The 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League began on April 8, after the conclusion of the 1986–87 NHL season. It concluded on May 31, with the Edmonton Oilers defeating the Philadelphia Flyers to win the Stanley Cup. In an attempt 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. The 1987 playoffs marked the second consecutive year that all four former WHA teams made the playoffs in the same year. It would not happen again until 1999 by which time 3 of those teams had moved, the Quebec Nordiques to Denver, the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix, and the Hartford Whalers to Raleigh, North Carolina. For the second time ever, the first time being 1978, all of the Original Six teams made the playoffs in the same season. At the time the Philadelphia Flyers set an NHL playoff record by playing in 26 games during the playoffs. This record has since been equaled by four other teams.
This was the last series that the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise won in Quebec City, the franchise did not win another playoff series until 1996 when they were the Colorado Avalanche.
(A2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A3) Boston Bruins
(P1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (P4) New York Rangers
(P2) Washington Capitals vs. (P3) New York Islanders
Game seven of this series went four overtimes, and is known as the Easter Epic. It was the only one this year to go beyond one OT period.
This was the last series that the Jets/Coyotes franchise won in Winnipeg; the franchise did not win another playoff series until the 2012 Western Conference Quarterfinal while based in Arizona. This was also the last time a Winnipeg-based NHL team won a playoff series until 2018.
Division Finals
Prince of Wales Conference
(A2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A4) Quebec Nordiques
(P1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (P3) New York Islanders
Clarence Campbell Conference
(N2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (N4) Toronto Maple Leafs
The Oilers and Flyers would meet 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; and for the first time since 1971, the Stanley Cup Finals went the full seven games. 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 seven to earn its third Stanley Cup in four seasons.
This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.
