1987–88 Los Angeles Kings season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1987–88
Year:	1987
Team:	Los Angeles Kings
Conferencerank:	7th
Divisionrank:	4th
Record:	30-42-8
Goalsfor:	318
Goalsagainst:	359
Goalsleader:	Jimmy Carson (55)
Assistsleader:	Luc Robitaille (58)
Pointsleader:	Luc Robitaille (111)
Plusminusleader:	Ken Baumgartner (+5) Phil Sykes (+5)
Pimleader:	Larry Playfair (197)
Winsleader:	Roland Melanson (17)
Gaaleader:	Glenn Healy (4.33)

The 1987–88 Los Angeles Kings season, was the Kings' 21st season in the National Hockey League. It saw the Kings finish in fourth place in the Smythe Division with a record of 30 wins, 42 losses, and 8 ties for 68 points. The team finished last in the league in goaltending, with 359 goals allowed.^[1] They lost the Division Semi-finals in five games to the Calgary Flames.

This was the last season that the Kings wore purple and gold uniforms with a crown logo adorning the front. After this season, they would introduce a new logo with a white, black, and silver uniform, coinciding with the acquisition of Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers.

Regular season

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

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

Playoffs

(S1) Calgary Flames vs. (S4) Los Angeles Kings

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG LW 80 53 58 111 82 -9 17 0 6 C 80 55 52 107 45 -19 22 0 7 C 65 32 46 78 114 2 8 7 1 RW 68 26 41 67 129 -4 9 0 2 D 71 16 39 55 109 0 5 0 4 C 71 19 33 52 84 -21 10 0 2 RW 68 16 35 51 18 -7 2 0 1 LW 71 20 23 43 46 -14 8 1 1 LW 37 16 12 28 57 3 5 1 2 D 61 6 22 28 99 -27 4 1 1 D 58 2 23 25 159 -3 1 0 0 LW 40 9 12 21 82 5 3 1 0 RW 42 6 15 21 20 -14 2 0 0 C 72 7 11 18 28 -31 1 0 1 D 46 7 9 16 69 -1 1 0 1 D 57 1 12 13 47 3 0 0 0 RW 19 4 8 12 6 -8 2 0 0 LW/C 6 2 10 12 2 1 1 0 0 D 58 1 11 12 158 -22 0 0 0 LW 28 4 6 10 8 -5 0 0 0 RW 33 4 4 8 40 -7 0 0 0 C/RW 15 2 6 8 17 -5 0 0 1 D 23 1 7 8 52 -7 1 0 0 C 20 1 6 7 8 -2 0 0 0 D 54 0 7 7 197 -13 0 0 0 RW 30 3 2 5 12 -14 0 0 0 LW 30 2 3 5 189 5 0 0 0 D 3 1 3 4 4 2 1 0 0 LW 32 1 3 4 113 -10 0 0 0 G 34 0 2 2 6 0 0 0 0 C 7 1 0 1 5 1 0 0 0 D 4 0 1 1 13 -2 0 0 0 RW 26 0 1 1 8 -10 0 0 0 D 8 0 1 1 18 -4 0 0 0 D 27 0 1 1 26 -14 0 0 0 C 7 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 LW 9 0 0 0 12 -5 0 0 0 G 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 G 47 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 D 7 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 D 2 0 0 0 0 -4 0 0 0 LW 2 0 0 0 6 1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV% 2676 47 17 20 7 195 4.37 2 1399 1204 .861 1869 34 12 18 1 135 4.33 1 1005 870 .866 303 5 1 4 0 23 4.55 0 165 142 .861 Team: 4848 80 30 42 8 353 4.37 3 2569 2216 .863

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG C 5 5 3 8 4 -2 1 0 0 C 5 2 6 8 11 -3 1 0 0 LW 5 2 5 7 18 -8 2 0 1 RW 5 3 3 6 6 -3 2 0 0 D 5 1 3 4 14 -5 1 0 0 LW 5 2 1 3 2 -3 1 0 0 D 5 1 2 3 21 0 0 0 0 C 5 1 1 2 0 -7 0 0 0 D 5 0 2 2 4 -8 0 0 0 LW/C 4 1 0 1 4 -3 0 0 0 LW 5 0 1 1 28 -6 0 0 0 C 5 0 1 1 0 -1 0 0 0 RW 4 0 1 1 8 -1 0 0 0 D 4 0 1 1 10 4 0 0 0 RW 3 0 1 1 2 -1 0 0 0 LW 5 0 0 0 16 -3 0 0 0 C/RW 2 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 RW 1 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 D 1 0 0 0 4 -1 0 0 0 D 2 0 0 0 4 -5 0 0 0 G 4 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 LW 1 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 D 3 0 0 0 14 -1 0 0 0 LW 4 0 0 0 0 -3 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV% 240 4 1 3 20 5.00 0 128 108 .844 60 1 0 1 9 9.00 0 50 41 .820 Team: 300 5 1 4 29 5.80 0 178 149 .837

^[2]

Defencemen

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
	71	16	39	55	109
	61	6	22	28	99
	58	2	23	25	159

Awards and records

• Luc Robitaille, Left Wing, NHL First All-Star Team

Transactions

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1987–88 season.^[3]

Trades

June 13, 1987	To Los Angeles Kings 1st round pick in 1987 – Wayne McBean	To Minnesota North Stars 1st round pick in 1987 – Dave Archibald 3rd round pick in 1987 NHL Entry Draft – Kevin Kaminski
October 15, 1987	To Los Angeles Kings Cash	To Hartford Whalers Tiger Williams
December 14, 1987	To Los Angeles Kings Mike Allison	To Toronto Maple Leafs Sean McKenna
January 21, 1988	To Los Angeles Kings Gordie Walker Mike Siltala	To New York Rangers Joe Paterson
February 4, 1988	To Los Angeles Kings Chris Kontos 6th round pick in 1988 – Micah Aivazoff	To Pittsburgh Penguins Bryan Erickson
February 9, 1988	To Los Angeles Kings Grant Ledyard	To Washington Capitals Craig Laughlin
February 22, 1988	To Los Angeles Kings Ron Duguay	To New York Rangers Mark Hardy

Free agent signings

March 18, 1988

From New Haven Nighthawks (AHL) Hubie McDonough

Free agents lost

August 15, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers Mark Lofthouse
December 14, 1987	To Pittsburgh Penguins Scott Gruhl

Waivers

October 5, 1987	To Minnesota North Stars Al Tuer
October 5, 1987	From New York Rangers Paul Fenton
October 5, 1987	From Philadelphia Flyers Tim Tookey

Draft picks

Los Angeles'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	4	Wayne McBean		Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
2	27	Mark Fitzpatrick		Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
3	43	Ross Wilson		Peterborough Petes (OHL)
5	90	Mike Vukonich		Denfeld High School (USHS-MN)
6	111	Greg Batters		Victoria Cougars (WHL)
7	132	Kyosti Karjalainen		Brynäs IF (Sweden)
9	174	Jeff Gawlicki		Northern Michigan University (WCHA)
10	195	John Preston		Boston University (Hockey East)
11	216	Rostislav Vlach		TJ Gottwaldov (Czechoslovakia)
12	237	Mikael Lindholm		Brynäs IF (Sweden)
S2	10	Chris Panek		SUNY Plattsburgh (SUNYAC)

Notes and References

1. Web site: 1987-88 NHL Summary.
2. Web site: hockey-reference.com . 2009-06-25 . 1987-88 Los Angeles Kings Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com.
3. Web site: Hockey Transactions Search Results.