1987–88 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1987–88 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 79th season. The club finished 1st in the Adams Division and defeated the Hartford Whalers in the first round, but were eliminated in the Division Final by the Boston Bruins 4 games to 1.
==Off-season==
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. Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup, p.8, Ed Willies, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, Canada, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7710-8942-8 Canadiens head coach Jean Perron would be selected as one of the assistant coaches for Team Canada. Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup, p.4, Ed Willies, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, Canada, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7710-8942-8
==Regular Season==
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results 	Regular Season Results
No. 	R 	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	T 	Oct 8, 1987 	2–2 OT 	@ Philadelphia Flyers 	0–0–1
2 	W 	Oct 10, 1987 	6–3 	Buffalo Sabres 	1–0–1
3 	L 	Oct 12, 1987 	2–5 	Quebec Nordiques 	1–1–1
4 	L 	Oct 16, 1987 	3–4 	@ New Jersey Devils 	1–2–1
5 	W 	Oct 17, 1987 	3–2 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	2–2–1
6 	W 	Oct 19, 1987 	5–1 	Minnesota North Stars 	3–2–1
7 	W 	Oct 21, 1987 	10–3 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs 	4–2–1
8 	L 	Oct 23, 1987 	3–5 	@ Buffalo Sabres 	4–3–1
9 	W 	Oct 24, 1987 	3–2 	@ Washington Capitals 	5–3–1
10 	L 	Oct 26, 1987 	3–5 	Calgary Flames 	5–4–1
11 	W 	Oct 28, 1987 	3–1 	Edmonton Oilers 	6–4–1
12 	W 	Oct 30, 1987 	5–4 	@ Detroit Red Wings 	7–4–1
13 	T 	Oct 31, 1987 	3–3 OT 	Boston Bruins 	7–4–2
14 	W 	Nov 2, 1987 	6–4 	St. Louis Blues 	8–4–2
15 	T 	Nov 4, 1987 	4–4 OT 	@ Chicago Blackhawks 	8–4–3
16 	W 	Nov 7, 1987 	5–4 	Philadelphia Flyers 	9–4–3
17 	W 	Nov 9, 1987 	3–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs 	10–4–3
18 	T 	Nov 11, 1987 	0–0 OT 	@ Hartford Whalers 	10–4–4
19 	L 	Nov 12, 1987 	2–3 	@ Boston Bruins 	10–5–4
20 	W 	Nov 14, 1987 	3–0 	Chicago Blackhawks 	11–5–4
21 	T 	Nov 16, 1987 	3–3 OT 	Hartford Whalers 	11–5–5
22 	W 	Nov 18, 1987 	5–2 	New York Islanders 	12–5–5
23 	W 	Nov 21, 1987 	2–1 	New Jersey Devils 	13–5–5
24 	L 	Nov 23, 1987 	3–4 OT 	@ Quebec Nordiques 	13–6–5
25 	W 	Nov 25, 1987 	6–5 	@ Hartford Whalers 	14–6–5
26 	L 	Nov 27, 1987 	2–4 	@ Minnesota North Stars	14–7–5
27 	W 	Nov 28, 1987 	7–3 	@ Winnipeg Jets 	15–7–5
28 	W 	Nov 30, 1987 	6–4 	Boston Bruins 	16–7–5
29 	T 	Dec 2, 1987 	3–3 OT 	Vancouver Canucks 	16–7–6
30 	W 	Dec 5, 1987 	6–4 	Los Angeles Kings 	17–7–6
31 	W 	Dec 8, 1987 	3–2 	@ New York Islanders 	18–7–6
32 	T 	Dec 9, 1987 	2–2 OT 	@ New York Rangers 	18–7–7
33 	W 	Dec 12, 1987 	5–3 	Detroit Red Wings 	19–7–7
34 	W 	Dec 16, 1987 	5–4 	Quebec Nordiques 	20–7–7
35 	T 	Dec 18, 1987 	2–2 OT 	@ Buffalo Sabres 	20–7–8
