1987–88 New York Rangers season

The 1987–88 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 62nd season. The Rangers compiled a 36–34–10 record during the regular season,[1] but despite having 82 points, they were eliminated from playoff contention after their last game when the New Jersey Devils beat the Chicago Blackhawks. This would be the only time in the 1980s in which the Rangers missed the playoffs.[2]

1987–88 New York Rangers
Division5th Patrick
ConferenceT-7th Wales
1987–88 record36–34–10
Goals for300
Goals against283
Team information
General managerPhil Esposito
CoachMichel Bergeron
CaptainRon Greschner (Oct–Dec)
Kelly Kisio (Dec–Apr)
ArenaMadison Square Garden
Team leaders
GoalsWalt Poddubny (38)
AssistsKelly Kisio (55)
PointsWalt Poddubny (88)
Penalty minutesMichel Petit (223)
WinsJohn Vanbiesbrouck (27)
Goals against averageJohn Vanbiesbrouck (3.38)

Offseason

Rangers General Manager Phil Esposito was part of the four man committee that would select players and coaches for Team Canada at the 1987 Canada Cup.[3]

Regular season

The Rangers led the league in power-play goals scored, with 111. They also scored the fewest short-handed goals during the regular season out of all 21 teams, with just 6.[4]

Final standings
Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
New York Islanders8039311030826788
Philadelphia Flyers803833929229285
Washington Capitals803833928124985
New Jersey Devils803836629529682
New York Rangers8036341030028382
Pittsburgh Penguins803635931931681

[5]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.

Schedule and results
1987–88 Game Log
October: 4–5–3 (Home: 2–3–2; Road: 2–2–1)
GameOctoberOpponentScoreRecord
18Pittsburgh Penguins4 – 4 OT0–0–1
210@ Hartford Whalers6–21–0–1
312Minnesota North Stars4–22–0–1
415@ Pittsburgh Penguins6 – 6 OT2–0–2
517@ Washington Capitals4–32–1–2
619Washington Capitals4–22–2–2
721Calgary Flames5–42–3–2
823Chicago Blackhawks7–33–3–2
924@ Philadelphia Flyers5–34–3–2
1026Philadelphia Flyers2 – 2 OT4–3–3
1128Los Angeles Kings4–34–4–3
1231@ New York Islanders8–24–5–3
November: 4–8–0 (Home: 3–2–0; Road: 1–6–0)
GameNovemberOpponentScoreRecord
131Edmonton Oilers7–64–6–3
143@ Calgary Flames5–34–7–3
154@ Edmonton Oilers7–24–8–3
167@ Los Angeles Kings5–44–9–3
1710New Jersey Devils3–24–10–3
1814@ Pittsburgh Penguins3 – 2 OT4–11–3
1915Winnipeg Jets6–45–11–3
2019@ Minnesota North Stars4–35–12–3
2120@ Winnipeg Jets4–36–12–3
2225Toronto Maple Leafs5–37–12–3
2328@ New York Islanders5–47–13–3
2429New York Islanders3–18–13–3
December: 6–6–2 (Home: 4–2–1; Road: 2–4–1)
GameDecemberOpponentScoreRecord
253@ Boston Bruins4–38–14–3
265@ St. Louis Blues3–29–14–3
279Montreal Canadiens2 – 2 OT9–14–4
2810@ Philadelphia Flyers5–39–15–4
2912@ Toronto Maple Leafs4–39–16–4
3014Detroit Red Wings4–310–16–4
3116New Jersey Devils9–311–16–4
3219@ Pittsburgh Penguins4–311–17–4
3320Pittsburgh Penguins8–411–18–4
3422Philadelphia Flyers6–411–19–4
3526@ New Jersey Devils5–312–19–4
3627Boston Bruins4–113–19–4
3729@ New York Islanders3 – 3 OT13–19–5
3831Quebec Nordiques6–114–19–5
January: 6–6–1 (Home: 2–2–1; Road: 4–4–0)
GameJanuaryOpponentScoreRecord
392@ Minnesota North Stars5–315–19–5
404St. Louis Blues6–216–19–5
416Vancouver Canucks4–217–19–5
428@ Washington Capitals8–417–20–5
4310@ Buffalo Sabres4–317–21–5
4411Chicago Blackhawks2 – 2 OT17–21–6
4513Detroit Red Wings7–417–22–6
4616@ Montreal Canadiens4–317–23–6
4717Philadelphia Flyers2–117–24–6
4819@ Los Angeles Kings6–317–25–6
4922@ Vancouver Canucks6–318–25–6
5028@ Philadelphia Flyers5–219–25–6
5130@ Boston Bruins4–220–25–6
February: 7–4–2 (Home: 5–2–1; Road: 2–2–1)
GameFebruaryOpponentScoreRecord
522@ New York Islanders2 – 2 OT20–25–7
534@ Quebec Nordiques3–220–26–7
546@ Washington Capitals3–021–26–7
557Pittsburgh Penguins6–322–26–7
5611Washington Capitals5–322–27–7
5714New York Islanders4 – 4 OT22–27–8
5815Montreal Canadiens3–123–27–8
5917Calgary Flames5–324–27–8
6019@ New Jersey Devils6–324–28–8
6121Vancouver Canucks6–424–29–8
6225Pittsburgh Penguins2–125–29–8
6326@ New Jersey Devils2–126–29–8
6429St. Louis Blues5–227–29–8
March: 8–5–1 (Home: 5–2–0; Road: 3–3–1)
GameMarchOpponentScoreRecord
652New York Islanders3–128–29–8
664@ Buffalo Sabres6–328–30–8
675@ Hartford Whalers3–128–31–8
688New Jersey Devils7–429–31–8
6912@ Washington Capitals4–230–31–8
7015Philadelphia Flyers3–131–31–8
7116Washington Capitals8–431–32–8
7219@ Toronto Maple Leafs4–332–32–8
7320Hartford Whalers2–133–32–8
7422Buffalo Sabres3–233–33–8
7524Edmonton Oilers6–134–33–8
7626@ Detroit Red Wings4 – 4 OT34–33–9
7727@ New Jersey Devils7–234–34–9
7830@ Chicago Blackhawks4–335–34–9
April: 1–0–1 (Home: 1–0–0; Road: 0–0–1)
GameAprilOpponentScoreRecord
791@ Winnipeg Jets6 – 6 OT35–34–10
803Quebec Nordiques3–036–34–10

