1987–88 Montreal Canadiens season

1987–88 Montreal Canadiens
Adams Division champions
Division1st Adams
Conference1st Wales
1987–88 record45–22–13
Home record26–8–6
Road record19–14–7
Goals for298
Goals against238
Team information
General managerSerge Savard
CoachJean Perron
CaptainBob Gainey
Alternate captainsMats Naslund
Larry Robinson
ArenaMontreal Forum
Team leaders
GoalsStephane Richer (50)
AssistsBobby Smith (66)
PointsBobby Smith (93)
Penalty minutesChris Nilan (209)
Plus/minusPetr Svoboda (+46)
WinsPatrick Roy (23)
Goals against averageBrian Hayward (2.86)

The 1987–88 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 79th season. The club qualified for the playoffs, defeated the Hartford Whalers in the first round, but were eliminated in the Adams Division finals versus the Boston Bruins four games to one.

Offseason

  • Canadiens General Manager Serge Savard was part of the four man committee that would select players and coaches for Team Canada at the 1987 Canada Cup.[1] Canadiens head coach Jean Perron would be selected as one of the assistant coaches for Team Canada.[2]

Regular season

Defensively, the Canadiens were the best team in the league, finishing the regular season with just 238 goals against. They also allowed the fewest power-play goals, with just 64[3]

On April 3, Stephane Richer becomes the sixth player in Montreal history to score 50 goals in a season with two in the season finale against Buffalo.[4]

Final standings

Adams Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
80 45 22 13 298 238 103
Boston Bruins 80 44 30 6 300 251 94
Buffalo Sabres 80 37 32 11 283 305 85
Hartford Whalers 80 35 38 7 249 267 77
Quebec Nordiques 80 32 43 5 271 306 69

[5]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.

Record vs. opponents

Adams Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference


Schedule and results

1987–88 regular season[7]
October
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
1 T October 8, 1987 2–2 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers 0–0–1
2 W October 10, 1987 6–3 Buffalo Sabres 1–0–1
3 L October 12, 1987 2–5 Quebec Nordiques 1–1–1
4 L October 16, 1987 3–4 @ New Jersey Devils 1–2–1
5 W October 17, 1987 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–2–1
6 W October 19, 1987 5–1 Minnesota North Stars 3–2–1
7 W October 21, 1987 10–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 4–2–1
8 L October 23, 1987 3–5 @ Buffalo Sabres 4–3–1
9 W October 24, 1987 3–2 @ Washington Capitals 5–3–1
10 L October 26, 1987 3–5 Calgary Flames 5–4–1
11 W October 28, 1987 3–1 Edmonton Oilers 6–4–1
12 W October 30, 1987 5–4 @ Detroit Red Wings 7–4–1
13 T October 31, 1987 3–3 OT Boston Bruins 7–4–2
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
14 W November 2, 1987 6–4 St. Louis Blues 8–4–2
15 T November 4, 1987 4–4 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks 8–4–3
16 W November 7, 1987 5–4 Philadelphia Flyers 9–4–3
17 W November 9, 1987 3–1 Toronto Maple Leafs 10–4–3
18 T November 11, 1987 0–0 OT @ Hartford Whalers 10–4–4
19 L November 12, 1987 2–3 @ Boston Bruins 10–5–4
20 W November 14, 1987 3–0 Chicago Blackhawks 11–5–4
21 T November 16, 1987 3–3 OT Hartford Whalers 11–5–5
22 W November 18, 1987 5–2 New York Islanders 12–5–5
23 W November 21, 1987 2–1 New Jersey Devils 13–5–5
24 L November 23, 1987 3–4 OT @ Quebec Nordiques 13–6–5
25 W November 25, 1987 6–5 @ Hartford Whalers 14–6–5
26 L November 27, 1987 2–4 @ Minnesota North Stars 14–7–5
27 W November 28, 1987 7–3 @ Winnipeg Jets 15–7–5
28 W November 30, 1987 6–4 Boston Bruins 16–7–5
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
29 T December 2, 1987 3–3 OT Vancouver Canucks 16–7–6
30 W December 5, 1987 6–4 Los Angeles Kings 17–7–6
31 W December 8, 1987 3–2 @ New York Islanders 18–7–6
32 T December 9, 1987 2–2 OT @ New York Rangers 18–7–7
33 W December 12, 1987 5–3 Detroit Red Wings 19–7–7
34 W December 16, 1987 5–4 Quebec Nordiques 20–7–7
35 T December 18, 1987 2–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres 20–7–8
36 L December 19, 1987 1–2 Buffalo Sabres 20–8–8
37 T December 23, 1987 2–2 OT Washington Capitals 20–8–9
38 W December 26, 1987 4–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 21–8–9
39 L December 28, 1987 3–9 @ Calgary Flames 21–9–9
40 W December 29, 1987 4–1 @ Vancouver Canucks 22–9–9
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
41 L January 2, 1988 2–5 @ Los Angeles Kings 22–10–9
42 L January 6, 1988 5–6 Buffalo Sabres 22–11–9
43 T January 9, 1988 3–3 OT Philadelphia Flyers 22–11–10
44 W January 13, 1988 5–4 Boston Bruins 23–11–10
45 L January 14, 1988 2–3 @ Boston Bruins 23–12–10
46 W January 16, 1988 4–3 New York Rangers 24–12–10
47 W January 18, 1988 6–4 Edmonton Oilers 25–12–10
48 L January 21, 1988 1–4 St. Louis Blues 25–13–10
49 L January 23, 1988 3–4 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 25–14–10
50 W January 24, 1988 5–3 @ Quebec Nordiques 26–14–10
51 W January 27, 1988 4–1 @ Buffalo Sabres 27–14–10
52 L January 29, 1988 3–4 @ Washington Capitals 27–15–10
53 W January 30, 1988 6–2 @ New York Islanders 28–15–10
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
54 W February 1, 1988 5–4 Hartford Whalers 29–15–10
55 W February 3, 1988 5–2 @ Hartford Whalers 30–15–10
56 L February 4, 1988 3–7 @ Boston Bruins 30–16–10
57 L February 6, 1988 4–5 Detroit Red Wings 30–17–10
58 L February 11, 1988 2–4 @ New Jersey Devils 30–18–10
59 L February 13, 1988 1–4 Hartford Whalers 30–19–10
60 L February 15, 1988 1–3 @ New York Rangers 30–20–10
61 W February 17, 1988 3–2 Boston Bruins 31–20–10
62 W February 20, 1988 5–3 Quebec Nordiques 32–20–10
63 W February 23, 1988 3–1 @ Quebec Nordiques 33–20–10
64 W February 24, 1988 5–4 Vancouver Canucks 34–20–10
65 W February 27, 1988 6–0 Winnipeg Jets 35–20–10
66 W February 29, 1988 2–1 @ Quebec Nordiques 36–20–10
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
67 W March 3, 1988 4–2 @ St. Louis Blues 37–20–10
68 W March 5, 1988 7–6 OT @ Los Angeles Kings 38–20–10
69 W March 9, 1988 4–1 @ Edmonton Oilers 39–20–10
70 W March 12, 1988 5–0 Hartford Whalers 40–20–10
71 T March 14, 1988 2–2 OT @ Minnesota North Stars 40–20–11
72 W March 16, 1988 4–1 @ Winnipeg Jets 41–20–11
73 W March 19, 1988 3–0 Chicago Blackhawks 42–20–11
74 T March 21, 1988 3–3 OT Calgary Flames 42–20–12
75 W March 23, 1988 4–1 Quebec Nordiques 43–20–12
76 L March 25, 1988 2–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 43–21–12
77 L March 27, 1988 2–4 @ Hartford Whalers 43–22–12
78 W March 31, 1988 3–1 @ Boston Bruins 44–22–12
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
79 W April 2, 1988 9–4 Buffalo Sabres 45–22–12
80 T April 3, 1988 4–4 OT @ Buffalo Sabres 45–22–13

