1988 Stanley Cup playoffs


The 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League, began on April 6, after the conclusion of the 1987–88 NHL season. It concluded on May 26, with the defending champion Edmonton Oilers defeating the Boston Bruins to win their second straight Stanley Cup and fourth in five years.
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The Presidents' Trophy winning Calgary Flames had home ice advantage during the playoffs thanks in part to Edmonton's struggles without Wayne Gretzky, who missed a number of games due to injury. The Oilers, who had won the Cup in three of the previous four seasons, were still thought to have a good chance at repeating with Gretzky's return. The clash between the Flames and Oilers in the Smythe Division Final was highly anticipated.
The New Jersey Devils made the playoffs for the first time since their move from Denver, winning in overtime at Chicago Stadium on the season's final day to edge the New York Rangers for the Patrick Division's fourth spot. This was only the second time they made the playoffs including their Colorado and Kansas City days.
The 1988 playoffs most notable moment was the cancellation of game four of the finals in Boston after fog issues, a result of high heat and the subsequent building power outage resulted in the game being canceled outright with the result not counting, yet the league retained player stats from the game. The series would move directly on to Edmonton. Gretzky would go on to set NHL playoff records with 31 assists in 18 games and 13 points in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the playoffs:

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division

  1. Montreal Canadiens, Adams Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 103 points
  2. Boston Bruins – 94 points
  3. Buffalo Sabres – 85 points
  4. Hartford Whalers – 77 points

    Patrick Division

  5. New York Islanders, Patrick Division champions – 88 points
  6. Washington Capitals – 85 points
  7. Philadelphia Flyers – 85 points
  8. New Jersey Devils – 82 points

    Clarence Campbell Conference

Norris Division

  1. Detroit Red Wings, Norris Division champions – 93 points
  2. St. Louis Blues – 76 points
  3. Chicago Blackhawks – 69 points
  4. Toronto Maple Leafs – 52 points

    Smythe Division

  5. Calgary Flames, Smythe Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 105 points
  6. Edmonton Oilers – 99 points
  7. Winnipeg Jets – 77 points
  8. Los Angeles Kings – 68 points

    Playoff bracket

Division Semifinals

Prince of Wales Conference

(A1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A4) Hartford Whalers

Montreal was the best team in the Wales Conference during the regular season.

(A2) Boston Bruins vs (A3) Buffalo Sabres

(P1) New York Islanders vs. (P4) New Jersey Devils

This was the first and to date only playoff series between these two teams. This was the first time that a team representing the state of New Jersey qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs. This was the first ever playoff series victory for the Scouts/Rockies/Devils franchise.

(P2) Washington Capitals vs. (P3) Philadelphia Flyers

Washington overcame a 3–1 series deficit to advance to the second round for the first time in two years. Game seven ended when Dale Hunter scored at 5:57 of the first overtime period to complete the Capitals comeback.

Clarence Campbell Conference

(N1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (N4) Toronto Maple Leafs

Game six in Maple Leaf Gardens was future Hall of Famer Borje Salming's final playoff game in the NHL.

(N2) St. Louis Blues vs. (N3) Chicago Blackhawks

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

(S2) Edmonton Oilers vs. (S3) Winnipeg Jets

Division Finals

Prince of Wales Conference

(A1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A2) Boston Bruins

This was the twenty-third playoff series between these two teams. This was the fifth year in a row that these team met in the playoffs. Montreal had defeated Boston in the Division Semifinals the four previous seasons.
This was Boston's first playoff series victory against Montreal since 1943. Boston had lost the previous 18 playoff series between these two teams, an NHL record for most consecutive playoff series defeats to one team.

(P2) Washington Capitals vs. (P4) New Jersey Devils

's eight-point effort in game three set a new Stanley Cup playoff record for most points in a single game.

Clarence Campbell Conference

(N1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (N2) St. Louis Blues

(S1) Calgary Flames vs. (S2) Edmonton Oilers

In the Battle of Alberta the Oilers would claim the first sweep of the playoffs. In game two Wayne Gretzky scored the overtime winning goal short-handed.

Conference Finals

Prince of Wales Conference Final

(A2) Boston Bruins vs. (P4) New Jersey Devils

This series featured the infamous confrontation between Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld and referee Don Koharski after Game 3, when, during an argument in the tunnel after the game, Koharski tripped and fell, accusing Schoenfield of pushing him. Schoenfield famously responded, "Good, 'cause you fell you fat pig!" Then, he yelled "Have another doughnut! Have another doughnut!" The incident has since become part of NHL lore.
Schoenfeld was suspended by NHL president John Ziegler for Game 4, but the Devils received an injunction from a New Jersey court, allowing Schoenfeld to coach the fourth game. In protest, the officials scheduled to work that game in the Meadlowands refused to take the ice, forcing the NHL to scramble for amateur officials to call the game. The injunction was lifted, and Schoenfeld served his suspension during Game 5 in the Boston Garden.

Clarence Campbell Conference Final

(S2) Edmonton Oilers vs. (N1) Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings were no match for the Oilers and were defeated in five games for the second consecutive year in the conference final.

Stanley Cup Finals

The original game four is well known for the high heat resulting in fog that interfered with the game and a subsequent power outage that caused the game to be canceled at 16:37 of the second period. The game results didn't count, but players were able to retain their stats counting towards their playoff records, as per NHL rules. The series moved on to Edmonton, thus allowing the Oilers to win the Cup at home at Northlands Coliseum and complete the sweep.

Player statistics

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.
PlayerTeam
Wayne GretzkyEdmonton Oilers19123143+916
Mark MessierEdmonton Oilers19112334+929
Jari KurriEdmonton Oilers19141731+1512
Esa TikkanenEdmonton Oilers19101727+272
Ken LinsemanBoston Bruins23111425+456
Glenn AndersonEdmonton Oilers1991625+549
Bob ProbertDetroit Red Wings1681321+851
Ray BourqueBoston Bruins2331821+1626
Adam OatesDetroit Red Wings1681220-26
Patrik SundstromNew Jersey Devils1871320+714

Goaltenders

This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.
PlayerTeam
Boston Bruins17116428452.64.8951 1024:27
Edmonton Oilers19162470552.91.8830 1135:37
Detroit Red Wings843170223.07.8711 430:37
Washington Capitals1275325343.12.8950 652:49
Montreal Canadiens834217243.36.8890 428:57