1987–88 New York Islanders season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1987–88
Year:	1987
Team:	New York Islanders
Record:	39–31–10
Conference:	Wales
Division:	Patrick
Divisionrank:	1st
Generalmanager:	Bill Torrey
Coach:	Terry Simpson
Captain:	Brent Sutter
Altcaptain:	Bryan Trottier Steve Konroyd
Goalsfor:	308
Goalsagainst:	267
Divisionwin:	Yes

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

Record vs. opponents

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 C 75 47 45 92 52 12 15 0 7 C 77 30 52 82 48 10 15 0 3 RW 73 36 40 76 22 14 13 2 4 C 70 29 31 60 55 13 11 2 2 RW 80 24 34 58 198 30 4 0 2 D 72 19 32 51 112 26 9 0 3 D 72 6 41 47 115 6 1 0 1 LW 76 17 28 45 46 14 1 1 0 LW/C 75 22 16 38 80 -2 0 1 2 LW 55 12 24 36 30 7 1 0 4 LW 69 17 18 35 67 13 3 0 4 RW 40 9 15 24 28 7 5 1 0 C 77 6 16 22 99 8 1 0 2 LW 48 5 15 20 115 8 0 0 0 D 68 7 12 19 113 22 4 0 1 D 51 4 13 17 24 18 1 0 1 D 62 2 15 17 99 16 1 0 0 D 57 4 12 16 62 9 1 0 0 LW 71 5 10 15 20 2 0 1 1 RW 38 2 8 10 58 4 0 0 1 D 15 1 6 7 14 3 1 0 1 D 53 1 4 5 40 0 0 0 0 D 10 0 5 5 15 5 0 0 0 C 5 1 1 2 0 -1 0 0 0 G 47 0 2 2 20 0 0 0 0 LW 3 1 0 1 6 1 0 0 0 RW 17 1 0 1 82 1 0 0 0 D 22 0 1 1 68 -9 0 0 0 RW 1 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 LW 1 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 RW 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 D 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 G 38 0 0 0 20 0 0 0 0 W 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV% 2751 47 22 17 5 153 3.34 3 1467 1314 .896 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 C 6 4 5 9 8 2 1 0 1 RW 6 1 4 5 6 -6 1 0 0 D 5 1 4 5 6 -3 1 0 0 LW 5 3 1 4 4 5 0 0 0 D 5 2 2 4 10 -3 1 0 0 C 6 2 1 3 18 2 0 1 1 LW 5 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 D 3 0 2 2 13 -1 0 0 0 D 6 1 0 1 42 -1 1 0 0 LW 6 1 0 1 17 0 0 1 0 RW 6 1 0 1 14 0 0 0 0 D 6 1 0 1 4 3 0 1 0 LW/C 5 1 0 1 6 4 0 0 0 C 6 0 1 1 23 2 0 0 0 D 4 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 RW 4 0 0 0 19 0 0 0 0 D 1 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0 LW 4 0 0 0 6 -4 0 0 0 G 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 LW 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 D 6 0 0 0 8 -2 0 0 0 C 6 0 0 0 10 -9 0 0 0 RW 2 0 0 0 23 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV% 381 6 2 4 23 3.62 0 154 131 .851 Team: 381 6 2 4 23 3.62 0 154 131 .851

^[1]

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;

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

See also

• 1987–88 NHL season

References

• Web site: 1987–88 New York Islanders Games. Hockey-reference.com . 2009-05-06 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: hockey-reference.com . 2009-07-27 . 1987-88 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com.