1987–88 New York Islanders season

1987–88 New York Islanders
Patrick Division champions
Division1st Patrick
ConferenceWales
1987–88 record39–31–10
Goals for308
Goals against267
Team information
General managerBill Torrey
CoachTerry Simpson
CaptainBrent Sutter
Alternate captainsBryan Trottier
Steve Konroyd

The 1987–88 New York Islanders season was the 16th season for the franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team improved on its performance from the previous season. They finished with 88 points, which turned out to be good enough for first place in a tightly contested Patrick Division – the Islanders, despite winning the division, finished only seven points ahead of the last place Pittsburgh Penguins. The Islanders were subsequently eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the New Jersey Devils.

As of 2022, this remains the Islanders' most recent division title, the second longest active drought in the NHL.

Off-season

Denis Potvin resigns the team captaincy, before playing his last season. Forward Brent Sutter is named team captain.

Regular season

Final standings

Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
New York Islanders 80 39 31 10 308 267 88
Philadelphia Flyers 80 38 33 9 292 292 85
Washington Capitals 80 38 33 9 281 249 85
New Jersey Devils 80 38 36 6 295 296 82
New York Rangers 80 36 34 10 300 283 82
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 36 35 9 319 316 81

[1]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

Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference


Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 8, 1987 4–1 @ Los Angeles Kings (1987–88) 1–0–0
2 W October 10, 1987 7–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) 2–0–0
3 W October 15, 1987 6–0 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 3–0–0
4 L October 17, 1987 3–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 3–1–0
5 W October 20, 1987 5–4 Calgary Flames (1987–88) 4–1–0
6 L October 23, 1987 3–5 @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 4–2–0
7 W October 24, 1987 2–1 New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 5–2–0
8 T October 27, 1987 4–4 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88) 5–2–1
9 L October 28, 1987 2–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) 5–3–1
10 W October 31, 1987 8–2 New York Rangers (1987–88) 6–3–1
11 W November 1, 1987 6–5 OT @ Boston Bruins (1987–88) 7–3–1
12 W November 3, 1987 6–3 New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 8–3–1
13 L November 5, 1987 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 8–4–1
14 W November 7, 1987 4–3 OT Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) 9–4–1
15 W November 10, 1987 4–3 OT Washington Capitals (1987–88) 10–4–1
16 W November 12, 1987 4–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1987–88) 11–4–1
17 W November 14, 1987 7–3 Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) 12–4–1
18 W November 17, 1987 4–3 Los Angeles Kings (1987–88) 13–4–1
19 L November 18, 1987 2–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) 13–5–1
20 W November 21, 1987 6–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 14–5–1
21 L November 24, 1987 3–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) 14–6–1
22 W November 28, 1987 5–4 New York Rangers (1987–88) 15–6–1
23 L November 29, 1987 1–3 @ New York Rangers (1987–88) 15–7–1
24 W December 2, 1987 7–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 16–7–1
25 W December 4, 1987 6–4 @ Washington Capitals (1987–88) 17–7–1
26 L December 8, 1987 2–3 Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) 17–8–1
27 L December 11, 1987 4–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 17–9–1
28 W December 12, 1987 5–3 New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 18–9–1
29 T December 15, 1987 2–2 OT St. Louis Blues (1987–88) 18–9–2
30 L December 17, 1987 3–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 18–10–2