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

Adams Division semi-finals

Hartford Whalers vs. Montreal Canadiens

The Habs almost squandered a 3–0 series lead. The deep Habs roster was the best team in the Wales Conference during the season, consisting of one 50-goal scorer, five 20–goal scorers and another six with between 10 and 20 goals. Their best assets were goaltenders Patrick Roy and backup Brian Hayward who won 23 and 22 games respectively. The Ron Francis-led Whalers went 2–4–2 against the Canadiens during the season, twice losing by just one goal.

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
April 6 Hartford 3 Montreal 4
April 7 Hartford 3 Montreal 7
April 9 Montreal 4 Hartford 3
April 10 Montreal 5 Hartford 7
April 12 Hartford 5 Montreal 3
April 14 Montreal 4 Hartford 2

Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4–2

Adams Division finals

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens

The Wales Conference's two best teams, and the NHL's two best defensive teams, met in this series with equal rest time. The Habs had beaten Boston in the Adams Division semi-finals four years in a row, sweeping the Bruins in three of the past four seasons, and beating them 3–2 in a best-of-five the other year. This time, the Bruins' defence would wear down Montreal, as Ken Linseman, Ray Bourque and Cam Neely provided the offence to finally conquer the Canadiens, this despite the fact that the Habs beat them in Game 1 by a score of 5–1. It was the first Bruins' playoff series win over the Habs since the 1942–43 season.

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
April 18 Boston 1 Montreal 5
April 20 Boston 4 Montreal 3
April 22 Montreal 1 Boston 3
April 24 Montreal 0 Boston 2
April 26 Boston 4 Montreal 1

