# 1986–87 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1986–87 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 78th season. The season involved being eliminated in the Prince of Wales Conference Final versus the Philadelphia Flyers 4 games to 2, in a series made famous by the pre-game brawl before game 6, after Ed Hospodar attacked Claude Lemieux for shooting a puck into the Flyers empty net at the end of the warmup

## Offseason
### NHL Draft

Montreal'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 | 15 | Mark Pederson | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 2 | 27 | Benoit Brunet | Canada | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 57 | Jyrki Lumme | Finland | Ilves (Finland) |
| 4 | 78 | Brent Bobyck | Canada | Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL) |
| 5 | 94 | Eric Aubertin | Canada | Granby Bisons (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 99 | Mario Milani | Canada | Verdun Junior Canadiens (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 120 | Steve Bisson | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 7 | 141 | Lyle Odelein | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 8 | 162 | Rick Hayward | United States | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 183 | Antonin Routa | Czechoslovakia | Poldi SONP Kladno (Czechoslovakia) |
| 10 | 204 | Eric Bohemier | Canada | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 11 | 225 | Charlie Moore | Canada | Belleville Bulls (OHL) |
| 12 | 246 | Karel Svoboda | Czechoslovakia | CHZ Litvinov (Czechoslovakia) |
| S2 | 18 | Randy Exelby | Canada | Lake Superior State University (CCHA) |

## 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

| # | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 9, 1986 | 4–7 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | L | October 11, 1986 | 4–5 OT | Edmonton Oilers | 0–2–0 |
| 3 | W | October 13, 1986 | 6–4 | Minnesota North Stars | 1–2–0 |
| 4 | T | October 15, 1986 | 0–0 OT | @ Buffalo Sabres | 1–2–1 |
| 5 | W | October 18, 1986 | 5–3 | Winnipeg Jets | 2–2–1 |
| 6 | L | October 20, 1986 | 4–5 | Washington Capitals | 2–3–1 |
| 7 | W | October 22, 1986 | 4–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings | 3–3–1 |
| 8 | T | October 25, 1986 | 3–3 OT | New York Rangers | 3–3–2 |
| 9 | W | October 27, 1986 | 6–5 | Los Angeles Kings | 4–3–2 |
| 10 | W | October 29, 1986 | 5–2 | Buffalo Sabres | 5–3–2 |
| 11 | T | October 30, 1986 | 3–3 OT | @ Boston Bruins | 5–3–3 |
| 12 | W | November 2, 1986 | 5–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks | 6–3–3 |
| 13 | W | November 6, 1986 | 6–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings | 7–3–3 |
| 14 | L | November 8, 1986 | 3–4 | @ Edmonton Oilers | 7–4–3 |
| 15 | L | November 9, 1986 | 0–3 | @ Calgary Flames | 7–5–3 |
| 16 | W | November 12, 1986 | 4–3 | Quebec Nordiques | 8–5–3 |
| 17 | W | November 15, 1986 | 4–2 | Buffalo Sabres | 9–5–3 |
| 18 | W | November 17, 1986 | 3–2 OT | Boston Bruins | 10–5–3 |
| 19 | W | November 19, 1986 | 4–1 | @ Hartford Whalers | 11–5–3 |
| 20 | W | November 20, 1986 | 3–1 | @ Boston Bruins | 12–5–3 |
| 21 | L | November 22, 1986 | 3–4 | Detroit Red Wings | 12–6–3 |
| 22 | L | November 25, 1986 | 1–2 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 12–7–3 |
| 23 | L | November 26, 1986 | 2–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers | 12–8–3 |
| 24 | L | November 29, 1986 | 5–7 | Hartford Whalers | 12–9–3 |
| 25 | L | December 1, 1986 | 1–2 OT | Washington Capitals | 12–10–3 |
| 26 | W | December 3, 1986 | 4–3 OT | St. Louis Blues | 13–10–3 |
| 27 | T | December 5, 1986 | 3–3 OT | @ Detroit Red Wings | 13–10–4 |
| 28 | L | December 6, 1986 | 1–3 | @ Washington Capitals | 13–11–4 |
| 29 | W | December 8, 1986 | 5–3 | Calgary Flames | 14–11–4 |
| 30 | W | December 11, 1986 | 6–2 | New York Rangers | 15–11–4 |
| 31 | L | December 13, 1986 | 2–4 | Boston Bruins | 15–12–4 |
| 32 | L | December 14, 1986 | 2–4 | @ New Jersey Devils | 15–13–4 |
| 33 | W | December 16, 1986 | 4–2 | @ St. Louis Blues | 16–13–4 |
| 34 | L | December 19, 1986 | 2–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres | 16–14–4 |
| 35 | W | December 20, 1986 | 5–2 | New Jersey Devils | 17–14–4 |