31 L December 19, 1987 4–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 18–11–2
32 L December 22, 1987 2–5 @ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) 18–12–2
33 L December 23, 1987 5–7 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88) 18–13–2
34 W December 26, 1987 2–1 Boston Bruins (1987–88) 19–13–2
35 L December 28, 1987 4–6 @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 19–14–2
36 T December 29, 1987 3–3 OT New York Rangers (1987–88) 19–14–3
37 W January 2, 1988 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 20–14–3
38 T January 5, 1988 3–3 OT Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) 20–14–4
39 L January 8, 1988 4–7 @ Calgary Flames (1987–88) 20–15–4
40 L January 9, 1988 1–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) 20–16–4
41 T January 12, 1988 5–5 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 20–16–5
42 W January 14, 1988 8–5 Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) 21–16–5
43 W January 16, 1988 4–2 New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 22–16–5
44 L January 17, 1988 2–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) 22–17–5
45 L January 19, 1988 4–6 Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 22–18–5
46 L January 21, 1988 3–4 @ Hartford Whalers (1987–88) 22–19–5
47 W January 23, 1988 3–2 Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) 23–19–5
48 L January 27, 1988 1–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) 23–20–5
49 W January 29, 1988 5–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) 24–20–5
50 L January 30, 1988 2–6 Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) 24–21–5
51 T February 2, 1988 2–2 OT New York Rangers (1987–88) 24–21–6
52 W February 5, 1988 4–2 @ Washington Capitals (1987–88) 25–21–6
53 W February 6, 1988 6–4 Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) 26–21–6
54 L February 11, 1988 3–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) 26–22–6
55 L February 12, 1988 2–6 @ Washington Capitals (1987–88) 26–23–6
56 T February 14, 1988 4–4 OT @ New York Rangers (1987–88) 26–23–7
57 W February 16, 1988 9–3 Calgary Flames (1987–88) 27–23–7
58 T February 18, 1988 3–3 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 27–23–8
59 W February 20, 1988 3–0 Hartford Whalers (1987–88) 28–23–8
60 W February 21, 1988 7–2 @ Hartford Whalers (1987–88) 29–23–8
61 W February 23, 1988 6–1 Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) 30–23–8
62 T February 25, 1988 1–1 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88) 30–23–9
63 L February 27, 1988 0–3 Washington Capitals (1987–88) 30–24–9
64 W March 1, 1988 2–0 St. Louis Blues (1987–88) 31–24–9
65 L March 2, 1988 1–3 @ New York Rangers (1987–88) 31–25–9
66 L March 5, 1988 3–8 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 31–26–9
67 W March 6, 1988 2–0 @ Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) 32–26–9
68 W March 8, 1988 7–4 Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) 33–26–9
69 L March 10, 1988 3–4 Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) 33–27–9
70 L March 12, 1988 3–4 Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) 33–28–9
71 L March 13, 1988 1–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) 33–29–9
72 T March 18, 1988 3–3 OT @ Washington Capitals (1987–88) 33–29–10
73 W March 20, 1988 6–0 @ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) 34–29–10
74 W March 21, 1988 5–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) 35–29–10
75 W March 23, 1988 6–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1987–88) 36–29–10
76 W March 26, 1988 5–4 Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) 37–29–10
77 W March 29, 1988 5–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 38–29–10
78 W March 31, 1988 7–3 Washington Capitals (1987–88) 39–29–10
79 L April 2, 1988 2–5 @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 39–30–10
80 L April 3, 1988 2–3 @ Boston Bruins (1987–88) 39–31–10