Playoffs

The Rangers failed to qualify for the 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs.[4] After a 6–6 tie against the Winnipeg Jets in the second-to-last game of the season,[6] the Rangers and New Jersey Devils entered their final game of the season with 80 points each. If the Rangers and Devils won, the Devils would go to the playoffs on a tiebreaker.[7] The Rangers defeated the Quebec Nordiques 3–0. Later that night, however, the Devils defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime to win the tiebreaker and the final Patrick Division spot. Both the Rangers and Devils finished tied with 82 points. However, the Devils had 38 wins to the Rangers' 36, so the Devils qualified for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division.[4][8][9]

Player statistics
Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular Season
Player GP TOI W L T GA GAA SA SV% SO
John Vanbiesbrouck563319272271873.381697.8902
Bob Froese2514438113853.53695.8780
Ron Scott29011064.0041.8540

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.

[10]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft in Detroit, Michigan at the Joe Louis Arena.[11][12]

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 10 Jayson More D  Canada New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
2 31 Daniel Lacroix LW  Canada Granby Bisons (QMJHL)
3 46 Simon Gagne RW  Canada Laval Titan (QMJHL)
4 69 Mike Sullivan C  United States Boston University (NCAA)
5 94 Eric O'Borsky C  United States Yale University (NCAA)
6 115 Ludek Cajka D  Czechoslovakia Dukla Jihlava (Czech Extraliga)
7 136 Clint Thomas D  United States Bartlett H.S. (Alaska)
8 157 Chuck Wiegand RW  United States Essex Junction H.S. (Vermont)
9 178 Eric Burrill RW  United States Tartan H.S. (Massachusetts)
10 199 Dave Porter F  United States Northern Michigan University (NCAA)
10 205 Brett Barnett LW  Canada Wexford Raiders (OPJHL)
11 220 Lance Marciano D  United States Choate Academy (Connecticut)

Supplemental Draft

New York's picks at the 1987 NHL Supplemental Draft.[13]

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
2 12 Joe Lockwood RW  United States University of Michigan (CCHA)

See also

References
  1. "1987–88 New York Rangers Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  2. "New York Rangers Franchise Index". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  3. Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup, p.8, Ed Willies, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, Canada, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7710-8942-8
  4. "1987–88 NHL Season Summary". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  5. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  6. Elliott, Helene (April 2, 1988). "A Point Not Well-Taken: Tie against Jets puts Rangers at mercy of the Devils". Newsday. p. 31.
  7. Hafner, Dan (April 3, 1988). "NHL Roundup: Devils Need One More Win to Gain Playoffs". Los Angeles Times. p. 9.
  8. Masi, Vince (April 9, 2011). "Drama in New York NHL season finales". ESPN. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  9. Hafner, Dan (April 4, 1988). "NHL Roundup: Devils Need Overtime to Make the Playoffs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  10. "1987–88 New York Rangers". hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  11. "1987 NHL Entry Draft". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  12. "NHL Draft History". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on January 28, 2001. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  13. "1987 NHL Supplemental Draft". hockeydb.com. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
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