The 1987–88 New Jersey Devils season was the 14th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and sixth season since the franchise relocated from Colorado prior to the 1982–83 NHL season. The Devils finished fourth in the Patrick Division with a record of 38 wins, 36 losses, and 6 ties for 82 points, garnering the first winning record in the franchise's 14-year history.
On the final day of the regular season, the Devils were tied with their rival, the New York Rangers, for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division. After New York defeated the Quebec Nordiques 3–0, all eyes were on the Devils, who were playing the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago. The Devils trailed 3–2 midway through the third period, but John MacLean scored to tie the game, and with two minutes left in overtime, he added the game-winning goal. Although the Rangers and Devils both finished with 82 points, the Devils had two more wins, sending them to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history, but the first time in New Jersey.
The Devils rode the momentum of this victory into a surprisingly deep playoff run, ousting the New York Islanders in six games in the Division Semifinals and the Washington Capitals in seven games in the Division Finals. They then met the Boston Bruins in the Wales Conference Finals and stretched the series to seven games, but finally fell short in the seventh game.
Season summary
Off-season
Hoping to light a spark under the team, team owner John McMullen hired Providence College coach and athletic director Lou Lamoriello as team president in April 1987. Lamoriello appointed himself general manager shortly before the 1987–88 season. This move came as a considerable surprise to NHL circles; although Lamoriello had been a college coach for 19 years, he had never played, coached, or managed in the NHL and was almost unknown outside the American college hockey community.
Regular season
On November 25, 1987, Aaron Broten scored just 13 seconds into overtime to give the Devils an 8–7 road win over the Edmonton Oilers. It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 1987–88 regular season.
On April 3, 1988, the last day of the regular season, the Devils were scheduled to play the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, the New York Rangers were scheduled to host Quebec Nordiques at home, and the Pittsburgh Penguins were scheduled to host Hartford Whalers at home. Going into the game, the Devils were tied with the Rangers with 80 points and one point ahead of the Penguins (79) for the last playoff spot in the Patrick Division. The Penguins beat the Whalers, 4–2, to finish their season with 81 points, and the Rangers shut out the Nordiques, 3–0, to finish their season with 82 points, eliminating the Penguins. When both games ended, the Devils–Blackhawks game was still in progress. Both teams skated to a 3–3 tie after 60 minutes. For the Devils to qualify for the playoffs, they would have to score in overtime to get the win and the two points to win the tiebreaker over the Rangers. An overtime loss would keep them at 80 points, and a 3–3 tie would move them up only to 81 points, handing the last playoff berth to the Rangers. At 2:21 of the overtime period, John MacLean scored the game-winning goal on a rebound slap-shot past Blackhawks netminder Darren Pang to give the Devils a 4–3 win. Both the Devils and Rangers finished with 82 points. However, since the Devils had two more wins during the regular season, they ended up taking the Patrick Division's fourth playoff spot and thereby sealed the first-ever playoff berth for the franchise in New Jersey.
Gary Thorne called MacLean's overtime, playoff-berth-clinching goal on SportsChannel New York:
Playoffs
The team made it all the way to the conference finals, but lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games.