1986–87 New Jersey Devils season

The 1986–87 New Jersey Devils season was the team's 5th season in the National Hockey League since the franchise relocated to New Jersey. The Devils finished 6th in the Patrick Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.
==Off-season==
==Regular Season==
* On January 22, 1987, a massive blizzard hit New Jersey and resulted in only 334 spectators attending the game between the New Jersey Devils and the Calgary Flames at the Brendan Byrne Arena, leading to the Devils dubbing the spectators the "334 Club". To this day, it is the lowest-attended game in modern NHL history, not counting the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Devils went on to win the game 7-5.
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
# 	R	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	W	October 9, 1986 	5–3 	@ New York Rangers (season) 	1–0–0
2 	W	October 11, 1986 	5–4 	Boston Bruins (season) 	2–0–0
3 	W	October 15, 1986 	3–2 	Vancouver Canucks (season) 	3–0–0
4 	L	October 17, 1986 	2–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs (season) 	3–1–0
5 	L	October 18, 1986 	4–8 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (season) 	3–2–0
6 	L	October 21, 1986 	3–6 	@ New York Islanders (season) 	3–3–0
7 	W	October 23, 1986 	5–3 	Los Angeles Kings (season) 	4–3–0
8 	L	October 25, 1986 	1–2 	@ Washington Capitals (season) 	4–4–0
9 	W	October 29, 1986 	8–6 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (season) 	5–4–0
10	W	October 30, 1986 	7–6 OT	New York Islanders (season) 	6–4–0
11	L	November 1, 1986 	1–3 	Buffalo Sabres (season) 	6–5–0
12	L	November 4, 1986 	1–7 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (season) 	6–6–0
13	T	November 6, 1986 	5–5 OT	Philadelphia Flyers (season) 	6–6–1
14	L	November 9, 1986 	1–8 	@ Winnipeg Jets (season) 	6–7–1
15	W	November 12, 1986	5–3 	Detroit Red Wings (season) 	7–7–1
16	W	November 14, 1986	5–4 	Pittsburgh Penguins (season) 	8–7–1
17	T	November 15, 1986	5–5 OT	@ Boston Bruins (season) 	8–7–2
18	W	November 17, 1986	3–2 	New York Rangers (season) 	9–7–2
19	W	November 19, 1986	4–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (season) 	10–7–2
20	L	November 22, 1986	2–6 	@ Minnesota North Stars (season)	10–8–2
21	L	November 23, 1986	3–5 	@ Chicago Blackhawks (season) 	10–9–2
22	W	November 26, 1986	5–1 	@ St. Louis Blues (season) 	11–9–2
23	L	November 29, 1986	6–9 	@ Los Angeles Kings (season) 	11–10–2
24	W	December 2, 1986 	8–5 	New York Rangers (season) 	12–10–2
25	L	December 4, 1986 	3–5 	Minnesota North Stars (season) 	12–11–2
26	W	December 6, 1986 	4–3 	Buffalo Sabres (season) 	13–11–2
27	L	December 9, 1986 	2–4 	@ Washington Capitals (season) 	13–12–2
28	L	December 11, 1986	4–8 	New York Islanders (season) 	13–13–2
29	L	December 13, 1986	2–4 	@ New York Islanders (season) 	13–14–2
30	W	December 14, 1986	4–2 	Montreal Canadiens (season) 	14–14–2
31	W	December 17, 1986	3–2 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (season) 	15–14–2
32	W	December 19, 1986	6–4 	Washington Capitals (season) 	16–14–2
33	L	December 20, 1986	2–5 	@ Montreal Canadiens (season) 	16–15–2
34	L	December 23, 1986	5–8 	@ New York Rangers (season) 	16–16–2
35	L	December 26, 1986	4–7 	New York Rangers (season) 	16–17–2
36	T	December 27, 1986	2–2 OT	@ Quebec Nordiques (season) 	16–17–3
37	L	December 30, 1986	3–4 	Calgary Flames (season) 	16–18–3
38	L	January 2, 1987 	2–7 	Boston Bruins (season) 	16–19–3
39	L	January 3, 1987 	2–7 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (season) 	16–20–3
40	L	January 6, 1987 	0–4 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (season) 	16–21–3
41	T	January 8, 1987 	4–4 OT	Quebec Nordiques (season) 	16–21–4
42	T	January 10, 1987 	2–2 OT	Vancouver Canucks (season) 	16–21–5
43	W	January 12, 1987 	7–5 	Hartford Whalers (season) 	17–21–5
44	W	January 14, 1987 	3–1 	@ Chicago Blackhawks (season) 	18–21–5
45	L	January 16, 1987 	4–5 	Winnipeg Jets (season) 	18–22–5
46	L	January 18, 1987 	1–6 	Washington Capitals (season) 	18–23–5
47	L	January 20, 1987 	3–6 	@ Washington Capitals (season) 	18–24–5
48	W	January 22, 1987 	7–5 	Calgary Flames (season) 	19–24–5
49	W	January 24, 1987 	4–3 	Philadelphia Flyers (season) 	20–24–5