36 	L 	Dec 19, 1987 	1–2 	Buffalo Sabres 	20–8–8
37 	T 	Dec 23, 1987 	2–2 OT 	Washington Capitals 	20–8–9
38 	W 	Dec 26, 1987 	4–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs 	21–8–9
39 	L 	Dec 28, 1987 	3–9 	@ Calgary Flames 	21–9–9
40 	W 	Dec 29, 1987 	4–1 	@ Vancouver Canucks 	22–9–9
41 	L 	Jan 2, 1988 	2–5 	@ Los Angeles Kings 	22–10–9
42 	L 	Jan 6, 1988 	5–6 	Buffalo Sabres 	22–11–9
43 	T 	Jan 9, 1988 	3–3 OT 	Philadelphia Flyers 	22–11–10
44 	W 	Jan 13, 1988 	5–4 	Boston Bruins 	23–11–10
45 	L 	Jan 14, 1988 	2–3 	@ Boston Bruins 	23–12–10
46 	W 	Jan 16, 1988 	4–3 	New York Rangers 	24–12–10
47 	W 	Jan 18, 1988 	6–4 	Edmonton Oilers 	25–12–10
48 	L 	Jan 21, 1988 	1–4 	St. Louis Blues 	25–13–10
49 	L 	Jan 23, 1988 	3–4 OT 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	25–14–10
50 	W 	Jan 24, 1988 	5–3 	@ Quebec Nordiques 	26–14–10
51 	W 	Jan 27, 1988 	4–1 	@ Buffalo Sabres 	27–14–10
52 	L 	Jan 29, 1988 	3–4 	@ Washington Capitals 	27–15–10
53 	W 	Jan 30, 1988 	6–2 	@ New York Islanders 	28–15–10
54 	W 	Feb 1, 1988 	5–4 	Hartford Whalers 	29–15–10
55 	W 	Feb 3, 1988 	5–2 	@ Hartford Whalers 	30–15–10
56 	L 	Feb 4, 1988 	3–7 	@ Boston Bruins 	30–16–10
57 	L 	Feb 6, 1988 	4–5 	Detroit Red Wings 	30–17–10
58 	L 	Feb 11, 1988 	2–4 	@ New Jersey Devils 	30–18–10
59 	L 	Feb 13, 1988 	1–4 	Hartford Whalers 	30–19–10
60 	L 	Feb 15, 1988 	1–3 	@ New York Rangers 	30–20–10
61 	W 	Feb 17, 1988 	3–2 	Boston Bruins 	31–20–10
62 	W 	Feb 20, 1988 	5–3 	Quebec Nordiques 	32–20–10
63 	W 	Feb 23, 1988 	3–1 	@ Quebec Nordiques 	33–20–10
64 	W 	Feb 24, 1988 	5–4 	Vancouver Canucks 	34–20–10
65 	W 	Feb 27, 1988 	6–0 	Winnipeg Jets 	35–20–10
66 	W 	Feb 29, 1988 	2–1 	@ Quebec Nordiques 	36–20–10
67 	W 	Mar 3, 1988 	4–2 	@ St. Louis Blues 	37–20–10
68 	W 	Mar 5, 1988 	7–6 OT 	@ Los Angeles Kings 	38–20–10
69 	W 	Mar 9, 1988 	4–1 	@ Edmonton Oilers 	39–20–10
70 	W 	Mar 12, 1988 	5–0 	Hartford Whalers 	40–20–10
71 	T 	Mar 14, 1988 	2–2 OT 	@ Minnesota North Stars	40–20–11
72 	W 	Mar 16, 1988 	4–1 	@ Winnipeg Jets 	41–20–11
73 	W 	Mar 19, 1988 	3–0 	Chicago Blackhawks 	42–20–11
74 	T 	Mar 21, 1988 	3–3 OT 	Calgary Flames 	42–20–12
75 	W 	Mar 23, 1988 	4–1 	Quebec Nordiques 	43–20–12
76 	L 	Mar 25, 1988 	2–5 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins 	43–21–12
77 	L 	Mar 27, 1988 	2–4 	@ Hartford Whalers 	43–22–12
78 	W 	Mar 31, 1988 	3–1 	@ Boston Bruins 	44–22–12
79 	W 	Apr 2, 1988 	9–4 	Buffalo Sabres 	45–22–12
80 	T 	Apr 3, 1988 	4–4 OT 	@ Buffalo Sabres 	45–22–13
==Playoffs==
===Montreal Canadiens 4 Hartford Whalers 2===
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 six 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	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 	
===Boston Bruins 4, Montreal Canadiens 1===
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. It was the first Bruins' playoff series win over the Habs in 44 seasons.
