1987–88 NHL season

**The 1987-88 NHL season** was the 71st season in the NHL which lasted from October 8, 1987 to May 26, 1988.

This season would see the Edmonton Oilers win their fourth Stanley Cup in five years by sweeping the Boston Bruins 4–0 in the Stanley Cup Final. In the process of their cup win, Edmonton lost only two games, a record for the "16 wins" playoff format.

## League Business

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

This was Wayne Gretzky's final season with the Edmonton Oilers and as injuries held him out of 20% of the season.

This would be the only season of the decade in which he was not the winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy and the first season since the 1979-80 season that he didn't hold or share the league lead in points.

Mario Lemieux would capture his first Hart Trophy and lead the league in scoring.

On December 7, 1987, Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers became the first goalie to directly score a goal, shooting the puck into an open net.

On December 19, 1987, the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins combined to score two goals in two seconds.

The Bruins were trailing 6-4 in the third period when Ken Linseman scored with 10 seconds remaining, followed by Blues center Doug Gilmour scoring off the resulting faceoff into an empty net.

The New Jersey Devils qualified for the playoffs for the first time.

## Player Statistics

### Scoring leaders

*Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes, PPG = Powerplay Goals, SHG = Shorthanded Goals, GWG = Game Winning Goals*

### Leading goaltenders

*GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage*

## Coaches

**Patrick Division**

* New Jersey Devils: Tom McVie and Jim Schoenfeld
* New York Islanders: Terry Simpson
* New York Rangers: Michel Bergeron
* Philadelphia Flyers: Mike Keenan and Paul Holmgren
* Pittsburgh Penguins: Pierre Creamer
* Washington Capitals: Bryan Murray

**Adams Division**

* Boston Bruins: Terry O'Reilly
* Buffalo Sabres: Ted Sator
* Hartford Whalers: Jack Evans
* Montreal Canadiens: Jean Perron
* Quebec Nordiques: Andre Savard and Ron Lapointe

**Norris Division**

* Chicago Blackhawks: Bob Murdoch
* Detroit Red Wings: Jacques Demers
* Minnesota North Stars: Herb Brooks
* St. Louis Blues: Jacques Martin
* Toronto Maple Leafs: John Brophy

**Smythe Division**

* Calgary Flames: Terry Crisp
* Edmonton Oilers: Glen Sather
* Los Angeles Kings: Robbie Ftorek
* Vancouver Canucks: Bob McCammon
* Winnipeg Jets: Dan Maloney

## Milestones

**Debuts**

* Tommy Albelin, Quebec Nordiques
* Rob Brown, Pittsburgh Penguins
* Sean Burke, New Jersey Devils
* Adam Graves, Detroit Red Wings
* Jiri Hrdina, Calgary Flames
* 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
* Trent Yawney, Chicago Blackhawks
* Scott Young, Hartford Whalers
* Zarley Zalapski, Pittsburgh Penguins

**Last Games**

* 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 (the last active player to have been a member of the Kansas City Scouts)
* 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

**Firsts**

* Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers, First goaltender in NHL history to shoot and score a goal.