | 20 | Gary Kruzich | United States | Bowling Green State University (CCHA) |

## Regular season
### Season standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 46 | 26 | 8 | 310 | 245 | 100 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 38 | 32 | 10 | 285 | 278 | 86 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 35 | 33 | 12 | 279 | 281 | 82 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 34 | 38 | 8 | 307 | 323 | 76 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 30 | 38 | 12 | 297 | 290 | 72 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 29 | 45 | 6 | 293 | 368 | 64 |
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.

### Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Patrick Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
New Jersey
—2–54–32–4–14–31–613–21–1
N.Y. Islanders
5–2—3–3–13–45–0–22–3–218–12–2
N.Y. Rangers
3–43–3–1—4–33–2–24–317–15–3
Philadelphia
4–2–14–33–4—4–1–25–1–120–11–4
Pittsburgh
3–40–5–22–3–21–4–2—4–310–19–6
Washington
6–13–2–23–41–5–13–4—16–16–3
Vs. Adams Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
New Jersey
1–1–11–21–1–11–20–1–24–7–4
N.Y. Islanders
0–2–11–1–11–21–1–12–15–7–3
N.Y. Rangers
2–12–10–30–2–12–16–8–1
Philadelphia
2–12–11–22–0–12–0–19–4–2
Pittsburgh
1–22–0–10–31–1–13–07–6–2
Washington
1–1–11–21–23–00–2–16–7–2
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
New Jersey
1–22–11–22–11–27–8–0
N.Y. Islanders
1–22–13–01–1–12–19–5–1
N.Y. Rangers
1–1–11–21–1–11–21–1–15–7–3
Philadelphia
2–0–12–11–23–01–1–19–4–2
Pittsburgh
2–11–23–01–0–21–28–5–2
Washington
1–1–12–0–12–0–12–0–12–19–2–4
Vs. Smythe Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
New Jersey
1–21–21–22–0–10–35–9–1
N.Y. Islanders
0–2–10–2–11–21–21–1–13–9–2
N.Y. Rangers
1–20–32–0–12–11–26–8–1
Philadelphia
1–22–11–22–12–18–7–0
Pittsburgh
1–21–21–21–0–21–25–8–2
Washington
1–22–10–33–01–1–17–7–1 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 9, 1986 | 2–3 | @ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | L | October 11, 1986 | 4–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) | 0–2–0 |
| 3 | W | October 16, 1986 | 7–4 | Washington Capitals (1986–87) | 1–2–0 |
| 4 | L | October 18, 1986 | 2–3 | New York Rangers (1986–87) | 1–3–0 |
| 5 | T | October 19, 1986 | 2–2 OT | @ New York Rangers (1986–87) | 1–3–1 |
| 6 | W | October 21, 1986 | 6–3 | New Jersey Devils (1986–87) | 2–3–1 |
| 7 | W | October 25, 1986 | 4–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) | 3–3–1 |
| 8 | W | October 28, 1986 | 2–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) | 4–3–1 |
| 9 | L | October 30, 1986 | 6–7 OT | @ New Jersey Devils (1986–87) | 4–4–1 |
| 10 | W | November 1, 1986 | 7–4 | Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) | 5–4–1 |
| 11 | W | November 4, 1986 | 7–1 | Washington Capitals (1986–87) | 6–4–1 |
| 12 | L | November 5, 1986 | 2–3 | @ Hartford Whalers (1986–87) | 6–5–1 |
| 13 | W | November 8, 1986 | 2–1 OT | Detroit Red Wings (1986–87) | 7–5–1 |
| 14 | W | November 9, 1986 | 4–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) | 8–5–1 |
| 15 | L | November 11, 1986 | 2–3 OT | Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) | 8–6–1 |
| 16 | W | November 15, 1986 | 7–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) | 9–6–1 |
| 17 | L | November 16, 1986 | 1–3 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) | 9–7–1 |
| 18 | W | November 18, 1986 | 4–3 OT | @ Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) | 10–7–1 |
| 19 | W | November 20, 1986 | 6–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) | 11–7–1 |
| 20 | L | November 22, 1986 | 3–6 | Hartford Whalers (1986–87) | 11–8–1 |
| 21 | W | November 25, 1986 | 5–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) | 12–8–1 |
| 22 | W | November 26, 1986 | 3–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) | 13–8–1 |
| 23 | L | November 29, 1986 | 5–6 | Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) | 13–9–1 |
| 24 | T | December 2, 1986 | 3–3 OT | @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) | 13–9–2 |
| 25 | L | December 3, 1986 | 1–7 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) | 13–10–2 |
| 26 | W | December 5, 1986 | 4–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) | 14–10–2 |
| 27 | L | December 7, 1986 | 1–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1986–87) | 14–11–2 |
| 28 | L | December 9, 1986 | 2–7 | Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) | 14–12–2 |
| 29 | W | December 11, 1986 | 8–4 | @ New Jersey Devils (1986–87) | 15–12–2 |
| 30 | W | December 13, 1986 | 4–2 | New Jersey Devils (1986–87) | 16–12–2 |