Boston wins best-of-seven series 4–1

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Bobby Smith C 78 27 66 93 78 13 8 0 4
Mats Naslund LW 78 24 59 83 14 17 4 0 2
Stephane Richer RW 72 50 28 78 72 12 16 0 11
Claude Lemieux RW 78 31 30 61 137 16 6 0 3
Chris Chelios D 71 20 41 61 172 14 10 1 5
Mike McPhee LW 77 23 20 43 53 19 0 2 4
Larry Robinson D 53 6 34 40 30 26 2 0 1
Shayne Corson LW 71 12 27 39 152 22 2 0 2
Guy Carbonneau C 80 17 21 38 61 14 0 3 1
Ryan Walter C/LW 61 13 23 36 39 12 6 0 3
Brian Skrudland C 79 12 24 36 112 14 0 1 3
Petr Svoboda D 69 7 22 29 149 46 2 0 1
Kjell Dahlin RW 48 13 12 25 6 5 2 0 2
Bob Gainey LW 78 11 11 22 14 8 0 0 1
Sergio Momesso LW 53 7 14 21 101 9 1 0 0
Craig Ludwig D 74 4 10 14 69 17 0 0 0
Rick Green D 59 2 11 13 33 21 1 0 0
Chris Nilan RW 50 7 5 12 209 -2 0 0 1
Gilles Thibaudeau C 17 5 6 11 0 6 2 0 1
Mike Lalor D 66 1 10 11 113 4 0 0 0
John Kordic RW 60 2 6 8 159 0 0 0 0
Larry Trader D 30 2 4 6 19 2 1 0 0
Serge Boisvert RW 5 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 0
Jose Charbonneau RW 16 0 2 2 6 1 0 0 0
Brian Hayward G 39 0 2 2 24 0 0 0 0
Patrick Roy G 45 0 2 2 14 0 0 0 0
Perry Ganchar RW 1 1 0 1 0 -1 0 0 0
Gaston Gingras D 2 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0
Scott Sandelin D 8 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Vincent Riendeau G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mathieu Schneider D 4 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0

Goaltending

Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Patrick Roy 2586 45 23 12 9 125 2.90 3 1248 1123 .900
Brian Hayward 2247 39 22 10 4 107 2.86 2 1032 925 .896
Vincent Riendeau 36 1 0 0 0 5 8.33 0 22 17 .773
Team: 4869 80 45 22 13 237 2.92 5 2302 2065 .897

Playoffs

Scoring

Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Stephane Richer RW 8 7 5 12 6 1 0 2
Mike McPhee LW 11 4 3 7 8 0 1 0
Bobby Smith C 11 3 4 7 8 1 0 0
Mats Naslund LW 6 0 7 7 2 0 0 0
Gilles Thibaudeau C 8 3 3 6 2 1 0 0
Kjell Dahlin RW 11 2 4 6 2 0 0 0
Ryan Walter C/LW 11 2 4 6 6 2 0 1
Brian Skrudland C 11 1 5 6 24 0 0 0
Claude Lemieux RW 11 3 2 5 20 0 0 2
Larry Robinson D 11 1 4 5 4 0 0 0
Petr Svoboda D 10 0 5 5 12 0 0 0
Chris Chelios D 11 3 1 4 29 1 0 0
John Kordic RW 7 2 2 4 26 0 0 0
Guy Carbonneau C 11 0 4 4 2 0 0 0
Craig Ludwig D 11 1 1 2 6 0 0 0
Rick Green D 11 0 2 2 2 0 0 0
Sergio Momesso LW 6 0 2 2 16 0 0 0
Shayne Corson LW 3 1 0 1 12 0 0 0
Serge Boisvert RW 3 0 1 1 2 0 0 0
Bob Gainey LW 6 0 1 1 6 0 0 0
Jose Charbonneau RW 8 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Steven Fletcher LW/D 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 0
Brian Hayward G 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mike Lalor D 11 0 0 0 11 0 0 0
Patrick Roy G 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Patrick Roy 430 8 3 4 24 3.35 0 218 194 .890
Brian Hayward 230 4 2 2 9 2.35 0 85 76 .894
Team: 660 11 5 6 33 3.00 0 303 270 .891

[8]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1987 NHL entry draft held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 17 Andrew Cassels  Canada Ottawa 67's (OHL)
2 33 John LeClair  United States Bellows Free Academy (USHS-VT)
2 38 Eric Desjardins  Canada Granby Bisons (QMJHL)
3 44 Mathieu Schneider  United States Cornwall Royals (OHL)
3 58 Francois Gravel  Canada Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
4 80 Kris Miller  United States Greenway High School (USHS-MN)
5 101 Steve McCool  United States The Hill School (USHS-PA)
6 122 Les Kuntar  United States Nichols School (USHS-NY)
7 143 Robert Kelley  United States Matignon High School (USHS-MA)
8 164 Will Geist  United States St. Paul Academy and Summit School (USHS-MN)
9 185 Eric Tremblay  Canada Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
10 206 Barry McKinlay  Canada University of Illinois at Chicago (CCHA)
11 227 Ed Ronan  United States Phillips Andover Academy (USHS-MA)
12 248 Bryan Herring  United States Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)
S2 18 Wayne Gagne  Canada Western Michigan University (CCHA)

See also

References

  1. ^ Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup, p.8, Ed Willies, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7710-8942-8
  2. ^ Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup, p.4, Ed Willies, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7710-8942-8
  3. ^ "1987-88 NHL Summary".
  4. ^ Richer Pots No. 50. Our History – The Historical Website of the Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved 2013-June-19. Archived 2013-06-22.
  5. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  6. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  7. ^ "1987-88 Montreal Canadiens Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  8. ^ "1987-88 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
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