# 1986–87 Boston Bruins season

The 1986–87 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 63rd season.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 43 | 30 | 7 | 287 | 270 | 93 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 41 | 29 | 10 | 277 | 241 | 92 |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 39 | 34 | 7 | 301 | 276 | 85 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 31 | 39 | 10 | 267 | 276 | 72 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 28 | 44 | 8 | 280 | 308 | 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

Adams Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
Boston
—3–4–12–62–5–16–213–17–2
Buffalo
4–3–1—4–41–5–23–4–112–16–4
Hartford
6–24–4—4–3–13–3–217–12–3
Montreal
5–2–15–1–23–4−1—5–318–10–4
Quebec
2–64–3–13–3–23–5—12–17–3
Vs. Patrick Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
Boston
1–1–12–0–11–21–22–11–1–18–7–3
Buffalo
2–11–1–11–21–20–2–12–17–9–2
Hartford
1–1–12–13–02–13–02–113–4–1
Montreal
2–11–1–12–0–10–2–11–1–10–36–8–4
Quebec
1–0–21–21–20–2–10–32–0–15–9–4
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
Boston
1–1–10–2–13–02–12–18–5–2
Buffalo
2–12–0–10–31–20–2–15–8–2
Hartford
1–21–1–11–22–12–17–7–1
Montreal
2–0–11–1–12–12–12–19–4–2
Quebec
2–11–22–0–10–33–08–6–1
Vs. Smythe Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
Boston
2–12–12–12–12–110–5–0
Buffalo
0–31–22–10–31–24–11–0
Hartford
1–21–21–22–0–11–1–16–7–2
Montreal
2–10–33–01–22–18–7–0
Quebec
1–20–33–02–10–1–26–7–2 :

## Schedule and results

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

### Notable games

* November 20 – "Brawl in the Hallway"; Near the end of the second period, Chris Nilan while leaving the ice on a game misconduct for fighting and takes a swing at Ken Linseman on the Boston bench, igniting a brawl that spills up the runaway leading to the dressing rooms. Nilan and Ryan Walter are suspended for three games while Claude Lemieux sits for one game. The Canadiens are fined $9,000 and the Bruins $5,000 while the players' fines total $4,400.

## Playoffs
### Adams Division Semifinals
#### Montreal Canadiens 4, Boston Bruins 0

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | April 8 | Boston Bruins | 2–6 | Montreal Canadiens | 0–1 |
| 2 | April 9 | Boston Bruins | 3–4 (OT) | Montreal Canadiens | 0–2 |
| 3 | April 11 | Montreal Canadiens | 5–4 | Boston Bruins | 0–3 |
| 4 | April 12 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–2 | Boston Bruins | 0–4 |

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Ray Bourque | D | 78 | 23 | 72 | 95 | 36 | 44 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| Cam Neely | RW | 75 | 36 | 36 | 72 | 143 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| Charlie Simmer | LW | 80 | 29 | 40 | 69 | 59 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 4 |
| Rick Middleton | RW | 76 | 31 | 37 | 68 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Tom McCarthy | LW | 68 | 30 | 29 | 59 | 31 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
| Keith Crowder | RW | 58 | 22 | 30 | 52 | 106 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Steve Kasper | C | 79 | 20 | 30 | 50 | 51 | -4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Ken Linseman | C | 64 | 15 | 34 | 49 | 126 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Thomas Gradin | C | 64 | 12 | 31 | 43 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Geoff Courtnall | LW | 65 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 117 | -4 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Reed Larson | D | 66 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 95 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| Greg Johnston | RW | 76 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 79 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Milbury | D | 68 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 96 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Michael Thelven | D | 34 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 18 | -2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Nevin Markwart | LW | 64 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 225 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dwight Foster | RW | 47 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Paul Boutilier | D | 52 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 84 | -2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Allen Pedersen | D | 79 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 71 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kraig Nienhuis | LW | 16 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | -5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Reid | LW | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Sweeney | C/RW | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 21 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lyndon Byers | RW | 18 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 53 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Burridge | LW | 23 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 16 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jay Miller | LW | 55 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 208 | -11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mats Thelin | D | 59 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 69 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wade Campbell | D | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 24 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Keans | G | 36 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frank Simonetti | D | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Carter | LW | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Ranford | G | 41 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alain Cote | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cleon Daskalakis | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Riggin | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roberto Romano | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Doug Keans | 1942 | 36 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 108 | 3.34 | 0 | 909 | 801 | .881 |
| Bill Ranford | 2234 | 41 | 16 | 20 | 2 | 124 | 3.33 | 3 | 1137 | 1013 | .891 |
| Pat Riggin | 513 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 29 | 3.39 | 0 | 236 | 207 | .877 |
| Cleon Daskalakis | 97 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4.33 | 0 | 51 | 44 | .863 |
| Roberto Romano | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 6.00 | 0 | 34 | 28 | .824 |
| Team: | 4846 | 80 | 39 | 34 | 7 | 274 | 3.39 | 3 | 2367 | 2093 | .884 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Cam Neely | RW | 4 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 8 | -1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Middleton | RW | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Thomas Gradin | C | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ray Bourque | D | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Linseman | C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom McCarthy | LW | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Kasper | C | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reed Larson | D | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Burridge | LW | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Crowder | RW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lyndon Byers | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wade Campbell | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Geoff Courtnall | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwight Foster | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Johnston | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Keans | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nevin Markwart | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Milbury | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Allen Pedersen | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Ranford | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Reid | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Simmer | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frank Simonetti | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Sweeney | C/RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Doug Keans | 120 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5.50 | 0 | 58 | 47 | .810 |
| Bill Ranford | 123 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 3.90 | 0 | 55 | 47 | .855 |
| Team: | 243 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 4.69 | 0 | 113 | 94 | .832 |
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Draft picks

Boston's draft picks at the 1986 NHL Entry Draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 13 | Craig Janney | United States | Boston College (Hockey East) |
| 2 | 34 | Pekka Tirkkonen | Finland | SaPKo (Finland) |
| 4 | 76 | Dean Hall | Canada | St. James Canadians (MJHL) |
| 5 | 97 | Matt Pesklewis | Canada | St. Albert Saints (AJHL) |
| 6 | 118 | Garth Premak | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WHL) |
| 7 | 139 | Paul Beraldo | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 8 | 160 | Brian Ferreira | United States | Falmouth High School (MIAA) |
| 9 | 181 | Jeff Flaherty | United States | Weymouth High School (MIAA) |
| 10 | 202 | Greg Hawgood | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 11 | 223 | Staffan Malmqvist | Sweden | Leksands IF (Sweden) |
| 12 | 244 | Joel Gardner | Canada | Sarnia Legionnaires (WOJBHL) |
| S2 | 16 | Chris Olson | United States | University of Denver (WCHA) |