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	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 	
==Player Stats==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	78	27	66	93 	78 	13 	8 	0 	4
 	LW 	78	24	59	83 	14 	17 	4 	0 	2
 	RW 	72	50	28	78 	72 	12 	16 	0 	11
 	RW 	78	31	30	61 	137	16 	6 	0 	3
 	D 	71	20	41	61 	172	14 	10 	1 	5
 	LW 	77	23	20	43 	53 	19 	0 	2 	4
 	D 	53	6 	34	40 	30 	26 	2 	0 	1
 	LW 	71	12	27	39 	152	22 	2 	0 	2
 	C 	80	17	21	38 	61 	14 	0 	3 	1
 	C/LW	61	13	23	36 	39 	12 	6 	0 	3
 	C 	79	12	24	36 	112	14 	0 	1 	3
 	D 	69	7 	22	29 	149	46 	2 	0 	1
 	RW 	48	13	12	25 	6 	5 	2 	0 	2
 	LW 	78	11	11	22 	14 	8 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	53	7 	14	21 	101	9 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	74	4 	10	14 	69 	17 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	59	2 	11	13 	33 	21 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	50	7 	5 	12 	209	-2 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	17	5 	6 	11 	0 	6 	2 	0 	1
 	D 	66	1 	10	11 	113	4 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	60	2 	6 	8 	159	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	30	2 	4 	6 	19 	2 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	1 	1 	2 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	16	0 	2 	2 	6 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	39	0 	2 	2 	24 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	45	0 	2 	2 	14 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	1 	1 	0 	1 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	2 	0 	1 	1 	2 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	8 	0 	1 	1 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	4 	0 	0 	0 	2 	-1 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	2586	45	23	12	9 	125	2.90	3 	1248	1123	.900
 	2247	39	22	10	4 	107	2.86	2 	1032	925 	.896
 	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
 	RW 	8 	7	5	12 	6 	1 	0 	2
 	LW 	11	4	3	7 	8 	0 	1 	0
 	C 	11	3	4	7 	8 	1 	0 	0
 	LW 	6 	0	7	7 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	8 	3	3	6 	2 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	11	2	4	6 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C/LW	11	2	4	6 	6 	2 	0 	1
 	C 	11	1	5	6 	24 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	11	3	2	5 	20 	0 	0 	2
 	D 	11	1	4	5 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	10	0	5	5 	12 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	11	3	1	4 	29 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	7 	2	2	4 	26 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	11	0	4	4 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	11	1	1	2 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	11	0	2	2 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	6 	0	2	2 	16 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	3 	1	0	1 	12 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	3 	0	1	1 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	6 	0	1	1 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	8 	0	0	0 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	LW/D	1 	0	0	0 	5 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	11	0	0	0 	11 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	4 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	8 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	430	8 	3	4	24	3.35	0 	218	194	.890
 	230	4 	2	2	9 	2.35	0 	85 	76 	.894
Team: 	660	11	5	6	33	3.00	0 	303	270	.891
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals 
MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; 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
==Transactions==
==Draft Picks==
==Farm Teams==
==See Also==
* 1987–88 NHL season
==References==
*Canadiens on Hockey Database
*Canadiens on NHL Reference
Category:Montreal Canadiens seasons
Montreal Canadiens season, 1987–88
Montreal Canadiens season, 1987–88