# 1987–88 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1987–88 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 79th season. The club qualified for the playoffs, defeated the Hartford Whalers in the first round, but were eliminated in the Adams Division finals versus the Boston Bruins four games to one.

## Offseason

* Canadiens General Manager Serge Savard was part of the four man committee that would select players and coaches for Team Canada at the 1987 Canada Cup. Canadiens head coach Jean Perron would be selected as one of the assistant coaches for Team Canada.

## Regular season

Defensively, the Canadiens were the best team in the league, finishing the regular season with just 238 goals against. They also allowed the fewest power-play goals, with just 64

### Final standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 45 | 22 | 13 | 298 | 238 | 103 |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 44 | 30 | 6 | 300 | 251 | 94 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 37 | 32 | 11 | 283 | 305 | 85 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 35 | 38 | 7 | 249 | 267 | 77 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 32 | 43 | 5 | 271 | 306 | 69 |
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
1987–88 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
Boston
—4–3–14–3–13–4–15–316–13–3
Buffalo
3–4–1—3–4–13–3–25–2–114–13–5
Hartford
3–4–14–3–1—2–4–22–611–17–4
Montreal
4–3–13–3–24–2−2—6–217–10–5
Quebec
3–52–5–16–22–6—13–18–1
Vs. Patrick Division
1987–88 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
Boston
2–11–21–21–22–0–11–28–9–1
Buffalo
2–0–11–23–00–30–2–12–0–18–7–3
Hartford
1–1–11–21–21–21–21–26–11–1
Montreal
1–23–01–1–11–0–21–21–1–18–6–4
Quebec
3–01–21–20–2–10–31–26–11–1
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1987–88 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
Boston
3–01–23–01–22–110–5–0
Buffalo
2–11–21–1–13–03–010–4–1
Hartford
2–12–13–01–23–011–4–0
Montreal
2–0–12–11–1–12–13–010–3–2
Quebec
2–0–13–02–11–23–011–3–1
Vs. Smythe Division
1987–88 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
Boston
2–11–1–12–0–12–13–010–3–2
Buffalo
1–20–32–11–1–11–1–15–8–2
Hartford
0–31–23–01–0–22–17–6–2
Montreal
0–2–13–02–12–0–13–010–3–2
Quebec
0–31–1–11–20–30–2–12–11–2 :