50	L	January 26, 1987 	3–6 	@ New York Rangers (season) 	20–25–5
51	L	January 28, 1987 	2–6 	@ Los Angeles Kings (season) 	20–26–5
52	W	January 30, 1987 	4–3 	@ Vancouver Canucks (season) 	21–26–5
53	L	January 31, 1987 	3–5 	@ Calgary Flames (season) 	21–27–5
54	W	February 7, 1987 	3–2 	Philadelphia Flyers (season) 	22–27–5
55	L	February 8, 1987 	1–2 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (season) 	22–28–5
56	L	February 14, 1987	1–5 	@ Detroit Red Wings (season) 	22–29–5
57	L	February 18, 1987	3–6 	Hartford Whalers (season) 	22–30–5
58	W	February 21, 1987	6–5 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (season) 	23–30–5
59	L	February 22, 1987	0–7 	New York Islanders (season) 	23–31–5
60	W	February 25, 1987	4–2 	Edmonton Oilers (season) 	24–31–5
61	L	February 28, 1987	2–3 	@ Montreal Canadiens (season) 	24–32–5
62	T	March 1, 1987 	5–5 OT	@ Hartford Whalers (season) 	24–32–6
63	L	March 3, 1987 	2–3 	@ Washington Capitals (season) 	24–33–6
64	L	March 5, 1987 	4–6 	@ Buffalo Sabres (season) 	24–34–6
65	L	March 7, 1987 	3–4 	Chicago Blackhawks (season) 	24–35–6
66	L	March 8, 1987 	3–7 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (season) 	24–36–6
67	L	March 11, 1987 	4–6 	Philadelphia Flyers (season) 	24–37–6
68	W	March 13, 1987 	4–1 	New York Islanders (season) 	25–37–6
69	L	March 14, 1987 	6–7 OT	@ New York Islanders (season) 	25–38–6
70	L	March 17, 1987 	4–7 	@ Edmonton Oilers (season) 	25–39–6
71	L	March 18, 1987 	3–4 OT	@ Winnipeg Jets (season) 	25–40–6
72	W	March 21, 1987 	7–6 OT	@ St. Louis Blues (season) 	26–40–6
73	L	March 23, 1987 	6–7 	Edmonton Oilers (season) 	26–41–6
74	W	March 25, 1987 	8–2 	@ New York Rangers (season) 	27–41–6
75	W	March 27, 1987 	5–2 	Minnesota North Stars (season) 	28–41–6
76	L	March 29, 1987 	1–4 	St. Louis Blues
(season) 	28–42–6
77	W	March 31, 1987 	5–3 	Pittsburgh Penguins (season) 	29–42–6
78	L	April 2, 1987 	2–6 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (season) 	29–43–6
79	L	April 4, 1987 	4–8 	@ Quebec Nordiques (season) 	29–44–6
80	L	April 5, 1987 	5–6 OT	Washington Capitals (season) 	29–45–6
==Playoffs==
*The Devils did not qualify for the post season.
==Player Stats==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	LW/C	80	26	53	79 	36 	5 	6 	0 	3
 	LW 	79	26	50	76 	75 	-7 	10 	1 	4
 	RW 	80	31	36	67 	120	-23	9 	0 	4
 	RW 	74	35	24	59 	120	-23	17 	0 	5
 	RW 	78	27	26	53 	14 	-17	4 	1 	4
 	C 	68	25	26	51 	22 	-21	11 	2 	0
 	LW 	72	20	27	47 	19 	-16	6 	0 	1
 	C 	75	16	24	40 	137	-7 	2 	1 	3
 	C 	51	8 	31	39 	80 	-8 	1 	1 	1
 	D 	74	6 	28	34 	36 	-26	0 	0 	0
 	D 	65	9 	22	31 	111	-20	6 	0 	0
 	LW/C	51	11	12	23 	8 	-15	1 	3 	0
 	C 	46	8 	12	20 	8 	-14	2 	0 	2
 	D 	40	6 	14	20 	45 	-6 	2 	0 	1
 	C 	48	2 	18	20 	14 	-11	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	57	10	9 	19 	107	-13	2 	0 	1
 	D 	64	2 	16	18 	52 	-12	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	47	7 	9 	16 	98 	-5 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	79	2 	12	14 	183	-13	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	25	6 	4 	10 	8 	-11	2 	0 	0
 	D 	68	4 	6 	10 	109	-31	0 	0 	0
 	D 	36	3 	5 	8 	82 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	44	1 	7 	8 	143	-12	0 	0 	0
 	C 	7 	1 	1 	2 	0 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	20	0 	2 	2 	29 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	7 	1 	0 	1 	26 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	4 	0 	1 	1 	0 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	4 	0 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0 	0 	0 	2 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	7 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	22	0 	0 	0 	12 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	58	0 	0 	0 	17 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	3153	58	24	26	2	227	4.32	0 	1793	1566	.873
 	1114	22	4 	13	2	89 	4.79	0 	569 	480 	.844
 	160 	4 	1 	1 	0	10 	3.75	0 	73 	63 	.863
 	130 	4 	0 	2 	1	16 	7.38	0 	80 	64 	.800
 	286 	7 	0 	3 	1	21 	4.41	0 	173 	152 	.879
Team: 	4843	80	29	45	6	363	4.50	0 	2688	2325	.865
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==
*The Devils did not win any awards this season.