| 36 | T | December 22, 1986 | 4–4 OT | Pittsburgh Penguins | 17–14–5 |
| 37 | T | December 26, 1986 | 1–1 OT | @ Hartford Whalers | 17–14–6 |
| 38 | W | December 27, 1986 | 6–2 | Hartford Whalers | 18–14–6 |
| 39 | L | December 30, 1986 | 3–6 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 18–15–6 |
| 40 | W | December 31, 1986 | 4–1 | Quebec Nordiques | 19–15–6 |
| 41 | L | January 3, 1987 | 3–6 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins | 19–16–6 |
| 42 | W | January 5, 1987 | 2–1 | @ Boston Bruins | 20–16–6 |
| 43 | L | January 7, 1987 | 2–3 OT | Vancouver Canucks | 20–17–6 |
| 44 | W | January 10, 1987 | 5–2 | Quebec Nordiques | 21–17–6 |
| 45 | W | January 12, 1987 | 2–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 22–17–6 |
| 46 | T | January 14, 1987 | 3–3 OT | @ Buffalo Sabres | 22–17–7 |
| 47 | L | January 15, 1987 | 3–6 | @ Philadelphia Flyers | 22–18–7 |
| 48 | W | January 17, 1987 | 4–2 | Buffalo Sabres | 23–18–7 |
| 49 | L | January 19, 1987 | 4–5 OT | Hartford Whalers | 23–19–7 |
| 50 | L | January 21, 1987 | 1–3 | @ Hartford Whalers | 23–20–7 |
| 51 | L | January 22, 1987 | 3–7 | @ Boston Bruins | 23–21–7 |
| 52 | W | January 24, 1987 | 3–1 | Chicago Blackhawks | 24–21–7 |
| 53 | W | January 26, 1987 | 3–2 | @ Chicago Blackhawks | 25–21–7 |
| 54 | L | January 27, 1987 | 1–2 | @ St. Louis Blues | 25–22–7 |
| 55 | W | January 31, 1987 | 5–3 | Los Angeles Kings | 26–22–7 |
| 56 | L | February 3, 1987 | 1–4 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 26–23–7 |
| 57 | W | February 4, 1987 | 4–3 | Quebec Nordiques | 27–23–7 |
| 58 | L | February 7, 1987 | 1–3 | @ Hartford Whalers | 27–24–7 |
| 59 | W | February 14, 1987 | 5–2 | Winnipeg Jets | 28–24–7 |
| 60 | W | February 16, 1987 | 7–3 | Boston Bruins | 29–24–7 |
| 61 | T | February 18, 1987 | 1–1 OT | New York Islanders | 29–24–8 |
| 62 | L | February 21, 1987 | 5–6 | @ New York Islanders | 29–25–8 |
| 63 | L | February 23, 1987 | 3–4 | Minnesota North Stars | 29–26–8 |
| 64 | T | February 25, 1987 | 3–3 OT | @ Chicago Blackhawks | 29–26–9 |
| 65 | W | February 28, 1987 | 3–2 | New Jersey Devils | 30–26–9 |
| 66 | W | March 3, 1987 | 4–2 | @ Calgary Flames | 31–26–9 |
| 67 | L | March 6, 1987 | 1–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks | 31–27–9 |
| 68 | L | March 7, 1987 | 3–5 | @ Edmonton Oilers | 31–28–9 |
| 69 | W | March 9, 1987 | 5–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars | 32–28–9 |
| 70 | L | March 11, 1987 | 1–2 | @ Winnipeg Jets | 32–29–9 |
| 71 | T | March 14, 1987 | 3–3 OT | Philadelphia Flyers | 32–29–10 |
| 72 | W | March 16, 1987 | 3–0 | New York Islanders | 33–29–10 |
| 73 | W | March 20, 1987 | 3–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres | 34–29–10 |
| 74 | W | March 21, 1987 | 9–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 35–29–10 |
| 75 | W | March 24, 1987 | 4–3 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 36–29–10 |
| 76 | W | March 28, 1987 | 6–3 | Buffalo Sabres | 37–29–10 |
| 77 | W | March 29, 1987 | 4–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins | 38–29–10 |
| 78 | W | April 1, 1987 | 3–2 | Hartford Whalers | 39–29–10 |
| 79 | W | April 4, 1987 | 3–1 | Boston Bruins | 40–29–10 |
| 80 | W | April 5, 1987 | 8–2 | @ New York Rangers | 41–29–10 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Mats Naslund | LW | 79 | 25 | 55 | 80 | 16 | -3 | 10 | 0 | 3 |
| Bobby Smith | C | 80 | 28 | 47 | 75 | 72 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 7 |
| Claude Lemieux | RW | 76 | 27 | 26 | 53 | 156 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 70 | 13 | 37 | 50 | 44 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Ryan Walter | C/LW | 76 | 23 | 23 | 46 | 34 | -6 | 11 | 0 | 4 |
