1986-87 NHL season

The 1986-87 NHL season was the 70th season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-one teams each played 80 games. The Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to three in the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals.
==Regular Season==
The Oilers won their second straight Presidents' Trophy as the top team and Wayne Gretzky won his eighth straight Hart Trophy and his seventh straight Art Ross Trophy.
Francis "King" Clancy, former defenceman with Ottawa and Toronto, had to undergo surgery to
remove his gall bladder. Unfortunately, infection from the gall bladder seeped into his
body during surgery, causing him to go into septic shock. He died November 10th, 1986.
===Final Standings===
====Prince of Wales Conference====
====Clarence Campbell Conference====
===Scoring Leaders===
Note: GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Wayne Gretzky 	Edmonton Oilers 	79	62	121	183	28
Jari Kurri 	Edmonton Oilers 	79	54	54 	108	41
Mario Lemieux 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	63	54	53 	107	57
Mark Messier 	Edmonton Oilers 	77	37	70 	107	73
Doug Gilmour 	St. Louis Blues 	80	42	63 	105	58
Dino Ciccarelli	Minnesota North Stars	80	52	51 	103	92
Dale Hawerchuk 	Winnipeg Jets 	80	47	53 	100	54
Michel Goulet 	Quebec Nordiques 	75	49	47 	96 	61
Tim Kerr 	Philadelphia Flyers 	75	58	37 	95 	57
Raymond Bourque	Boston Bruins 	78	23	72 	95 	36
==Stanley Cup Playoffs==
Note: all dates in 1987
In attempts to reduce the number of first round upsets, the NHL expanded the best-of-five series in the first round to a best-of-seven series.
===Playoff Bracket===
===Finals===
Edmonton Oilers Vs. Philadelphia Flyers
:see 1987 Stanley Cup Finals
The Oilers and Flyers met again in the finals for the second time in three years. This time, Edmonton was the regular season champion with 50 wins and 106 points, and Philadelphia was second with 46 wins and 100 points.
Unlike the 1985 final, this series would go the distance. Edmonton took the first two games at home, then split in Philadelphia. However, the Flyers won the next two games, one in Edmonton and one back in Philadelphia by one goal, to force a deciding seventh game. Edmonton won Game 7 to earn its third Stanley Cup in four seasons.
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
May 17	Philadelphia	2 	Edmonton 	4 	
May 20	Philadelphia	2 	Edmonton 	3 	(OT)
May 22	Edmonton 	3 	Philadelphia	5 	
May 24	Edmonton 	4 	Philadelphia	1 	
May 26	Philadelphia	4 	Edmonton 	3 	
May 28	Edmonton 	2 	Philadelphia	3 	
May 30	Philadelphia	1 	Edmonton 	3 	
Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4-3
===Playoff Scoring Leaders===
==NHL Awards==
Presidents' Trophy: 	Edmonton Oilers
Prince of Wales Trophy: 	Philadelphia Flyers
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: 	Edmonton Oilers
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: 	Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Doug Jarvis, Hartford Whalers
Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings
Conn Smythe Trophy: 	Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers
Frank J. Selke Trophy: 	Dave Poulin, Philadelphia Flyers
Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Jack Adams Award: 	Jacques Demers, Detroit Red Wings
James Norris Memorial Trophy: 	Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Joe Mullen, Calgary Flames
Lester B. Pearson Award: 	Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
NHL Plus/Minus Award: 	Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
William M. Jennings Trophy: 	Patrick Roy/Brian Hayward, Montreal Canadiens
Vezina Trophy: 	Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers
Lester Patrick Trophy: 	Hobey Baker, Frank Mathers
==All-Star Teams==
First Team 	  Position  	Second Team
Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers	G 	Mike Liut, Hartford Whalers
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins 	D 	Larry Murphy, Washington Capitals
Mark Howe, Philadelphia Flyers 	D 	Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames
Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers 	C 	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers 	RW 	Tim Kerr, Philadelphia Flyers
Michel Goulet, Quebec Nordiques 	LW 	Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings
==Debuts==
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1986-87 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
*Gary Roberts, Calgary Flames
*Joe Nieuwendyk, Calgary Flames
*Dave Manson, Chicago Blackhawks
*Joe Murphy, Detroit Red Wings
*Steve Chiasson, Detroit Red Wings
*Kelly Buchberger*, Edmonton Oilers
*Jimmy Carson, Los Angeles Kings
*Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings
*Steve Duchesne, Los Angeles Kings
*Craig Berube, Philadelphia Flyers
*Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers
*Vincent Damphousse, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Fredrik Olausson, Winnipeg Jets
==Last Games==
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1986-87 (listed with their last team):
*Thomas Gradin, Boston Bruins
*Mike Milbury, Boston Bruins
*Lee Fogolin, Buffalo Sabres
*Don Lever, Buffalo Sabres
*Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo Sabres
*Phil Russell, Buffalo Sabres
*Murray Bannerman, Chicago Blackhawks
*Darryl Sutter, Chicago Blackhawks
*Danny Gare, Edmonton Oilers
*Wayne Babych, Hartford Whalers
*Peter McNab, New Jersey Devils
*Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
*Chico Resch, Philadelphia Flyers
==See Also==
* List of Stanley Cup champions
* 1986 NHL Entry Draft
* NHL All-Rookie Team
* Rendez-vous '87
* Easter Epic
==References==
*Hockey Database
*NHL.com