The 1987–88 NHL season was the 71st 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. The NHL introduced a new trophy, the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which was to be awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution in his community.

Regular season

Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Prince of Wales Conference

Clarence Campbell Conference

Scoring leaders

Stanley Cup playoffs
Note: all dates in 1988

Adams Division semi-finals
Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins

Boston wins best-of-seven series 4–2

Hartford Whalers vs. Montreal Canadiens

Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4–2

Patrick Division semi-finals
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Washington Capitals

Washington wins best-of-seven series 4–3

New Jersey Devils vs. New York Islanders

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

Norris Division semi-finals
Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues

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

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings

Detroit wins best-of-seven series 4–2

Smythe Division semi-finals
Winnipeg Jets vs. Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4–1

Los Angeles Kings vs. Calgary Flames

Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4–1

Divisional finals
Adams Division
Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens

Boston wins best-of-seven series 4–1

Patrick Division
New Jersey Devils vs. Washington Capitals

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

Norris Division
St. Louis Blues vs. Detroit Red Wings

Detroit wins best-of-seven series 4–1

Smythe Division
Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames

Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4–0

Conference finals
Prince of Wales Conference 
New Jersey Devils vs. Boston Bruins

Boston wins best-of-seven series 4–3

Clarence Campbell Conference
Detroit Red Wings vs. Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4–1

Finals
Boston Bruins vs. Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4–0

NHL awards

All-Star teams

First games
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1987–88:
Tommy Albelin, Quebec Nordiques
Rob Brown, Pittsburgh Penguins
Sean Burke, New Jersey Devils
Adam Graves, Detoit Red Wings
Craig Janney, Boston Bruins
Calle Johansson, Buffalo Sabres
Brian Leetch, New York Rangers
Jeff Norton, New York Islanders
Luke Richardson, Toronto Maple Leafs
Mathieu Schneider, Montreal Canadiens
Brendan Shanahan, New Jersey Devils
Ray Sheppard, Buffalo Sabres
Kevin Stevens, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ron Tugnutt, Quebec Nordiques
Pierre Turgeon, Buffalo Sabres
Glen Wesley, Boston Bruins
Scott Young, Hartford Whalers

Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1987–88:
Bob Bourne, Los Angeles Kings
Richard Brodeur, Hartford Whalers
Clark Gillies, Buffalo Sabres
Doug Jarvis, Hartford Whalers
Pierre Larouche, New York Rangers
Dave Lewis, Detroit Red Wings
Gilles Meloche, Pittsburgh Penguins
Rick Middleton, Boston Bruins
Wilf Paiement, Pittsburgh Penguins
Steve Payne, Minnesota North Stars
Denis Potvin, New York Islanders
Doug Risebrough, Calgary Flames
Dave Semenko, Toronto Maple Leafs
Charlie Simmer, Pittsburgh Penguins
Brian Sutter, St. Louis Blues
Perry Turnbull, St. Louis Blues
Tiger Williams, Hartford Whalers

References

Hockey Database
NHL.com
SI Flashback to '88 Finals

NHL season, 1987–88
NHL season, 1987–88