1987–88 NHL season

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.

### 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

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Adams Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|GP|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|Pts|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PIM|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|**Montreal Canadiens**|80|45|22|13|103|298|238|1830||||||||||
|**Boston Bruins**|80|44|30|6|94|300|251|2443||||||||||
|**Buffalo Sabres**|80|37|32|11|85|283|305|2277||||||||||
|**Hartford Whalers**|80|35|38|7|77|249|267|2046||||||||||
|Quebec Nordiques|80|32|43|5|69|271|306|2042||||||||||

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Patrick Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|GP|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|Pts|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PIM|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|**New York Islanders**|80|39|31|10|88|308|267|1732||||||||||
|**Washington Capitals**|80|38|33|9|85|281|249|1680||||||||||
|**Philadelphia Flyers**|80|38|33|9|85|292|292|2194||||||||||
|**New Jersey Devils**|80|38|36|6|82|295|296|2315||||||||||
|New York Rangers|80|36|34|10|82|300|283|1775||||||||||
|Pittsburgh Penguins|80|36|35|9|81|319|316|2211||||||||||

#### Clarence Campbell Conference

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Norris Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|GP|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|Pts|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PIM|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|**Detroit Red Wings**|80|41|28|11|93|322|269|2391||||||||||
|**St. Louis Blues**|80|34|38|8|76|278|294|1919||||||||||
|**Chicago Blackhawks**|80|30|41|9|69|284|328|2228||||||||||
|**Toronto Maple Leafs**|80|21|49|10|52|273|345|1782||||||||||
|Minnesota North Stars|80|19|48|13|51|242|349|2313||||||||||

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Smythe Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|GP|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|Pts|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PIM|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|**Calgary Flames**|80|48|23|9|105|397|305|2431||||||||||
|**Edmonton Oilers**|80|44|25|11|99|363|288|2173||||||||||
|**Winnipeg Jets**|80|33|36|11|77|292|310|2278||||||||||
|**Los Angeles Kings**|80|30|42|8|68|318|359|2124||||||||||
|Vancouver Canucks|80|25|46|9|59|272|320|2196||||||||||

### Scoring leaders

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="37.5%"|Player|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30%"|Team|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GP|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|G|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|A|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="10%"|PTS|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Mario Lemieux|Pittsburgh Penguins|77|70|98|168|||||||
|Wayne Gretzky|Edmonton Oilers|64|40|109|149|||||||
|Denis Savard|Chicago Blackhawks|80|44|87|131|||||||
|Dale Hawerchuk|Winnipeg Jets|80|44|77|121|||||||
|Luc Robitaille|Los Angeles Kings|80|53|58|111|||||||
|Peter Stastny|Quebec Nordiques|76|46|65|111|||||||
|Mark Messier|Edmonton Oilers|77|37|74|111|||||||
|Jimmy Carson|Los Angeles Kings|80|55|52|107|||||||
|Michel Goulet|Quebec Nordiques|80|48|58|106|||||||
|Hakan Loob|Calgary Flames|80|50|56|106|||||||

## Stanley Cup playoffs

_Note: all dates in 1988_

### Adams Division semi-finals

**Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 6|Buffalo|3|**Boston **|**7**||||||||
|April 7|Buffalo|1|**Boston **|**4**||||||||
|April 9|Boston|2|**Buffalo **|**6**||||||||
|April 10|Boston|5|**Buffalo **|**6**||||||||
|April 12|Buffalo|4|**Boston **|**5**||||||||
|April 14|**Boston **|**5**|Buffalo|2||||||||
_Boston wins best-of-seven series 4–2_

**Hartford Whalers vs. Montreal Canadiens**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|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_

### Patrick Division semi-finals

**Philadelphia Flyers vs. Washington Capitals**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 6|**Philadelphia **|**4**|Washington|2||||||||
|April 7|Philadelphia|4|**Washington **|5||||||||
|April 9|Washington|3|**Philadelphia **|**4**||||||||
|April 10|Washington|4|**Philadelphia **|**5**||||||||
|April 12|Philadelphia|2|**Washington **|**5**||||||||
|April 14|**Washington **|**7**|Philadelphia|2||||||||
|April 16|Philadelphia|3|**Washington **|**4**|OT|||||||
_Washington wins best-of-seven series 4–3_

**New Jersey Devils vs. New York Islanders**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 6|**New Jersey **|**4**|New York|3||||||||
|April 7|New Jersey|2|**New York **|**3**||||||||
|April 9|New York|0|**New Jersey **|**3**||||||||
|April 10|**New York **|**5**|New Jersey|4||||||||
|April 12|**New Jersey **|**4**|New York|2||||||||
|April 14|New York|5|**New Jersey **|**6**||||||||
_New Jersey wins best-of-seven series 4–2_

### Norris Division semi-finals

**Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 6|Chicago|1|**St. Louis **|**5**||||||||
|April 7|Chicago|2|**St. Louis **|**3**||||||||
|April 9|St. Louis|3|**Chicago **|**6**||||||||
|April 10|**St. Louis **|**6**|Chicago|5||||||||
|April 12|Chicago|3|**St. Louis **|**5**||||||||
_St. Louis wins best-of-seven series 4–1_

**Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 6|**Toronto **|**6**|Detroit|2||||||||
|April 7|Toronto|2|**Detroit **|**6**||||||||
|April 9|**Detroit **|**6**|Toronto|3||||||||
|April 10|**Detroit **|**8**|Toronto|0||||||||
|April 12|**Toronto **|**6**|Detroit|5||||||||
|April 14|**Detroit **|**5**|Toronto|3||||||||
_Detroit wins best-of-seven series 4–2_

