1987–88 New Jersey Devils season

The 1987–88 New Jersey Devils season was the team's sixth season in the National Hockey League since the franchise relocated to New Jersey. The Devils finished fourth in the Patrick Division with a record of 38 wins, 36 losses, and 6 ties for 82 points, garnering the first winning record in the franchise's 14-year history.

1987–88 New Jersey Devils
Division	4th Patrick
Conference	7th Wales
1987–88 record	38–36–6
Goals for	295
Goals against	296
Team information
General manager	Lou Lamoriello
Coach	Doug Carpenter (Oct-Jan) Jim Schoenfeld (Jan-Apr)
Captain	Kirk Muller
Alternate captains	Aaron Broten Joe Cirella
Arena	Brendan Byrne Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Pat Verbeek (46)
Assists	Kirk Muller and Aaron Broten (57)
Points	Kirk Muller (94)
Penalty minutes	Ken Daneyko (239)
Plus/minus	Pat Verbeek (+29)
Wins	Alain Chevrier (18)
Goals against average	Sean Burke (3.05)

On the final day of the regular season, the Devils were tied with their nemesis, the New York Rangers, for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division. After New York defeated the Quebec Nordiques 3–0, all eyes were on the Devils, who were playing the Blackhawks in Chicago. The Devils trailed 3–2 midway through the third period, but John MacLean scored to tie the game, and with two minutes left in overtime, he added the winning goal. Although the Rangers and Devils both finished with 82 points, the Devils had two more wins, sending them to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history, but the first time in New Jersey.[1]

The Devils rode the momentum of this victory into a surprisingly deep playoff run, ousting the New York Islanders in six games in the Division Semi-finals and the Washington Capitals in seven games in the Division Finals. They then met the Boston Bruins in the Wales Conference Finals and stretched the series to seven games, but finally fell short in the seventh game (see below).

Offseason

Hoping to light a spark under the team, team owner John McMullen hired Providence College coach and athletic director Lou Lamoriello as team president in April 1987. Lamoriello appointed himself general manager shortly before the 1987–88 season. This move came as a considerable surprise to NHL circles; although Lamoriello had been a college coach for 19 years, he had never played, coached, or managed in the NHL and was almost unknown outside the American college hockey community.

Regular season

On November 25, 1987, Aaron Broten scored just 13 seconds into overtime to give the Devils an 8-7 road win over the Edmonton Oilers.[2] It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 1987–88 NHL regular season.[3]

On the last day of the season, Sunday, April 3, 1988, the Devils were scheduled to play the Chicago Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium. Going into the game, the Devils were tied with the New York Rangers with 80 points for the last playoff spot in the Patrick Division. On April 3, the Rangers were scheduled to play the Quebec Nordiques at home. The Rangers shut out the Nordiques, 3-0, to finish their season with 82 points. When the game ended, the Devils-Blackhawks game was still in progress. Both teams skated to a 3-3 tie after 60 minutes. For the Devils to qualify for the playoffs, they would have to score in overtime to get the win and the two points to win the tiebreaker the Rangers. An overtime loss would keep them at 80 points, and a 3-3 tie would move them up only to 81 points, handing the last playoff berth to the Rangers. At 2:21 of the overtime period, John MacLean scored the game-winning goal on a rebound slap-shot past Blackhawks netminder Darren Pang to give the Devils a 4-3 win. Both the Devils and Rangers finished with 82 points. However, since the Devils had two more wins during the regular season, they ended up taking the Patrick Division's 4th playoff spot and thereby sealed the first ever playoff berth for the franchise in New Jersey.

Gary Thorne called MacLean's overtime, playoff-berth-clinching goal on SportsChannel New York:

MacLean...off the boards, Sundstrom, he's alone, Sundstrom...Murray on him, shot...that was deflected, went off the skate of Bob Murray the defenseman. Flipped up by Chicago, not out...kept in by MacLean, good job, MacLean centered Sundstrom. Sundstrom back to the point...Joe Cirella...Cirella got in, Cirella takes a shot, save by Pang, rebound...SCORES!!! THEY DID IT!!! THEY DID IT!!! THE DEVILS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THEIR HISTORY! JOHN MACLEAN THE OVERTIME GOAL! AND THEY WIN IT 4-3!

Season standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
New York Islanders	80	39	31	10	308	267	88
Philadelphia Flyers	80	38	33	9	292	292	85
Washington Capitals	80	38	33	9	281	249	85
New Jersey Devils	80	38	36	6	295	296	82
New York Rangers	80	36	34	10	300	283	82
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	36	35	9	319	316	81

[4]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.

Sean Burke

Sean Burke was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the second round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He earned national attention from his international play. He backstopped Canada's junior team to a silver medal in the 1986 World Junior Championships and a fourth-place finish for the national men's team at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

Burke went from the Olympics to the Devils. He started 11 games for the Devils in the 1987–88 NHL season, including an overtime victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on the final night of the season that qualified the Devils for their first playoff series.

