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 Finals. 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 did not 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, since their move from Denver in 1982.
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.
NHL disregards stats from May 24 incomplete game.
Awards
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
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
Source: Quanthockey.com
Coaches
Patrick Division
New Jersey Devils: Doug Carpenter 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
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1987–88: 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