1988–89 Boston Bruins season
The 1988–89 Boston Bruins season saw the team finish in second place in the Adams Division with a record of 37 wins, 29 losses, and 14 ties for 88 points. They defeated the Buffalo Sabres in five games in the Division Semi-finals before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in the Division Finals, also in five games.
Regular season
On November 24, 1988, Bob Sweeney scored just 8 seconds into the overtime period to give the Bruins a 2-1 home win over the Philadelphia Flyers. It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 1988-89 NHL regular season.The Bruins allowed the fewest short-handed goals in the league, with just 4.
Final standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
Adams Division Semifinals
Boston Bruins 4, Buffalo Sabres 1
Adams Division Finals
Montreal Canadiens 4, Boston Bruins 1
Player statistics
Forwards
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Cam Neely | 74 | 37 | 38 | 75 | 190 |
| Ken Linseman | 78 | 27 | 45 | 72 | 164 |
| Craig Janney | 62 | 16 | 46 | 62 | 12 |
| Randy Burridge | 80 | 31 | 30 | 61 | 39 |
| Bob Joyce | 77 | 18 | 31 | 49 | 46 |
| Andy Brickley | 71 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 20 |
| Keith Crowder | 69 | 15 | 18 | 33 | 147 |
| Bob Sweeney | 75 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 99 |
| Steve Kasper | 49 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 49 |
| John Carter | 44 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 24 |
| Greg Johnston | 57 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 32 |
| Bobby Carpenter | 18 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 10 |
| Tommy Lehman | 26 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| Jay Miller | 37 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 168 |
| Ray Neufeld | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 28 |
| Lyndon Byers | 49 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 218 |
| Bill O'Dwyer | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Paul Guay | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Rob Cimetta | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ray Podloski | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
| Ron Flockhart | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Moe Lemay | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
| Carl Mokosak | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| Paul Beraldo | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Defensemen
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Ray Bourque | 60 | 18 | 43 | 61 | 52 |
| Glen Wesley | 77 | 19 | 35 | 54 | 61 |
| Greg Hawgood | 56 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 84 |
| Garry Galley | 78 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 80 |
| Michael Thelven | 40 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 71 |
| Don Sweeney | 36 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 20 |
| Allen Pedersen | 51 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 69 |
| Alain Cote | 31 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 51 |
| Bruce Shoebottom | 29 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 44 |
| Stephane Quintal | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 29 |
| Gord Kluzak | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Dale Dunbar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average| Player | GP | W | L | T | SO | GAA |
| Réjean Lemelin | 40 | 19 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 3.01 |
| Andy Moog | 41 | 18 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 3.22 |
Awards and records
- Ray Bourque, Defence, NHL Second All-Star Team
Transactions
Roster
Draft picks
Boston's draft picks at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec.| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 19 | Robert Cimetta | Toronto Marlboros | |
| 3 | 60 | Steve Heinze | Lawrence Academy | |
| 4 | 81 | Joe Juneau | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | |
| 5 | 102 | Daniel Murphy | The Gunnery | |
| 6 | 123 | Derek Geary | Gloucester High School | |
| 8 | 165 | Mark Krys | Boston University | |
| 9 | 186 | Jon Rohloff | Grand Rapids High School | |
| 11 | 228 | Eric Reisman | Ohio State University | |
| 12 | 249 | Doug Jones | Kitchener Rangers | |
| S | 23 | Chris Harvey | Brown University |