## Schedule and results

| # | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 8, 1987 | 2–2 OT | @ Philadelphia Flyers | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | W | October 10, 1987 | 6–3 | Buffalo Sabres | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | L | October 12, 1987 | 2–5 | Quebec Nordiques | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | L | October 16, 1987 | 3–4 | @ New Jersey Devils | 1–2–1 |
| 5 | W | October 17, 1987 | 3–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2–2–1 |
| 6 | W | October 19, 1987 | 5–1 | Minnesota North Stars | 3–2–1 |
| 7 | W | October 21, 1987 | 10–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 4–2–1 |
| 8 | L | October 23, 1987 | 3–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres | 4–3–1 |
| 9 | W | October 24, 1987 | 3–2 | @ Washington Capitals | 5–3–1 |
| 10 | L | October 26, 1987 | 3–5 | Calgary Flames | 5–4–1 |
| 11 | W | October 28, 1987 | 3–1 | Edmonton Oilers | 6–4–1 |
| 12 | W | October 30, 1987 | 5–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings | 7–4–1 |
| 13 | T | October 31, 1987 | 3–3 OT | Boston Bruins | 7–4–2 |
| 14 | W | November 2, 1987 | 6–4 | St. Louis Blues | 8–4–2 |
| 15 | T | November 4, 1987 | 4–4 OT | @ Chicago Blackhawks | 8–4–3 |
| 16 | W | November 7, 1987 | 5–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 9–4–3 |
| 17 | W | November 9, 1987 | 3–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 10–4–3 |
| 18 | T | November 11, 1987 | 0–0 OT | @ Hartford Whalers | 10–4–4 |
| 19 | L | November 12, 1987 | 2–3 | @ Boston Bruins | 10–5–4 |
| 20 | W | November 14, 1987 | 3–0 | Chicago Blackhawks | 11–5–4 |
| 21 | T | November 16, 1987 | 3–3 OT | Hartford Whalers | 11–5–5 |
| 22 | W | November 18, 1987 | 5–2 | New York Islanders | 12–5–5 |
| 23 | W | November 21, 1987 | 2–1 | New Jersey Devils | 13–5–5 |
| 24 | L | November 23, 1987 | 3–4 OT | @ Quebec Nordiques | 13–6–5 |
| 25 | W | November 25, 1987 | 6–5 | @ Hartford Whalers | 14–6–5 |
| 26 | L | November 27, 1987 | 2–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars | 14–7–5 |
| 27 | W | November 28, 1987 | 7–3 | @ Winnipeg Jets | 15–7–5 |
| 28 | W | November 30, 1987 | 6–4 | Boston Bruins | 16–7–5 |
| 29 | T | December 2, 1987 | 3–3 OT | Vancouver Canucks | 16–7–6 |
| 30 | W | December 5, 1987 | 6–4 | Los Angeles Kings | 17–7–6 |
| 31 | W | December 8, 1987 | 3–2 | @ New York Islanders | 18–7–6 |
| 32 | T | December 9, 1987 | 2–2 OT | @ New York Rangers | 18–7–7 |
| 33 | W | December 12, 1987 | 5–3 | Detroit Red Wings | 19–7–7 |
| 34 | W | December 16, 1987 | 5–4 | Quebec Nordiques | 20–7–7 |
| 35 | T | December 18, 1987 | 2–2 OT | @ Buffalo Sabres | 20–7–8 |
| 36 | L | December 19, 1987 | 1–2 | Buffalo Sabres | 20–8–8 |
| 37 | T | December 23, 1987 | 2–2 OT | Washington Capitals | 20–8–9 |
| 38 | W | December 26, 1987 | 4–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 21–8–9 |
| 39 | L | December 28, 1987 | 3–9 | @ Calgary Flames | 21–9–9 |
| 40 | W | December 29, 1987 | 4–1 | @ Vancouver Canucks | 22–9–9 |
| 41 | L | January 2, 1988 | 2–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings | 22–10–9 |
| 42 | L | January 6, 1988 | 5–6 | Buffalo Sabres | 22–11–9 |
| 43 | T | January 9, 1988 | 3–3 OT | Philadelphia Flyers | 22–11–10 |
| 44 | W | January 13, 1988 | 5–4 | Boston Bruins | 23–11–10 |
| 45 | L | January 14, 1988 | 2–3 | @ Boston Bruins | 23–12–10 |
| 46 | W | January 16, 1988 | 4–3 | New York Rangers | 24–12–10 |
| 47 | W | January 18, 1988 | 6–4 | Edmonton Oilers | 25–12–10 |
| 48 | L | January 21, 1988 | 1–4 | St. Louis Blues | 25–13–10 |
| 49 | L | January 23, 1988 | 3–4 OT | Pittsburgh Penguins | 25–14–10 |
| 50 | W | January 24, 1988 | 5–3 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 26–14–10 |
| 51 | W | January 27, 1988 | 4–1 | @ Buffalo Sabres | 27–14–10 |
| 52 | L | January 29, 1988 | 3–4 | @ Washington Capitals | 27–15–10 |
| 53 | W | January 30, 1988 | 6–2 | @ New York Islanders | 28–15–10 |
| 54 | W | February 1, 1988 | 5–4 | Hartford Whalers | 29–15–10 |
| 55 | W | February 3, 1988 | 5–2 | @ Hartford Whalers | 30–15–10 |
| 56 | L | February 4, 1988 | 3–7 | @ Boston Bruins | 30–16–10 |
| 57 | L | February 6, 1988 | 4–5 | Detroit Red Wings | 30–17–10 |
| 58 | L | February 11, 1988 | 2–4 | @ New Jersey Devils | 30–18–10 |
| 59 | L | February 13, 1988 | 1–4 | Hartford Whalers | 30–19–10 |
| 60 | L | February 15, 1988 | 1–3 | @ New York Rangers | 30–20–10 |
| 61 | W | February 17, 1988 | 3–2 | Boston Bruins | 31–20–10 |
| 62 | W | February 20, 1988 | 5–3 | Quebec Nordiques | 32–20–10 |
| 63 | W | February 23, 1988 | 3–1 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 33–20–10 |
| 64 | W | February 24, 1988 | 5–4 | Vancouver Canucks | 34–20–10 |
| 65 | W | February 27, 1988 | 6–0 | Winnipeg Jets | 35–20–10 |
| 66 | W | February 29, 1988 | 2–1 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 36–20–10 |
| 67 | W | March 3, 1988 | 4–2 | @ St. Louis Blues | 37–20–10 |
| 68 | W | March 5, 1988 | 7–6 OT | @ Los Angeles Kings | 38–20–10 |
| 69 | W | March 9, 1988 | 4–1 | @ Edmonton Oilers | 39–20–10 |
| 70 | W | March 12, 1988 | 5–0 | Hartford Whalers | 40–20–10 |
| 71 | T | March 14, 1988 | 2–2 OT | @ Minnesota North Stars | 40–20–11 |
| 72 | W | March 16, 1988 | 4–1 | @ Winnipeg Jets | 41–20–11 |
| 73 | W | March 19, 1988 | 3–0 | Chicago Blackhawks | 42–20–11 |
| 74 | T | March 21, 1988 | 3–3 OT | Calgary Flames | 42–20–12 |
| 75 | W | March 23, 1988 | 4–1 | Quebec Nordiques | 43–20–12 |
| 76 | L | March 25, 1988 | 2–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins | 43–21–12 |
| 77 | L | March 27, 1988 | 2–4 | @ Hartford Whalers | 43–22–12 |
| 78 | W | March 31, 1988 | 3–1 | @ Boston Bruins | 44–22–12 |
| 79 | W | April 2, 1988 | 9–4 | Buffalo Sabres | 45–22–12 |
| 80 | T | April 3, 1988 | 4–4 OT | @ Buffalo Sabres | 45–22–13 |
* April 3: Stephane Richer becomes the sixth player in Montreal history to score 50 goals in a season with two in the season finale against Buffalo.