| Guy Carbonneau | C | 79 | 18 | 27 | 45 | 68 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Gaston Gingras | D | 66 | 11 | 34 | 45 | 21 | -2 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Chris Chelios | D | 71 | 11 | 33 | 44 | 124 | -5 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Stephane Richer | RW | 57 | 20 | 19 | 39 | 80 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Mike McPhee | LW | 79 | 18 | 21 | 39 | 58 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Sergio Momesso | LW | 59 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 96 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Brian Skrudland | C | 79 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 107 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Shayne Corson | LW | 55 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 144 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Petr Svoboda | D | 70 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 63 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kjell Dahlin | RW | 41 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 0 | -3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Chris Nilan | RW | 44 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 266 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| David Maley | LW | 48 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 55 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Gainey | LW | 47 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Craig Ludwig | D | 75 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 105 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Green | D | 72 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 10 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Lalor | D | 57 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 47 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Kordic | RW | 44 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 151 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilles Thibaudeau | C | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Hayward | G | 37 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick Roy | G | 46 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Serge Boisvert | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Kurvers | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Rooney | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Sandelin | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Patrick Roy | 2686 | 46 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 131 | 2.93 | 1 | 1210 | 1079 | .892 |
| Brian Hayward | 2178 | 37 | 19 | 13 | 4 | 102 | 2.81 | 1 | 959 | 857 | .894 |
| Team: | 4864 | 80 | 41 | 29 | 10 | 233 | 2.87 | 2 | 2169 | 1936 | .893 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Mats Naslund | LW | 17 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 17 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Walter | C/LW | 17 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Bobby Smith | C | 17 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Chelios | D | 17 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Claude Lemieux | RW | 17 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Shayne Corson | LW | 17 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Guy Carbonneau | C | 17 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike McPhee | LW | 17 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Kjell Dahlin | RW | 8 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Skrudland | C | 14 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephane Richer | RW | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Craig Ludwig | D | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Petr Svoboda | D | 14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Gainey | LW | 17 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sergio Momesso | LW | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Green | D | 17 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Nilan | RW | 17 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Lalor | D | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Kordic | RW | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gaston Gingras | D | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Hayward | G | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick Roy | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Brian Hayward | 708 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 32 | 2.71 | 0 | 308 | 276 | .896 |
| Patrick Roy | 330 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 4.00 | 0 | 173 | 151 | .873 |
| Team: | 1038 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 54 | 3.12 | 0 | 481 | 427 | .888 |
    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;