Dubbed a "rookie sensation", Burke helped the Devils go on a playoff roll, defeating the division-leader New York Islanders in the first round in six games and then the Washington Capitals in seven games. Burke was one game away from the Stanley Cup Finals but lost in Game 7 of the Wales Conference finals to the Boston Bruins.

Schedule and results

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

Playoffs

The team made it all the way to the conference finals, but lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games. In that series, after a horrendous Game 3 loss to Boston, head coach Jim Schoenfeld verbally abused referee Don Koharski, screaming obscenities and hollering, "Have another doughnut, you fat pig!" The incident resulted in a suspension for Schoenfeld, which the franchise appealed to the New Jersey Superior Court. This unprecedented appeal to authority outside the NHL gave the Devils a preliminary stay of the coach's suspension. In protest, referee Dave Newell and the assigned linesmen boycotted the next game. After more than an hour's delay, amateur officials were tracked down in the stands and worked the game wearing yellow practice sweaters. To resolve the incident, the NHL suspended Schoenfeld for Game 5. Schoenfeld later admitted he regretted his comments.[5]

Patrick Division semi-finals vs. New York Islanders

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

Patrick Division finals vs. Washington Capitals

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score
April 18	New Jersey	1	Washington	3
April 20	New Jersey	5	Washington	2
April 22	Washington	4	New Jersey	10
April 24	Washington	4	New Jersey	1
April 26	New Jersey	3	Washington	1
April 28	Washington	7	New Jersey	2
April 30	New Jersey	3	Washington	2

New Jersey wins series 4-3.

Prince of Wales Conference Finals vs. Boston Bruins

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	OT
May 2	New Jersey	3	Boston	5
May 4	New Jersey	3	Boston	2	(OT)
May 6	Boston	6	New Jersey	1
May 8	Boston	1	New Jersey	3
May 10	New Jersey	1	Boston	7
May 12	Boston	3	New Jersey	6
May 14	New Jersey	2	Boston	6

New Jersey loses series 3-4.

Player statistics

Forwards

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

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Kirk Muller	80	37	57	94	114
Aaron Broten	80	26	57	83	80
Pat Verbeek	73	46	31	77	227
Patrik Sundström	78	15	36	51	42
John MacLean	76	23	16	39	147
Claude Loiselle	68	17	18	35	121
Mark Johnson	54	14	19	33	14
Doug Sulliman	59	16	14	30	22
Brendan Shanahan	65	7	19	26	131
Doug Brown	70	14	11	25	20
Andy Brickley	45	8	14	22	14

Defensemen

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

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Bruce Driver	74	15	40	55	68
Joe Cirella	80	8	31	39	191
Tom Kurvers	56	5	29	34	46
Craig Wolanin	78	6	25	31	170
Jack O'Callahan	50	7	19	26	97
Jim Korn	52	8	13	21	140
Randy Velischek	51	3	9	12	66
Ken Daneyko	80	5	7	12	239

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

Player	GP	W	L	T	SO	GAA
Alain Chevrier	45	18	19	3	1	3.77
Bob Sauvé	34	10	16	3	2	3.56
Sean Burke	13	10	1	0	1	3.05

Draft picks

Rd #	Pick #	Player	Nat	Pos	Team (League)	Notes
1	2	Brendan Shanahan	Canada	LW	London Knights (OHL)
2	23	Ricard Persson	Sweden	D	Leksands IF (Elitserien)
3	44	No third-round pick[6]
4	65	Brian Sullivan	United States	RW	Springfield Olympics (NEJHL)
5	86	Kevin Dean	United States	D	Culver Military Academy (Indiana)
6	107	Ben Hankinson	United States	RW	Edina H.S. (Minnesota)
7	128	Tom Neziol	Canada	LW	Miami University (CCHA)
8	149	Jim Dowd	United States	C	Brick Township H.S. (New Jersey)	[7]
9	170	John Blessman	Canada	D	Toronto Marlboros (OHL)
10	191	Pete Fry	Canada	G	Victoria Cougars (WHL)
11	212	Alain Charland	Canada	C	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
12	233	No twelfth-round pick[8]
S	10	Johnny Walker	Canada	LW	Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (CIAU)
S	11	Jeff Madill	Canada	RW	Ohio State University (CCHA)

References

• Devils on Hockey Database

1. New Jersey Devils on SportsEcyclopedia
2. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/26/sports/devils-top-oilers-in-overtime-nhl.html
3. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1988_games.html
4. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
5. "Jim Schoenfeld: The Koharski Incident". HockeyDraftCentral.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
6. The Devils traded their 1987 third-round pick (used on Mathieu Schneider) to Montreal for David Maley on June 13, 1987.
7. First New Jersey native to play for the Devils; scored game-winning goal in Game 2 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals against Detroit. Jim Dowd's profile on the official New Jersey Devils site
8. The Devils traded their 1987 12th-round pick (used on Neil Eisenhut) to Vancouver for Shane Doyle on June 1, 1987. Shane Doyle's career statistics at the Internet Hockey Database.