| 31 | W | December 16, 1986 | 4–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) | 17–12–2 |
| 32 | L | December 18, 1986 | 4–9 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) | 17–13–2 |
| 33 | W | December 20, 1986 | 5–2 | New York Rangers (1986–87) | 18–13–2 |
| 34 | W | December 23, 1986 | 4–3 OT | Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) | 19–13–2 |
| 35 | L | December 26, 1986 | 1–2 | @ Washington Capitals (1986–87) | 19–14–2 |
| 36 | T | December 27, 1986 | 3–3 OT | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) | 19–14–3 |
| 37 | L | December 30, 1986 | 3–5 | Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) | 19–15–3 |
| 38 | L | December 31, 1986 | 3–4 OT | @ New York Rangers (1986–87) | 19–16–3 |
| 39 | L | January 3, 1987 | 4–5 | Boston Bruins (1986–87) | 19–17–3 |
| 40 | W | January 6, 1987 | 5–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) | 20–17–3 |
| 41 | W | January 9, 1987 | 2–1 | @ New York Rangers (1986–87) | 21–17–3 |
| 42 | W | January 10, 1987 | 3–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) | 22–17–3 |
| 43 | T | January 13, 1987 | 3–3 OT | Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) | 22–17–4 |
| 44 | L | January 15, 1987 | 2–3 | Washington Capitals (1986–87) | 22–18–4 |
| 45 | L | January 17, 1987 | 2–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) | 22–19–4 |
| 46 | W | January 18, 1987 | 3–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) | 23–19–4 |
| 47 | L | January 20, 1987 | 1–3 | Calgary Flames (1986–87) | 23–20–4 |
| 48 | L | January 21, 1987 | 5–8 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1986–87) | 23–21–4 |
| 49 | W | January 24, 1987 | 2–1 OT | @ Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) | 24–21–4 |
| 50 | T | January 27, 1987 | 2–2 OT | Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) | 24–21–5 |
| 51 | T | January 30, 1987 | 3–3 OT | @ Washington Capitals (1986–87) | 24–21–6 |
| 52 | W | January 31, 1987 | 4–2 | Hartford Whalers (1986–87) | 25–21–6 |
| 53 | L | February 4, 1987 | 1–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) | 25–22–6 |
| 54 | T | February 6, 1987 | 3–3 OT | @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) | 25–22–7 |
| 55 | L | February 7, 1987 | 1–4 | @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) | 25–23–7 |
| 56 | L | February 14, 1987 | 1–5 | Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) | 25–24–7 |
| 57 | L | February 17, 1987 | 2–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) | 25–25–7 |
| 58 | T | February 18, 1987 | 1–1 OT | @ Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) | 25–25–8 |
| 59 | W | February 21, 1987 | 6–5 | Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) | 26–25–8 |
| 60 | W | February 22, 1987 | 7–0 | @ New Jersey Devils (1986–87) | 27–25–8 |
| 61 | L | February 24, 1987 | 2–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1986–87) | 27–26–8 |
| 62 | W | February 26, 1987 | 5–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) | 28–26–8 |
| 63 | T | February 28, 1987 | 3–3 OT | St. Louis Blues (1986–87) | 28–26–9 |
| 64 | T | March 3, 1987 | 4–4 OT | Boston Bruins (1986–87) | 28–26–10 |
| 65 | L | March 4, 1987 | 5–7 | @ New York Rangers (1986–87) | 28–27–10 |
| 66 | L | March 7, 1987 | 2–7 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) | 28–28–10 |
| 67 | W | March 8, 1987 | 6–5 | @ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) | 29–28–10 |
| 68 | W | March 10, 1987 | 6–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) | 30–28–10 |
| 69 | L | March 13, 1987 | 1–4 | @ New Jersey Devils (1986–87) | 30–29–10 |
| 70 | W | March 14, 1987 | 7–6 OT | New Jersey Devils (1986–87) | 31–29–10 |
| 71 | L | March 16, 1987 | 0–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) | 31–30–10 |
| 72 | W | March 19, 1987 | 3–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1986–87) | 32–30–10 |
| 73 | W | March 21, 1987 | 4–3 | New York Rangers (1986–87) | 33–30–10 |
| 74 | L | March 24, 1987 | 1–3 | Washington Capitals (1986–87) | 33–31–10 |
| 75 | L | March 26, 1987 | 2–5 | Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) | 33–32–10 |
| 76 | T | March 27, 1987 | 2–2 OT | @ Washington Capitals (1986–87) | 33–32–11 |
| 77 | W | March 31, 1987 | 4–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1986–87) | 34–32–11 |
| 78 | L | April 2, 1987 | 1–4 | Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) | 34–33–11 |
| 79 | T | April 4, 1987 | 6–6 OT | Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) | 34–33–12 |
| 80 | W | April 5, 1987 | 9–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) | 35–33–12 |