Playoffs

Patrick Division Semi-finals vs. New Jersey Devils

Date Away Score Home Score OT
April 6 New Jersey 3 New York 4 (OT)
April 7 New Jersey 3 New York 2
April 9 New York 0 New Jersey 3
April 10 New York 5 New Jersey 4 (OT)
April 12 New Jersey 4 New York 2
April 14 New York 5 New Jersey 6

New Jersey wins series 4-2

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Pat LaFontaine C 75 47 45 92 52 12 15 0 7
Bryan Trottier C 77 30 52 82 48 10 15 0 3
Mikko Makela RW 73 36 40 76 22 14 13 2 4
Brent Sutter C 70 29 31 60 55 13 11 2 2
Alan Kerr RW 80 24 34 58 198 30 4 0 2
Denis Potvin D 72 19 32 51 112 26 9 0 3
Tomas Jonsson D 72 6 41 47 115 6 1 0 1
Greg Gilbert LW 76 17 28 45 46 14 1 1 0
Randy Wood LW/C 75 22 16 38 80 -2 0 1 2
Derek King LW 55 12 24 36 30 7 1 0 4
Brad Lauer LW 69 17 18 35 67 13 3 0 4
Patrick Flatley RW 40 9 15 24 28 7 5 1 0
Bob Bassen C 77 6 16 22 99 8 1 0 2
Dale Henry LW 48 5 15 20 115 8 0 0 0
Gerald Diduck D 68 7 12 19 113 22 4 0 1
Ken Leiter D 51 4 13 17 24 18 1 0 1
Steve Konroyd D 62 2 15 17 99 16 1 0 0
Gord Dineen D 57 4 12 16 62 9 1 0 0
Richard Kromm LW 71 5 10 15 20 2 0 1 1
Brad Dalgarno RW 38 2 8 10 58 4 0 0 1
Jeff Norton D 15 1 6 7 14 3 1 0 1
Ken Morrow D 53 1 4 5 40 0 0 0 0
Jeff Finley D 10 0 5 5 15 5 0 0 0
Todd McLellan C 5 1 1 2 0 -1 0 0 0
Kelly Hrudey G 47 0 2 2 20 0 0 0 0
Rod Dallman LW 3 1 0 1 6 1 0 0 0
Mick Vukota RW 17 1 0 1 82 1 0 0 0
Brian Curran D 22 0 1 1 68 -9 0 0 0
Neal Coulter RW 1 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Ari Haanpaa LW 1 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Todd Okerlund RW 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Chris Pryor D 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
Billy Smith G 38 0 0 0 20 0 0 0 0
Mike Walsh W 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Kelly Hrudey 2751 47 22 17 5 153 3.34 3 1467 1314 .896
Billy Smith 2107 38 17 14 5 113 3.22 2 1062 949 .894
Team: 4858 80 39 31 10 266 3.29 5 2529 2263 .895
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Pat LaFontaine C 6 4 5 9 8 2 1 0 1
Mikko Makela RW 6 1 4 5 6 -6 1 0 0
Denis Potvin D 5 1 4 5 6 -3 1 0 0
Brad Lauer LW 5 3 1 4 4 5 0 0 0
Tomas Jonsson D 5 2 2 4 10 -3 1 0 0
Brent Sutter C 6 2 1 3 18 2 0 1 1
Derek King LW 5 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 0
Jeff Norton D 3 0 2 2 13 -1 0 0 0
Gerald Diduck D 6 1 0 1 42 -1 1 0 0
Dale Henry LW 6 1 0 1 17 0 0 1 0
Alan Kerr RW 6 1 0 1 14 0 0 0 0
Steve Konroyd D 6 1 0 1 4 3 0 1 0
Randy Wood LW/C 5 1 0 1 6 4 0 0 0
Bob Bassen C 6 0 1 1 23 2 0 0 0
Ken Leiter D 4 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0
Brad Dalgarno RW 4 0 0 0 19 0 0 0 0
Jeff Finley D 1 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0
Greg Gilbert LW 4 0 0 0 6 -4 0 0 0
Kelly Hrudey G 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Richard Kromm LW 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0
Ken Morrow D 6 0 0 0 8 -2 0 0 0
Bryan Trottier C 6 0 0 0 10 -9 0 0 0
Mick Vukota RW 2 0 0 0 23 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Kelly Hrudey 381 6 2 4 23 3.62 0 154 131 .851
Team: 381 6 2 4 23 3.62 0 154 131 .851

[3]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

New York'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 13 Dean Chynoweth  Canada Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
2 34 Jeff Hackett  Canada Oshawa Generals (OHL)
3 55 Dean Ewen  Canada Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
4 76 George Maneluk  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
5 97 Petr Vlk  Czechoslovakia Dukla Jihlava (Czechoslovakia)
6 118 Rob DiMaio  Canada Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
7 139 Knut Walbye  Norway Furuset Ishockey (Norway)
8 160 Jeff Saterdalen  United States Bloomington Jefferson High School (USHS-MN)
9 181 Shawn Howard  Canada Penticton Knights (BCJHL)
10 202 John Herlihy  United States Babson College (ECAC East)
11 223 Mike Erickson  United States St. John's Hill School (USHS-MA)
12 244 Will Averill  United States Belmont High School (USHS-MA)
S2 14 Howie Vandermast  United States State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNYAC)

Farm teams

See also

References

  1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "1987-88 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2009.