## Playoffs
### Adams Division semi-finals

Hartford Whalers vs. Montreal Canadiens
The Habs almost squandered a 3–0 series lead. The deep Habs roster was the best team in the Wales Conference during the season, consisting of one 50-goal scorer, five 20–goal scorers and another six with between 10 and 20 goals. Their best assets were goaltenders 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.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score |
| April 6 | Hartford | 3 | Montreal | 4 |
| April 7 | Hartford | 3 | Montreal | 7 |
| April 9 | Montreal | 4 | Hartford | 3 |
| April 10 | Montreal | 5 | Hartford | 7 |
| April 12 | Hartford | 5 | Montreal | 3 |
| April 14 | Montreal | 4 | Hartford | 2 |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4–2

### Adams Division finals

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
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' defence would wear down Montreal, as Ken Linseman, Ray Bourque and Cam Neely provided the offence to finally conquer the Canadiens, this despite the fact that the Habs beat them in Game 1 by a score of 5–1. It was the first Bruins' playoff series win over the Habs since the 1942–43 season.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score |
| April 18 | Boston | 1 | Montreal | 5 |
| April 20 | Boston | 4 | Montreal | 3 |
| April 22 | Montreal | 1 | Boston | 3 |
| April 24 | Montreal | 0 | Boston | 2 |
| April 26 | Boston | 4 | Montreal | 1 |
Boston wins best-of-seven series 4–1

