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. 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 1979–80 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 8, Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers became the first goalie to directly score a goal, shooting the puck into an empty net after their opponent had pulled their goalie for a sixth attacker.
On December 19, 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.

Final standings

Prince of Wales Conference

Clarence Campbell Conference

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

Stanley Cup Finals

Game four is well known for fog that interfered with the game, and a power outage that caused the game to be cancelled at 16:37 of the second period with the score tied 3–3.
When the Oilers won the replayed game four, they started the tradition in which the champs gather around with the Cup in a team photo.

All-Star teams

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
PlayerTeamGPGAPtsPIM+/-PPGSHGGWG
Mario LemieuxPittsburgh Penguins77709816892+2322107
Wayne GretzkyEdmonton Oilers644010914924+39953
Denis SavardChicago Blackhawks80448713195+41476
Dale HawerchukWinnipeg Jets80447712159-92034
Luc RobitailleLos Angeles Kings80535811182-91706
Peter StastnyQuebec Nordiques76466511169+22002
Mark MessierEdmonton Oilers773774111103+211237
Jimmy CarsonLos Angeles Kings80555210745-192207
Hakan LoobCalgary Flames80505610647+41984
Michel GouletQuebec Nordiques80485810656-312914

Source: NHL.

Leading goaltenders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage
GoalieTeamGPMinWLTSOGAASv%
Grant FuhrEdmonton Oilers7543044024943.4388.1
Mike VernonCalgary Flames6435653916713.5387.7
Ron HextallPhiladelphia Flyers6235613022703.588.6
Mike LiutHartford Whalers6035322528523.1888.5
John VanbiesbrouckNew York Rangers5633192722723.3889.0
Daniel BerthiaumeWinnipeg Jets5630102219723.5188.2
Ken WreggetToronto Maple Leafs5630001235424.4487.0
Tom BarrassoBuffalo Sabres5431332518823.3189.6
Mario GosselinQuebec Nordiques5430022028423.7886.7
Clint MalarchukWashington Capitals5429262420443.1688.5

Source: Quanthockey.com

Coaches

Patrick Division

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1987–88:
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1987–88: