1987–88 Washington Capitals season

The 1987–88 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals 14th season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

1987–88 Washington Capitals
Division2nd Patrick
Conference4th Wales
1987–88 record38–33–9
Home record22–14–4
Road record16–19–5
Goals for281
Goals against249
Team information
General managerDavid Poile
CoachBryan Murray
CaptainRod Langway

Regular season

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The Capitals had the most shutouts in the league with six[1] and were the least penalized team in the league, being short-handed only 394 times.[2]

Final standings

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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

[3]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

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Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

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Vs. Campbell Conference

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Schedule and results

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No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 L October 8, 1987 3–4 @ Boston Bruins (1987–88) 0–1–0
2 W October 10, 1987 6–4 Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88) 1–1–0
3 L October 11, 1987 5–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) 1–2–0
4 W October 16, 1987 6–2 Hartford Whalers (1987–88) 2–2–0
5 W October 17, 1987 4–3 New York Rangers (1987–88) 3–2–0
6 W October 19, 1987 4–2 @ New York Rangers (1987–88) 4–2–0
7 W October 22, 1987 4–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 5–2–0
8 L October 24, 1987 2–3 Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) 5–3–0
9 W October 27, 1987 3–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) 6–3–0
10 L October 30, 1987 2–3 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) 6–4–0
11 T October 31, 1987 3–3 OT @ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) 6–4–1
12 W November 3, 1987 3–2 Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) 7–4–1
13 L November 6, 1987 1–4 Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) 7–5–1
14 L November 7, 1987 1–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 7–6–1
15 L November 10, 1987 3–4 OT @ New York Islanders (1987–88) 7–7–1
16 L November 11, 1987 2–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 7–8–1
17 W November 14, 1987 4–1 Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) 8–8–1
18 L November 17, 1987 0–1 Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) 8–9–1
19 L November 20, 1987 3–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) 8–10–1
20 W November 21, 1987 4–3 @ Hartford Whalers (1987–88) 9–10–1
21 W November 25, 1987 4–1 Boston Bruins (1987–88) 10–10–1
22 L November 27, 1987 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 10–11–1
23 T November 28, 1987 5–5 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 10–11–2
24 W December 1, 1987 4–2 Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) 11–11–2
25 L December 4, 1987 4–6 New York Islanders (1987–88) 11–12–2
26 W December 6, 1987 10–3 Los Angeles Kings (1987–88) 12–12–2
27 L December 8, 1987 4–5 Calgary Flames (1987–88) 12–13–2
28 L December 9, 1987 4–5 @ Hartford Whalers (1987–88) 12–14–2
29 W December 12, 1987 2–1 Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88) 13–14–2
30 L December 15, 1987 3–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) 13–15–2
31 L December 16, 1987 1–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) 13–16–2
32 W December 18, 1987 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) 14–16–2
33 T December 20, 1987 1–1 OT St. Louis Blues (1987–88) 14–16–3
34 W December 22, 1987 2–1 @ Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) 15–16–3
35 T December 23, 1987 2–2 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) 15–16–4
36 L December 26, 1987 2–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 15–17–4
37 T December 28, 1987 4–4 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) 15–17–5
38 W December 30, 1987 4–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 16–17–5
39 W January 1, 1988 5–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 17–17–5
40 W January 2, 1988 2–0 Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) 18–17–5
41 W January 5, 1988 3–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 19–17–5
42 W January 8, 1988 8–4 New York Rangers (1987–88) 20–17–5
43 L January 10, 1988 2–8 @ Calgary Flames (1987–88) 20–18–5
44 L January 11, 1988 2–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) 20–19–5
45 W January 13, 1988 8–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1987–88) 21–19–5
46 L January 16, 1988 1–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1987–88) 21–20–5
47 L January 17, 1988 4–5 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88) 21–21–5
48 W January 19, 1988 6–4 New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 22–21–5
49 T January 23, 1988 3–3 OT Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) 22–21–6
50 L January 26, 1988 2–3 Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) 22–22–6
51 W January 29, 1988 4–3 Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) 23–22–6
52 W January 31, 1988 1–0 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 24–22–6
53 L February 2, 1988 2–3 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 24–23–6
54 L February 5, 1988 2–4 New York Islanders (1987–88) 24–24–6
55 L February 6, 1988 0–3 New York Rangers (1987–88) 24–25–6
56 W February 11, 1988 5–3 @ New York Rangers (1987–88) 25–25–6
57 W February 12, 1988 6–2 New York Islanders (1987–88) 26–25–6
58 W February 14, 1988 5–4 OT Calgary Flames (1987–88) 27–25–6
59 W February 17, 1988 4–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 28–25–6
60 W February 19, 1988 6–0 @ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) 29–25–6
61 W February 20, 1988 3–0 @ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) 30–25–6
62 L February 24, 1988 3–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1987–88) 30–26–6
63 W February 27, 1988 3–0 @ New York Islanders (1987–88) 31–26–6
64 W March 1, 1988 5–3 New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 32–26–6
65 W March 2, 1988 6–1 @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 33–26–6
66 W March 4, 1988 6–2 Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) 34–26–6
67 W March 6, 1988 7–2 Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) 35–26–6
68 L March 10, 1988 2–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 35–27–6
69 L March 12, 1988 2–4 New York Rangers (1987–88) 35–28–6
70 W March 13, 1988 3–0 @ Boston Bruins (1987–88) 36–28–6
71 W March 16, 1988 8–4 @ New York Rangers (1987–88) 37–28–6
72 T March 18, 1988 3–3 OT New York Islanders (1987–88) 37–28–7
73 L March 20, 1988 2–4 New Jersey Devils (1987–88) 37–29–7
74 L March 22, 1988 3–5 St. Louis Blues (1987–88) 37–30–7
75 L March 23, 1988 1–7 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 37–31–7
76 W March 25, 1988 5–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 38–31–7
77 T March 29, 1988 2–2 OT Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) 38–31–8
78 L March 31, 1988 3–7 @ New York Islanders (1987–88) 38–32–8
79 L April 2, 1988 6–7 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) 38–33–8
80 T April 3, 1988 2–2 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) 38–33–9

Playoffs

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Defenseman Garry Galley's crucial two-goal performance tied the regular season finale with Philadelphia, meant that Washington won the head-to-head tiebreaker and finished second in the Patrick Division, giving them home-ice advantage in their first-round match-up with the defending division and Wales Conference champion Flyers.[5]

Philly showed a champion's mettle right away, though, stealing home ice away with a 4–2 victory in Game 1. Ron Hextall made 35 saves and Dave Poulin's 3rd period power play tally broke a 2–2 tie. Washington salvaged a split at home with a 5–4 triumph in Game 2. Despite letting in a quartet of Philly goals, Pete Peeters proved to be the final period hero, stopping 14 of 15 shots from a pressing Flyers attack.

Philadelphia then turned the tables back at their place, taking a pair of one-goal games, both of them high in drama for entirely different reasons. In Game 3, a 4–3 Flyers win, officials handed out 40 penalties, including 10 major/misconduct penalties. After the game Philly forward Rick Tocchet, who spent roughly half the contest in the penalty box, was quoted as saying, "There are 10 guys on that team that I'd like to kill."

The rivalry heated up further in Game 4 as both teams tried to change momentum with goalie switches. The Capitals yanked Peeters in favor of starting Clint Malarchuk, who had played more during the regular season. Despite missing starting defenseman Scott Stevens and team captain Rod Langway, who were injured in Game 3, the move seemed to be paying dividends as Washington took a 4–1 lead with 17:00 to go, resulting in Hextall's removal for backup Mark Laforest. The Caps maintained their 3-goal advantage into the final 9:00 of the game, when the Flyers began one of their most riveting comebacks in franchise history. Mark Howe and Brian Propp scored to cut the deficit to one and then, after pulling their new netminder, the tying tally came from defenseman Kjell Samuelsson with :53 remaining. The Flyers completed the comeback when Murray Craven lit the lamp just 1:18 into overtime, giving them a 5–4 win for Philly. Howe said after, "If we play that game 250 times, we win it once."

Now facing elimination, the Capitals returned home and showed no fear as they again knocked Hextall out of the game after posting a 4–1 lead, but this time it only took 29 minutes. Washington went on to win easily this time, 5–2. The final Philadelphia goal came on a power play in the second period after the team asked to check goalie Pete Peeters' stick, which was ruled to be wider than permitted by the rules. Peeters admitted all his sticks were the same and so he had to use one of backup Clint Malarchuk's sticks for the rest of the game.

The Flyers now had a chance to clinch the series at home in Game 6, which would be another penalty-filled contest. It was highlighted (or lowlighted, depending on your point of view) by Philadelphia defenseman Greg Smyth spending 27 minutes in the sin bin. Given all the infractions, it was no surprise that the difference in the game was special teams. While Philadelphia went a pedestrian 1-for-8 on the power play, Washington was a scintillating 4-of-9. The key play in the game was Flyers forward Dave Brown trying to fight Caps counterpart Bob Gould. However, assistant captain Gould shrewdly went turtle, covering up, and letting Brown whale on him a couple times before officials stepped in. Gould went back to the bench as Brown's fighting major gave the Capitals, who were already ahead 2–0, a 5:00 power play, during which they scored twice to blow the game open. Washington romped to a 7–2 triumph with 7 different goal scorers to set up the 7th and deciding game back in D.C.

In a series full of twists and turns (some of them being highly illegal and downright nasty), the final turn of them all came in one of the more exciting Game 7's in Stanley Cup playoff history. But first, one last bit of nasty had to be doled out. During a Flyer power play late in a scoreless first period, Capitals defenseman Grant Ledyard didn't like the way Flyers forward Rick Tocchet checked him to the ice in front of the Washington goal. Ledyard promptly speared Tocchet in the groin with the blade of his stick and received a 5-minute major and a game misconduct. Tim Kerr scored during the Ledyard penalty, giving the Flyers a 1–0 lead after the 1st period.

Things went from bad to worse for the Caps as the 1-goal deficit was tripled less than 3:00 into the 2nd period on markers by Brian Propp and Mark Howe. Just like Game 4, one team had a 3-goal lead and all the momentum. But momentum's a funny thing. It changed four minutes later when Dale Hunter, who was picked up in the offseason from the Quebec Nordiques, fired a backwards cross-ice pass to a wide open Garry Galley who beat Ron Hextall with a slapshot. With the Capital Centre crowd now in full throat, Washington kept up the pressure and forced an icing and an offensive zone faceoff. Mike Ridley dueled with Peter Zezel and the puck was kicked and dribbled right in front of the crease where Kelly Miller stuffed it under Hextall's pads. Two goals in about 90 seconds and it was a brand new hockey game.

But just when the actual play on the ice looked to be returning to center stage, tempers flared again. As the Caps rushed up ice for the tying goal, forward Dave Christian fired a high shot that Hextall jumped to try to corral on his chest, Washington defenseman Kevin Hatcher, charging the net for a rebound, lowered the boom and ran right over the Flyer netminder, earning him a minor penalty and putting the three officials quickly to work to break up the players before any punches could be thrown. Hatcher would atone for his mistake before the period was out.

Philadelphia tried to clear from their defensive half-wall, but failed to flip the puck over the 6'3" defenseman. Hatcher gloved it down at the blue line and walked in to fire a wicked slapshot that beat Hextall shortside to tie the game. Just as Philadelphia needed less than twenty minutes to erase a 3-goal deficit in Game 4, Washington had done the same in Game 7. However, there was still a whole 3rd period to go.

Just over 5:00 into the 3rd, Kjell Samuelsson was sent off the ice for tripping Peter Sundström. Washington was so potent in the previous game with the man advantage, but had failed to score in this contest despite over 9+12 minutes of power play time. They apparently didn't want to waste any more. The Caps won the offensive zone faceoff and Hatcher took the puck and passed across the blue line to Garry Galley. Galley fired low at the target, but Dale Hunter stopped the attempt about halfway to the net and re-shot the puck. Hextall, already down trying to catch the Galley shot, didn't have a chance to readjust. The light went on and the Capitals had taken a 4–3 lead with just under 15:00 to go, needing only 6 seconds of their power play to score.

But Philadelphia was not about to go quietly. Just over a minute later, the Flyers won a faceoff in their offensive zone and the puck came back to defenseman Brad Marsh who fired a low shot that somehow found its way through the legs and sticks of a half-dozen players before zooming past Peeters and into the net for the tying goal. Again, initiation was the sincerest form of flattery in this series, although it had been defined by flattening throughout. Both defenses tightened up and very few scoring chances came for the rest of regulation and the game went to overtime tied 4–4.

Having already lost one dramatic overtime game in the series and still stinging from the heartbreak of the previous season's quadruple-overtime playoff loss at home in Game 7 in the famed Easter Epic (rated the #7 game in New York Islanders history), Capitals fans were not relishing bonus hockey. Adding to the uncertainty was whether all the bad blood that had been spilled in this series might dramatically affect the outcome. No one knew how this one was going to end.

It almost ended in less than 5 seconds. Philadelphia won the opening faceoff and Mark Howe skated across the red line and fired a long, high slapshot. Pete Peeters reached up to catch it, but the puck deflected off his glove and came down just high and wide of the goal. Neither team had a real decent scoring opportunity, though, until a Washington defensive clear wound up springing Mike Gartner on a breakaway. As the Caps leading goal scorer tried to catch up to the pass, he was hooked down from behind by Mark Howe, giving the Capitals a rare overtime power play.

Washington had Hextall out of position three times early in the man advantage but couldn't get a clean shot away. Then, as things looked to be cooling off, Scott Stevens was taken down, but still managed to get the puck over to Mike Ridley on the left side. He slid it back to Gartner who was all alone 10 feet in front of the net. Gartner's shot beat Hextall clean glove-side-high, but didn't beat the crossbar, marking the third time in the game the iron had repelled a Washington scoring chance. Adding insult to, well, insult, the rebound then dropped almost straight down into the crease where it bounced over Dale Hunter's sweeping stick, which had nothing between it and the open net. The ensuing chaotic scramble would send Philly's Brian Propp on a shorthanded breakaway down the right wing. His first shot found the right pad of Peeters, and his rebound attempt was scooped by Peeters' glove.

Less than a minute later, Gartner was sprung again by Ridley down his favored right wing. Gartner beat one defenseman, drew the second one to him, and then sent a perfect pass across to Peter Sundstrom. The redirect was on target, but Hextall somehow got back to make arguably his best save of the series, robbing Sundstrom from point-blank range. Washington kept the pressure on and about a minute later almost won it again, this time it was Hunter from behind the net setting up Bobby Gould, whose backhand one-timer from just above the crease was kicked out by Hextall's stick.

Gould got another shot after Washington retrieved Philadelphia's clear and Murray Craven skated the loose puck out of the Flyer zone. He got as far as the Caps blue line where he was poke-checked by Larry Murphy. Craven tried to return the favor as he went off the ice for a line change, but the puck bounced off Scott Stevens' skate and came right back to Murphy. That's when Murphy looked up and saw Hunter making a hard u-turn just past the red line with his stick raised. Hunter perfectly split three Flyers and Murphy hit him in stride right at the blue line. Hunter cruised in and later said he didn't know what he was going to do until the last moment when he saw an opening between Hextall's pads. The man who six years earlier won a deciding Game 5 (best-of-5 series) for Quebec with an overtime goal against Montreal, feathered a slithering shot that hit the back of the net 5:57 into overtime, giving the Capitals a thrilling 5–4 victory and a 4–3 series triumph.

The game would not only be one of the most disheartening and gut-wrenching for Flyer fans, it would also be the last for Philadelphia's young crackerjack head coach Mike Keenan, who left in the offseason to take the head job with the Chicago Blackhawks.

As for Washington, the victory was recently voted the #1 game in the history of the franchise.[6]


April 6 Philadelphia Flyers 4–2 Washington Capitals Capital Centre Recap  
Peter Zezel (1) – 05:17 First period No scoring
Peter Zezel (2) – 05:11 Second period 12:05 – ppMichal Pivonka (1)
Dave Poulin (1) – pp – 09:21
Murray Craven (1) – 19:42
Third period 05:27 – ppDale Hunter (1)
Ron Hextall 35 saves / 37 shots Goalie stats Pete Peeters 27 saves / 30 shots
April 7 Philadelphia Flyers 4–5 Washington Capitals Capital Centre Recap  
Mark Howe (1) – 05:32
Dave Brown (1) – 07:59
First period 00:47 – Kevin Hatcher (1)
18:36 – Bobby Gould (1)
Peter Zezel (3) – 10:49 Second period 11:10 – Stephen Leach (1)
18:06 – shPeter Sundstrom (1)
Brian Propp (1) – 15:55 Third period 06:12 – Kelly Miller (1)
Ron Hextall 23 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Pete Peeters 31 saves / 35 shots
April 9 Washington Capitals 3–4 Philadelphia Flyers Spectrum Recap  
Dale Hunter (2) – 11:49
Bengt-Ake Gustafsson (1) – pp – 16:30
First period 00:40 – Brian Propp (2)
Kevin Hatcher (2) – 14:10 Second period 03:08 – ppIlkka Sinisalo (1)
12:12 – Dave Poulin (2)
15:26 – Kjell Samuelsson (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Pete Peeters 25 saves / 29 shots Goalie stats Ron Hextall 14 saves / 17 shots
April 10 Washington Capitals 4–5 OT Philadelphia Flyers Spectrum Recap  
Michal Pivonka (2) – 13:06
Bengt-Ake Gustafsson (2) – 18:36
First period 09:04 – Ilkka Sinisalo (2)
No scoring Second period No scoring
Mike Gartner (1) – 00:55
Dale Hunter (3) – 03:04
Third period 10:53 – Mark Howe (2)
15:08 – Brian Propp (3)
19:07 – Kjell Samuelsson (2)
No scoring First overtime period 01:18 – Murray Craven (2)
Clint Malarchuk 25 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Ron Hextall 18 saves / 22 shots
Mark Laforest 4 saves / 4 shots
April 12 Philadelphia Flyers 2–5 Washington Capitals Capital Centre Recap  
Ilkka Sinisalo (3) – 14:09 First period 10:50 – Mike Ridley (1)
11:26 – Bengt-Ake Gustafsson (3)
Doug Crossman (1) – pp – 10:48 Second period 05:19 – Kevin Hatcher (3)
09:00 – shBobby Gould (2)
17:10 – Michal Pivonka (3)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Ron Hextall 20 saves / 24 shots
Mark Laforest 7 saves / 8 shots
Goalie stats Pete Peeters 31 saves / 33 shots
April 14 Washington Capitals 7–2 Philadelphia Flyers Spectrum Recap  
Mike Ridley (2) – pp – 05:12 First period No scoring
Dave Christian (1) – 00:25
Bengt-Ake Gustafsson (4) – pp – 02:39
Kevin Hatcher (4) – pp – 03:17
Michal Pivonka (4) – pp – 16:10
Second period 12:44 – Ilkka Sinisalo (4)
17:17 – ppRick Tocchet (1)
Bobby Gould (3) – sh – 02:37
Kelly Miller (2) – 10:02
Third period No scoring
Pete Peeters 24 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Ron Hextall 21 saves / 28 shots
April 16 Philadelphia Flyers 4–5 OT Washington Capitals Capital Centre Recap  
Tim Kerr (1) – pp – 17:36 First period No scoring
Brian Propp (4) – 01:35
Mark Howe (3) – 02:59
Second period 06:42 – Garry Galley (1)
08:02 – Kelly Miller (3)
17:54 – Kevin Hatcher (5)
Brad Marsh (1) – 06:21 Third period 05:19 – ppDale Hunter (4)
No scoring First overtime period 05:57 – Dale Hunter (5)
Ron Hextall 35 saves / 40 shots Goalie stats Pete Peeters 29 saves / 33 shots
Washington won series 4–3


Second round

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The historic win did not propel the Capitals very far. Facing the New Jersey Devils in the Patrick Division Finals, Washington again cannot keep their home ice advantage. After winning Game 1 3–1 behind 33 saves from Pete Peeters, the Capitals dropped Game 2 at home 5–2 as Aaron Broten had a hat trick for the Devils.

Jersey doubled their Game 2 score in Game 3, winning by a stunning 10–4 margin behind a pair of hat tricks. Mark Johnson scored 4 times and Peter Sundstrom's twin brother, Patrik, torched his sibling's squad with 3 goals and 5 assists, the 8 points setting a new Stanley Cup playoff record. Peeters was yanked after giving up 3 goals on just 10 shots in the first period, but replacement Clint Malarchuk did even worse, stopping only 14 of the 21 shots he faced.

Washington rebounded with a 4–1 win in Game 4 behind a pair of Dave Christian goals and coach Bryan Murray actually splitting time between his goalies. However, New Jersey stole Game 5 right back in D.C. by a 3–1 count as Bob Sauve started in place of Sean Burke in net and stopped 28 shots.

Down 3-2 and facing elimination on the road, Washington impressively forced Game 7 with an eerily identical 7–2 victory from the previous series in which again, amazingly, 7 different Capitals scored, including power play goals from Gartner and Hunter.

This time, however, there was no magical comeback as John MacLean's tally proved to be the game winner in a 3–2 triumph that sent the Devils on to their first conference final. In a most unusual twist, the road team won 5 of the 7 games in the series.


April 18 New Jersey Devils 1–3 Washington Capitals Capital Centre Recap  
No scoring First period 07:18 – Mike Ridley (3)
No scoring Second period 03:29 – ppLarry Murphy (1)
16:48 – Scott Stevens (1)
Tom Kurvers (1) – 09:49 Third period No scoring
Sean Burke 28 saves / 31 shots Goalie stats Pete Peeters 33 saves / 34 shots
April 20 New Jersey Devils 5–2 Washington Capitals Capital Centre Recap  
Aaron Broten (2) – pp – 09:37 First period 13:15 – Mike Ridley (4)
Aaron Broten (3) – 03:02
Aaron Broten (4) – pp – 05:23
Pat Verbeek (2) – 18:14
Second period 17:45 – ppLarry Robinson (2)
Patrik Sundstrom (3) – pp – 12:49 Third period No scoring
Sean Burke 28 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Pete Peeters 25 saves / 30 shots
April 22 Washington Capitals 4–10 New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena Recap  
Dave Christian (2) – pp – 18:22 First period 10:37 – ppMark Johnson (5)
15:07 – pp – Mark Johnson (6)
Larry Murphy (3) – 06:51
Mike Gartner (2) – 09:50
Larry Murphy (4) – 13:57
Second period 00:57 – Patrik Sundstrom (4)
02:01 – shClaude Loiselle (2)
11:39 – Anders Carlsson (1)
15:33 – Doug Brown (3)
19:45 – Patrik Sundstrom (5)
No scoring Third period 02:59 – Mark Johnson (7)
09:47 – pp – Mark Johnson (8)
14:14 – Patrik Sundstrom (6)
Clint Malarchuk 14 saves / 21 shots
Pete Peeters 7 saves / 10 shots
Goalie stats Sean Burke 28 saves / 32 shots
April 24 Washington Capitals 4–1 New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena Recap  
Dave Christian (3) – 03:55
Peter Sundstrom (2) – 11:02
First period 03:12 – ppTom Kurvers (2)
Dave Christian (4) – 09:11 Second period No scoring
Dale Hunter (6) – pp – 08:45 Third period No scoring
Pete Peeters 11 saves / 12 shots
Clint Malarchuk 13 saves / 13 shots
Goalie stats Sean Burke 27 saves / 31 shots
April 26 New Jersey Devils 3–1 Washington Capitals Capital Centre Recap  
Kirk Muller (1) – 16:36 First period No scoring
Tom Kurvers (3) – pp – 06:54 Second period No scoring
Kirk Muller (2) – 13:26 Third period 10:24 – Mike Ridley (5)
Bob Sauve 28 saves / 29 shots Goalie stats Clint Malarchuk 28 saves / 31 shots
April 28 Washington Capitals 7–2 New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena Recap  
Mike Ridley (6) – 06:40
Dale Hunter (7) – pp – 13:07
Stephen Leach (2) – 17:03
First period 00:18 – Claude Loiselle (3)
Yvon Corriveau (1) – 10:43
Dave Christian (5) – 17:48
Second period No scoring
Kelly Miller (4) – sh – 05:25
Mike Gartner (3) – pp – 18:32
Third period 07:21 – David Maley (2)
Pete Peeters 25 saves / 27 shots Goalie stats Sean Burke 13 saves / 18 shots
Bob Sauve 11 saves / 13 shots
April 30 New Jersey Devils 3–2 Washington Capitals Capital Centre Recap  
Kirk Muller (3) – 00:14
Claude Loiselle (4) – 12:01
First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 15:21 – Grant Ledyard (1)
19:54 – Garry Galley (2)
John MacLean (5) – 13:49 Third period No scoring
Sean Burke 30 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Pete Peeters 23 saves / 26 shots
New Jersey won series 4–3


As a final note, the playoffs ended in bizarre fashion. After a Game 3 loss to Boston in the Wales Conference Finals, New Jersey coach Jim Schoenfeld and referee Don Koharski got into a heated argument during which Koharski tripped and fell, accusing Schoenfeld of pushing him. Schoenfield famously responded, "You tripped and fell, you fat pig!" Then, he added "Have another doughnut! Have another doughnut!" Boston won the series in seven games and advance to face Edmonton in the finals. Schoenfeld was fired two years later and go on to coach the Capitals for four seasons in the mid-1990s.

Facing being swept at home in Game 4 of the finals, the Bruins apparently tried to use some of the Celtic magic their Boston Garden counterparts had made famous over the years. The sweltering heat outside resulted in the ice surface being shrouded in fog and slowed the vaunted Oiler attack. Then, the building suffered a power overload, plunging the Garden into darkness. The blackout was presumably caused by the air conditioning system short-circuiting from running on full power for too long. League rules stated that the game (which was tied at 3 in the 2nd period) had to be canceled and made up in Boston at the end of the series, if necessary, making it a 2–1–1–1–1–1 format. It wasn't necessary as Edmonton completed the rare 4-game sweep in 5 games with a 6–3 victory.

Player statistics

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Regular season

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Mike Gartner RW 80 48 33 81 73 20 19 0 7
Scott Stevens D 80 12 60 72 184 14 5 1 2
Larry Murphy D 79 8 53 61 72 2 7 0 1
Mike Ridley C 70 28 31 59 22 1 12 0 3
Dale Hunter C 79 22 37 59 240 7 11 0 1
Dave Christian RW 80 37 21 58 26 -14 14 0 5
Bengt-Ake Gustafsson RW 78 18 36 54 29 2 7 5 3
Kevin Hatcher D 71 14 27 41 137 1 5 0 3
Michal Pivonka C 71 11 23 34 28 1 3 0 0
Kelly Miller LW 80 9 23 32 35 9 0 1 3
Garry Galley D 58 7 23 30 44 11 3 0 0
Greg Adams LW 78 15 12 27 153 -3 3 0 0
Bobby Gould RW 72 12 14 26 56 -1 0 0 2
Peter Sundstrom LW 76 8 17 25 34 -2 0 1 1
Yvon Corriveau LW 44 10 9 19 84 17 0 0 1
Rod Langway D 63 3 13 16 28 1 0 0 1
Lou Franceschetti RW 59 4 8 12 113 2 1 0 1
Craig Laughlin RW 40 5 5 10 26 -8 3 0 1
Grant Ledyard D 21 4 3 7 14 -4 1 0 1
Greg Smith D 54 1 6 7 67 5 0 0 0
Paul Cavallini D 24 2 3 5 66 0 0 0 1
Bill Houlder D 30 1 2 3 10 -2 0 0 0
Stephen Leach RW 8 1 1 2 17 2 0 0 1
Clint Malarchuk G 54 0 2 2 10 0 0 0 0
Ed Kastelic W 35 1 0 1 78 -3 0 0 0
David Jensen C 5 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0
Pete Peeters G 35 0 1 1 10 0 0 0 0
Yves Beaudoin D 1 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Alain Raymond G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mike Richard C 4 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Clint Malarchuk 2926 54 24 20 4 154 3.16 4 1340 1186 .885
Pete Peeters 1896 35 14 12 5 88 2.78 2 866 778 .898
Alain Raymond 40 1 0 1 0 2 3.00 0 20 18 .900
Team: 4862 80 38 33 9 244 3.01 6 2226 1982 .890

Playoffs

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Bengt-Ake Gustafsson RW 14 4 9 13 6 2 0 1
Michal Pivonka C 14 4 9 13 4 2 0 0
Dale Hunter C 14 7 5 12 98 4 0 1
Kevin Hatcher D 14 5 7 12 55 1 0 1
Scott Stevens D 13 1 11 12 46 0 0 0
Mike Ridley C 14 6 5 11 10 1 0 0
Dave Christian RW 14 5 6 11 6 1 0 0
Kelly Miller LW 14 4 4 8 10 0 1 1
Larry Murphy D 13 4 4 8 33 2 0 1
Mike Gartner RW 14 3 4 7 14 1 0 0
Garry Galley D 13 2 4 6 13 0 0 0
Greg Adams LW 14 0 5 5 58 0 0 0
Bobby Gould RW 14 3 1 4 21 0 2 0
Stephen Leach RW 9 2 1 3 0 0 0 1
Yvon Corriveau LW 13 1 2 3 30 0 0 0
Peter Sundstrom LW 14 2 0 2 6 0 1 1
Grant Ledyard D 14 1 0 1 30 0 0 0
Chris Felix D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lou Franceschetti RW 4 0 0 0 14 0 0 0
Jeff Greenlaw LW 1 0 0 0 19 0 0 0
Grant Jennings D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ed Kastelic W 1 0 0 0 19 0 0 0
Rod Langway D 6 0 0 0 8 0 0 0
Clint Malarchuk G 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Pete Peeters G 12 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Greg Smith D 9 0 0 0 23 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Pete Peeters 654 12 7 5 34 3.12 0 326 292 .896
Clint Malarchuk 193 4 0 2 15 4.66 0 95 80 .842
Team: 847 14 7 7 49 3.47 0 421 372 .884

[7]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
      MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Draft picks

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Washington'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)
2 36 Jeff Ballantyne   Canada Ottawa 67's (OHL)
3 57 Steve Maltais   Canada Cornwall Royals (OHL)
4 78 Tyler Larter   Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
5 99 Pat Beauchesne   Canada Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
6 120 Rich DeFreitas   United States St. Mark's School (USHS-MA)
7 141 Devon Oleniuk   Canada Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
8 162 Thomas Sjogren   Sweden Västra Frölunda HC (Sweden)
10 204 Chris Clarke   Canada Pembroke Lumber Kings (COJHL)
11 225 Milos Vanik   East Germany EHC Freiburg (West Germany)
12 240 Dan Brettschneider   United States Burnsville High School (USHS-MN)
12 246 Ryan Kummu   Canada Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC)
S2 16 Mark Anderson   United States Ohio State University (CCHA)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "1987-88 NHL Schedule and Results".
  2. ^ "1987-88 NHL Summary".
  3. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  4. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  5. ^ "CAPITALS TIE, FINISH 2ND". April 4, 1988. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  6. ^ "Capitals vs. Flyers: The Philthy Rivalry". January 27, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  7. ^ "1987-88 Washington Capitals Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
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