## Playoffs
### Round 1: New York Islanders (3) vs. Washington Capitals (2)

The Easter Epic is the nickname given to a National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoff game between the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals, played April 18–19, 1987, at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. It is so named because the game started on Saturday evening but did not finish until the early hours of Easter Sunday where Pat Lafontaine scored the overtime series winning goal.
* New York won series 4–3

### Round 2: New York Islanders (3) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (1)

* Philadelphia won series 4–3

## Player statistics

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Bryan Trottier | C | 80 | 23 | 64 | 87 | 50 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Bossy | RW | 63 | 38 | 37 | 75 | 33 | -7 | 8 | 1 | 5 |
| Pat LaFontaine | C | 80 | 38 | 32 | 70 | 70 | -10 | 19 | 1 | 6 |
| Brent Sutter | C | 69 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 73 | 23 | 6 | 3 | 8 |
| Mikko Makela | RW | 80 | 24 | 33 | 57 | 24 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 3 |
| Pat Flatley | RW | 63 | 16 | 35 | 51 | 81 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Denis Potvin | D | 58 | 12 | 30 | 42 | 70 | -6 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| Duane Sutter | RW | 80 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 169 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Tomas Jonsson | D | 47 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 36 | -8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Richard Kromm | LW | 70 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Leiter | D | 74 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 30 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Boyd | D | 30 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 37 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Brad Lauer | LW | 61 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 65 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Steve Konroyd | D | 72 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 70 | -4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Bassen | C | 77 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 89 | -17 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Alan Kerr | RW | 72 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 175 | -10 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Gord Dineen | D | 71 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 110 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Gilbert | LW | 51 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 26 | -12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Morrow | D | 64 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 32 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ari Haanpaa | LW | 41 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Brian Curran | D | 68 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 356 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Henry | LW | 19 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 46 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerald Diduck | D | 30 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 67 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Neal Coulter | RW | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | G | 40 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Wood | LW/C | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Hamway | RW | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kelly Hrudey | G | 46 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Derek King | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Kelly Hrudey | 2634 | 46 | 21 | 15 | 7 | 145 | 3.30 | 0 | 1219 | 1074 | .881 |
| Billy Smith | 2252 | 40 | 14 | 18 | 5 | 132 | 3.52 | 1 | 1007 | 875 | .869 |
| Team: | 4886 | 80 | 35 | 33 | 12 | 277 | 3.40 | 1 | 2226 | 1949 | .876 |
Playoffs :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Bryan Trottier | C | 14 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 12 | -6 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Pat LaFontaine | C | 14 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 10 | -6 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Mikko Makela | RW | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | -4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Pat Flatley | RW | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Bossy | RW | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tomas Jonsson | D | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan Kerr | RW | 14 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 25 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Konroyd | D | 14 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Leiter | D | 11 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Gilbert | LW | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Denis Potvin | D | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 21 | -7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard Kromm | LW | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Morrow | D | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Wood | LW/C | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gord Dineen | D | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Bassen | C | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Lauer | LW | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brent Sutter | C | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Duane Sutter | RW | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Boyd | D | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Dalgarno | RW | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerald Diduck | D | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 35 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Curran | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ari Haanpaa | LW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Henry | LW | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kelly Hrudey | G | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Kelly Hrudey | 842 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 38 | 2.71 | 0 | 464 | 426 | .918 |
| Billy Smith | 67 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.90 | 0 | 22 | 21 | .955 |
| Team: | 909 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 39 | 2.57 | 0 | 486 | 447 | .920 |
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;