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Bobby Smith | C | 78 | 27 | 66 | 93 | 78 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Mats Naslund | LW | 78 | 24 | 59 | 83 | 14 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Stephane Richer | RW | 72 | 50 | 28 | 78 | 72 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 11 |
| Claude Lemieux | RW | 78 | 31 | 30 | 61 | 137 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Chris Chelios | D | 71 | 20 | 41 | 61 | 172 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 5 |
| Mike McPhee | LW | 77 | 23 | 20 | 43 | 53 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 53 | 6 | 34 | 40 | 30 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Shayne Corson | LW | 71 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 152 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Guy Carbonneau | C | 80 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 61 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Ryan Walter | C/LW | 61 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 39 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Brian Skrudland | C | 79 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 112 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Petr Svoboda | D | 69 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 149 | 46 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Kjell Dahlin | RW | 48 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Bob Gainey | LW | 78 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sergio Momesso | LW | 53 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 101 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Ludwig | D | 74 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 69 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Green | D | 59 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 33 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Nilan | RW | 50 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 209 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gilles Thibaudeau | C | 17 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Lalor | D | 66 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 113 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Kordic | RW | 60 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 159 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Trader | D | 30 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Serge Boisvert | RW | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jose Charbonneau | RW | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Hayward | G | 39 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick Roy | G | 45 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Perry Ganchar | RW | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gaston Gingras | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Sandelin | D | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vincent Riendeau | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mathieu Schneider | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Patrick Roy | 2586 | 45 | 23 | 12 | 9 | 125 | 2.90 | 3 | 1248 | 1123 | .900 |
| Brian Hayward | 2247 | 39 | 22 | 10 | 4 | 107 | 2.86 | 2 | 1032 | 925 | .896 |
| Vincent Riendeau | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8.33 | 0 | 22 | 17 | .773 |
| Team: | 4869 | 80 | 45 | 22 | 13 | 237 | 2.92 | 5 | 2302 | 2065 | .897 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Stephane Richer | RW | 8 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike McPhee | LW | 11 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bobby Smith | C | 11 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mats Naslund | LW | 6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilles Thibaudeau | C | 8 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kjell Dahlin | RW | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Walter | C/LW | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Brian Skrudland | C | 11 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Claude Lemieux | RW | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Petr Svoboda | D | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Chelios | D | 11 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Kordic | RW | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guy Carbonneau | C | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Ludwig | D | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Green | D | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sergio Momesso | LW | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shayne Corson | LW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Serge Boisvert | RW | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Gainey | LW | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jose Charbonneau | RW | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steven Fletcher | LW/D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Hayward | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Lalor | D | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick Roy | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Patrick Roy | 430 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 3.35 | 0 | 218 | 194 | .890 |
| Brian Hayward | 230 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 2.35 | 0 | 85 | 76 | .894 |
| Team: | 660 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 3.00 | 0 | 303 | 270 | .891 |
    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;

## Awards and records

* Frank J. Selke Trophy: Guy Carbonneau
* Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Mats Naslund
* William M. Jennings Trophy: Patrick Roy/Brian Hayward
* Patrick Roy, goaltender, NHL Second Team All-Star

## Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1987 NHL entry draft held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 17 | Andrew Cassels | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 2 | 33 | John LeClair | United States | Bellows Free Academy (USHS-VT) |
| 2 | 38 | Eric Desjardins | Canada | Granby Bisons (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 44 | Mathieu Schneider | United States | Cornwall Royals (OHL) |
| 3 | 58 | Francois Gravel | Canada | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 80 | Kris Miller | United States | Greenway High School (USHS-MN) |
| 5 | 101 | Steve McCool | United States | The Hill School (USHS-PA) |
| 6 | 122 | Les Kuntar | United States | Nichols School (USHS-NY) |
| 7 | 143 | Robert Kelley | United States | Matignon High School (USHS-MA) |
| 8 | 164 | Will Geist | United States | St. Paul Academy and Summit School (USHS-MN) |
| 9 | 185 | Eric Tremblay | Canada | Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) |
| 10 | 206 | Barry McKinlay | Canada | University of Illinois at Chicago (CCHA) |
| 11 | 227 | Ed Ronan | United States | Phillips Andover Academy (USHS-MA) |
| 12 | 248 | Bryan Herring | United States | Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) |
| S2 | 18 | Wayne Gagne | Canada | Western Michigan University (CCHA) |