1987–88 Montreal Canadiens season explained

Team:	Montreal Canadiens
League:	NHL
Season:	1987–88
Year:	1987
Conferencerank:	1st
Divisionrank:	1st
Record:	45–22–13
Goalsfor:	298
Goalsagainst:	238
Goalsleader:	Stephane Richer (50)
Assistsleader:	Bobby Smith (66)
Pointsleader:	Bobby Smith (93)
Plusminusleader:	Petr Svoboda (+46)
Pimleader:	Chris Nilan (209)
Winsleader:	Patrick Roy (23)
Gaaleader:	Brian Hayward (2.86)
Divisionwin:	Yes

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]

NHL Draft

for more information visit 1988 NHL entry draft

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]

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

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

• 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]

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
	C	78	27	66	93	78	13	8	0	4
	LW	78	24	59	83	14	17	4	0	2
	RW	72	50	28	78	72	12	16	0	11
	RW	78	31	30	61	137	16	6	0	3
	D	71	20	41	61	172	14	10	1	5
	LW	77	23	20	43	53	19	0	2	4
	D	53	6	34	40	30	26	2	0	1
	LW	71	12	27	39	152	22	2	0	2
	C	80	17	21	38	61	14	0	3	1
	C/LW	61	13	23	36	39	12	6	0	3
	C	79	12	24	36	112	14	0	1	3
	D	69	7	22	29	149	46	2	0	1
	RW	48	13	12	25	6	5	2	0	2
	LW	78	11	11	22	14	8	0	0	1
	LW	53	7	14	21	101	9	1	0	0
	D	74	4	10	14	69	17	0	0	0
	D	59	2	11	13	33	21	1	0	0
	RW	50	7	5	12	209	-2	0	0	1
	C	17	5	6	11	0	6	2	0	1
	D	66	1	10	11	113	4	0	0	0
	RW	60	2	6	8	159	0	0	0	0
	D	30	2	4	6	19	2	1	0	0
	RW	5	1	1	2	2	0	0	0	0
	RW	16	0	2	2	6	1	0	0	0
	G	39	0	2	2	24	0	0	0	0
	G	45	0	2	2	14	0	0	0	0
	RW	1	1	0	1	0	-1	0	0	0
	D	2	0	1	1	2	1	0	0	0
	D	8	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0
	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	D	4	0	0	0	2	-1	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
	2586	45	23	12	9	125	2.90	3	1248	1123	.900
	2247	39	22	10	4	107	2.86	2	1032	925	.896
	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
	RW	8	7	5	12	6	1	0	2
	LW	11	4	3	7	8	0	1	0
	C	11	3	4	7	8	1	0	0
	LW	6	0	7	7	2	0	0	0
	C	8	3	3	6	2	1	0	0
	RW	11	2	4	6	2	0	0	0
	C/LW	11	2	4	6	6	2	0	1
	C	11	1	5	6	24	0	0	0
	RW	11	3	2	5	20	0	0	2
	D	11	1	4	5	4	0	0	0
	D	10	0	5	5	12	0	0	0
	D	11	3	1	4	29	1	0	0
	RW	7	2	2	4	26	0	0	0
	C	11	0	4	4	2	0	0	0
	D	11	1	1	2	6	0	0	0
	D	11	0	2	2	2	0	0	0
	LW	6	0	2	2	16	0	0	0
	LW	3	1	0	1	12	0	0	0
	RW	3	0	1	1	2	0	0	0
	LW	6	0	1	1	6	0	0	0
	RW	8	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
	LW/D	1	0	0	0	5	0	0	0
	G	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	D	11	0	0	0	11	0	0	0
	G	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

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

^[5]

Awards and records

• Frank J. Selke Trophy: Guy Carbonneau
• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Mats Naslund
• William M. Jennings Trophy: Patrick Roy/Brian Hayward
• Patrick Roy, goaltender, NHL Second Team All-Star

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

See also

• 1987–88 NHL season

References

• Canadiens on Hockey Database
• Canadiens on NHL Reference

1. Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup, p.8, Ed Willies, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2007,
2. Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup, p.4, Ed Willies, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2007,
3. Web site: 1987-88 NHL Summary.
4. http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/greatest-moment/Richer-Pots-No-50 Richer Pots No. 50
5. Web site: hockey-reference.com . 2009-05-28 . 1987-88 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com.