==Draft Picks==
New Jersey's draft picks at the 1986 NHL Entry Draft.
Rd #	Pick #	Player 	Nat	Pos 	Team (League) 	Notes 			
1 	3 	Neil Brady 	 	C 	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) 	 			
2 	24 	Todd Copeland 	 	D 	Belmont Hill H.S. (Massachusetts)	Copeland was the first New Jersey native to be drafted by the Devils (from Ridgewood); however, he never played for them. Jim Dowd (Brick) is the first New Jerseyan to play for the Devils. 			
3 	45 	Janne Ojanen 	 	C 	Tappara (SM-liiga) 	 			
3 	62 	Marc Laniel 	 	D 	Oshawa Generals (OHL) 	The Devils acquired the 1986 third-round pick from Philadelphia in exchange for Chico Resch on March 11, 1986. 			
4 	66 	Anders Carlsson	 	C 	Södertälje SK (Elitserien) 	 			
5 	87 	No fifth-round pick
The Devils traded their 1986 fifth-round pick (used on Mike Wolak), along with Shawn Evans to St. Louis for Mark Johnson on September 19, 1985.	No fifth-round pick
The Devils traded their 1986 fifth-round pick (used on Mike Wolak), along with Shawn Evans to St. Louis for Mark Johnson on September 19, 1985.	No fifth-round pick
The Devils traded their 1986 fifth-round pick (used on Mike Wolak), along with Shawn Evans to St. Louis for Mark Johnson on September 19, 1985.	No fifth-round pick
The Devils traded their 1986 fifth-round pick (used on Mike Wolak), along with Shawn Evans to St. Louis for Mark Johnson on September 19, 1985.	No fifth-round pick
The Devils traded their 1986 fifth-round pick (used on Mike Wolak), along with Shawn Evans to St. Louis for Mark Johnson on September 19, 1985. 	No fifth-round pick
The Devils traded their 1986 fifth-round pick (used on Mike Wolak), along with Shawn Evans to St. Louis for Mark Johnson on September 19, 1985.	No fifth-round pick
The Devils traded their 1986 fifth-round pick (used on Mike Wolak), along with Shawn Evans to St. Louis for Mark Johnson on September 19, 1985.	No fifth-round pick
The Devils traded their 1986 fifth-round pick (used on Mike Wolak), along with Shawn Evans to St. Louis for Mark Johnson on September 19, 1985.
6 	108 	Troy Crowder 	 	RW 	Hamilton Steelhawks (OHL) 	 			
7 	129 	Kevin Todd 	 	C 	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) 	 			
8 	150 	Ryan Pardoski 	 	LW 	Calgary Canucks (AJHL) 	 			
9 	171 	Scott McCormack	 	–	St. Paul’s H.S. (New Hampshire) 	 			
10 	192 	Frederic Chabot	 	G 	St. Foy Foosters (Quebec AAA) 	 			
11 	213 	John Andersen 	 	LW 	Oshawa Generals (OHL) 	 			
12 	236 	Doug Kirton 	 	RW 	Orillia Travelways (OPJHL) 	The Devils obtained this 1986 12th-round pick (Kirton) from Buffalo for Phil Russell on March 11, 1986. The Devils had traded their original 12th-round pick (used on Bill Butler) and Rick Meagher to St. Louis for Perry Anderson on August 29, 1985.			
==References==
Category:New Jersey Devils seasons
New Jersey Devils season, 1986–87
New Jersey Devils season, 1986–87