### Smythe Division semi-finals

**Winnipeg Jets vs. Edmonton Oilers**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 6|Winnipeg|4|**Edmonton **|**7**||||||||
|April 7|Winnipeg|2|**Edmonton **|**3**||||||||
|April 9|Edmonton|4|**Winnipeg **|**6**||||||||
|April 10|**Edmonton **|**5**|Winnipeg|3||||||||
|April 12|Winnipeg|2|**Edmonton **|**6**||||||||
_Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4–1_

**Los Angeles Kings vs. Calgary Flames**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 6|Los Angeles|2|**Calgary **|**9**||||||||
|April 7|Los Angeles|4|**Calgary **|**6**||||||||
|April 9|Calgary|2|**Los Angeles **|**5**||||||||
|April 10|**Calgary **|**7**|Los Angeles|3||||||||
|April 12|Los Angeles|4|**Calgary **|**6**||||||||
_Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4–1_

### Divisional finals

- **Adams Division**
**Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|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_

- **Patrick Division**
**New Jersey Devils vs. Washington Capitals**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 18|New Jersey|1|**Washington **|**3**||||||||
|April 20|**New Jersey **|**5**|Washington|2||||||||
|April 22|Washington|4|**New Jersey **|**10**||||||||
|April 24|**Washington **|**4**|New Jersey|1||||||||
|April 26|**New Jersey **|**3**|Washington|1||||||||
|April 28|**Washington **|**7**|New Jersey|2||||||||
|April 30|**New Jersey **|**3**|Washington|2||||||||
_New Jersey wins best-of-seven series 4–3_

- **Norris Division**
**St. Louis Blues vs. Detroit Red Wings**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 19|St. Louis|4|**Detroit **|**5**||||||||
|April 21|St. Louis|0|**Detroit **|**6**||||||||
|April 23|Detroit|3|**St. Louis **|**6**||||||||
|April 25|**Detroit **|**3**|St. Louis|1||||||||
|April 27|St. Louis|3|**Detroit **|**4**||||||||
_Detroit wins best-of-seven series 4–1_

- **Smythe Division**
**Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 19|**Edmonton **|**3**|Calgary|1||||||||
|April 21|**Edmonton **|**5**|Calgary|4|OT|||||||
|April 23|Calgary|2|**Edmonton **|**4**||||||||
|April 25|Calgary|4|**Edmonton **|**6**||||||||
_Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4–0_

### Conference finals

- **Prince of Wales Conference **
**New Jersey Devils vs. Boston Bruins**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|May 2|New Jersey|3|**Boston **|**5**||||||||
|May 4|**New Jersey **|**3**|Boston|2|(OT)|||||||
|May 6|**Boston **|**6**|New Jersey|1||||||||
|May 8|Boston|1|**New Jersey **|**3**||||||||
|May 10|New Jersey|1|**Boston **|**7**||||||||
|May 12|Boston|3|**New Jersey **|**6**||||||||
|May 14|New Jersey|2|**Boston **|**6**||||||||
_Boston wins best-of-seven series 4–3_

- **Clarence Campbell Conference**
**Detroit Red Wings vs. Edmonton Oilers**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|May 3|Detroit|1|**Edmonton **|**4**||||||||
|May 5|Detroit|3|**Edmonton **|**5**||||||||
|May 7|Edmonton|2|**Detroit **|**5**||||||||
|May 9|**Edmonton **|**4**|Detroit|3|(OT)|||||||
|May 11|Detroit|4|**Edmonton **|**8**||||||||
_Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4–1_

### Finals

**Boston Bruins vs. Edmonton Oilers**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|May 18|Boston|1|**Edmonton **|**2**||||||||
|May 20|Boston|2|**Edmonton **|**4**||||||||
|May 22|**Edmonton **|**6**|Boston|3||||||||
|May 24|Edmonton|3|Boston|3|Game terminated at 16:37 of 2nd period due to power failure.|||||||
|May 26|Boston|3|**Edmonton **|**6**||||||||
_Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4–0_

## NHL awards

|Presidents' Trophy:|Calgary Flames|
| --- | --- |
|Prince of Wales Trophy:|Boston Bruins|
|Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:|Edmonton Oilers|
|Art Ross Memorial Trophy:|Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins|
|Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:|Bob Bourne, Los Angeles Kings|
|Calder Memorial Trophy:|Joe Nieuwendyk, Calgary Flames|
|Conn Smythe Trophy:|Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers|
|Frank J. Selke Trophy:|Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens|
|Hart Memorial Trophy:|Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins|
|Jack Adams Award:|Jacques Demers, Detroit Red Wings|
|James Norris Memorial Trophy:|Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins|
|King Clancy Memorial Trophy:|Lanny McDonald, Calgary Flames|
|Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:|Mats Naslund, Montreal Canadiens|
|Lester B. Pearson Award:|Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins|
|NHL Plus/Minus Award:|Brad McCrimmon, Calgary Flames,|
|William M. Jennings Trophy:|Patrick Roy/Brian Hayward, Montreal Canadiens|
|Vezina Trophy:|Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers|
|Lester Patrick Trophy:|Keith Allen, Fred Cusick, Bob Johnson|

### All-Star teams

|First Team|Position|Second Team||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers|align=center|G|Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens|
|Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins|align=center|D|Gary Suter, Calgary Flames|
|Scott Stevens, Washington Capitals|align=center|D|Brad McCrimmon, Calgary Flames|
|Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins|align=center|C|Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers|
|Hakan Loob, Calgary Flames|align=center|RW|Cam Neely, Boston Bruins|
|Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings|align=center|LW|Michel Goulet, Quebec Nordiques|

## 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