1987–88 Pittsburgh Penguins season
1987–88 Pittsburgh Penguins | |
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Division | 6th Patrick |
Conference | 9th Wales |
1987–88 record | 36–35–9 |
Goals for | 319 |
Goals against | 316 |
Team information | |
General manager | Eddie Johnston |
Coach | Pierre Creamer |
Captain | Dan Frawley (Oct-Dec) Mario Lemieux (Dec-Apr) |
Alternate captains | Mario Lemieux (Oct-Dec) Dan Frawley (Dec-Apr) Dan Quinn |
Arena | Pittsburgh Civic Arena |
Team leaders | |
Goals | Mario Lemieux (70) |
Assists | Mario Lemieux (98) |
Points | Mario Lemieux (168) |
Penalty minutes | Rod Buskas (206) |
Wins | Steve Guenette (12) |
Goals against average | Steve Guenette (3.35) |
The 1987–88 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the Penguins' 21st season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Penguins improved on their previous season, and finished with a winning record for the first time since the 1978–79 season. Nevertheless, the Penguins again did not qualify for the playoffs, actually finishing last in a tightly contested Patrick Division despite earning only seven fewer points than the division champion New York Islanders.
Offseason
[edit]![]() | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010) |
Regular season
[edit]The Penguins were involved in one of the closest playoff races in NHL history, as they competed down the stretch with the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division. Despite two hefty losses to New Jersey in the last two weeks of the season, the Penguins gave themselves hope with a 7–6 overtime win against the Washington Capitals in their penultimate game of the season. On the last day of the season, the Penguins defeated the Hartford Whalers 4–2 and moved ahead of New York and New Jersey. However, this position was temporary as the Rangers shut out Quebec, 3–0, eliminating the Penguins. The Devils had the last laugh as they beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4–3 in overtime on a goal by John MacLean to claim the fourth and final Patrick Division playoff spot, ahead of both the Rangers and Penguins.[1][2]
The Penguins finished the regular season 1st in power-play opportunities (500), power-play opportunities against (507), power-play goals against (120) and short-handed goals allowed (19).[3]
Final standings
[edit]GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
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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.
Record vs. opponents
[edit]Patrick Division record vs. opponents
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Vs. Wales Conference[edit]
Vs. Campbell Conference[edit]
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Schedule and results
[edit]1987–88 Schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October
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November
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December
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January
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February
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March
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April
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Legend: = Win = Loss = Tie |
Playoffs
[edit]The Penguins missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.
Player statistics
[edit]- Skaters
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- Goaltenders
Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
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Steve Guenette | 19 | 1091:05 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 61 | 3.35 | 582 | 0.895 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Frank Pietrangelo | 21 | 1202:47 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 80 | 3.99 | 599 | 0.866 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Gilles Meloche | 27 | 1390:26 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 95 | 4.10 | 720 | 0.868 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Patrick Riggin | 22 | 1168:55 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 76 | 3.90 | 579 | 0.869 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
Total | 4853:13 | 36 | 35 | 9 | 312 | 3.86 | 2480 | 0.874 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
Awards and records
[edit]- Mario Lemieux became the first player to score 60 goals in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 2–4 loss to Philadelphia on March 20.
- Lemieux became the first player to score 150 points in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 7–1 win over Washington on March 23.
- Lemieux became the first player to score 160 points in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 6–3 win over Quebec on March 27.
- Lemieux became the first player to score 70 goals in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 4–2 win over Hartford on April 3.
- Lemieux established a new franchise record for goals (70), assists (98) and points (168) in a season. He held the previous high in all three categories.
Transactions
[edit]The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1987–88 season:
Trades
[edit]November 24, 1987 | To Edmonton Oilers
Dave Hannan |
To Pittsburgh Penguins
Paul Coffey |
December 17, 1987 | To Montreal Canadiens
future considerations (1988 3rd round pick) |
To Pittsburgh Penguins
Perry Ganchar |
February 4, 1988 | To Los Angeles Kings
Chris Kontos |
To Pittsburgh Penguins
Bryan Erickson |
Additions and subtractions
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Draft picks
[edit]Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
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1 | 5 | Chris Joseph | Defense | ![]() |
Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
2 | 26 | Richard Tabaracci | Goaltender | ![]() |
Cornwall Royals (OHL) |
3 | 47 | Jamie Leach | Right wing | ![]() |
Hamilton Steelhawks (OHL) |
4 | 68 | Risto Kurkinen | Left wing | ![]() |
JyP HT Jyvaskyla (FNL) |
5 | 89 | Jeff Waver | Defense | ![]() |
Hamilton Steelhawks (OHL) |
6 | 110 | Shawn McEachern | Left wing | ![]() |
Matignon H.S. (Massachusetts) |
7 | 131 | James Bodden | Zentrum | ![]() |
Chatham (SOJHL) |
8 | 152 | Jiri Kucera | Right wing | ![]() |
Dukla Jihlava (Czech) |
9 | 173 | Jack MacDougall | Right wing | ![]() |
New Prep School (Massachusetts) |
10 | 194 | Daryn McBride | Zentrum | ![]() |
U. of Denver (NCAA) |
11 | 215 | Mark Carlson | Left wing | ![]() |
(Philadelphia Jrs.) |
12 | 236 | Ake Lilljebjorn | Goaltender | ![]() |
Brynäs IF Gävle (SEL) |
S1 | 5 | Dan Shea | Left wing | ![]() |
Boston College (Hockey East) |
S2 | 9 | John Leonard | Defense | ![]() |
Bowdoin College (NESCAC) |
Farm teams
[edit]![]() | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010) |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Masi, Vince (April 9, 2011). "Drama in New York NHL season finales". ESPN. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
- ^ Hafner, Dan (April 4, 1988). "NHL Roundup: Devils Need Overtime to Make the Playoffs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
- ^ "1987-88 NHL Summary".
- ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
- ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- ^ "1987–1988 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
- ^ "1987–1988 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
- "1987–88 Pittsburgh Penguins Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 6, 2009.