1987–88 Chicago Blackhawks season

The 1987–88 Chicago Blackhawks season was the 62nd season of operation of the Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League.

1987–88 Chicago Blackhawks
Division3rd Norris
1987–88 record30–41–9
Goals for284
Goals against328
Team information
General ManagerBob Pulford
CoachBob Murdoch
CaptainVacant
Alternate captainsKeith Brown
Steve Larmer
Troy Murray
Denis Savard

Offseason

The 1987–88 Chicago Black Hawks were coming off a year in which they finished third in the Norris Division and were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Detroit Red Wings. The Blackawks made several moves in the offseason with GM Bob Pulford replacing himself as coach with Bob Murdoch and trading young star Eddie Olczyk and aging star Al Secord to the Toronto Maple Leafs for wingers Rick Vaive and Steve Thomas and defenseman Bob McGill. Goaltender Bob Mason was the summer's big free agent signing. Though relatively untested at the NHL level, Mason was in demand after an impressive performance in the 1987 playoffs. In addition to Mason, the team signed Ed Belfour who had just backstopped the University of North Dakota to the NCAA championship, and used their number one pick in the June draft to select Jimmy Waite from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Blackhawks regular goaltenders from the previous season, veterans Murray Bannerman and Bob Sauve, never played another regular season game for Chicago. The Blackhawks also acquired Duane Sutter from the New York Islanders in exchange for a 2nd round pick in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft.

Regular season

The Blackhawks were a streaky team - winning five in row in October, followed by 7 straight without a win, then won five of the next seven, then lost eight straight. The up and down season ended on the down with the Hawks going winless in their last eight games of the season. The team's fortunes were greatly hampered by injuries, with regulars Doug Wilson, Keith Brown, Steve Thomas, Wayne Presley, Duane Sutter, Bob Murray and Behn Wilson all missing considerable playing time. They would finish the season 30-41-9 (69 Points) - good for 3rd Place in the Norris Division.

Offensively, the Blackhawks were again led by Denis Savard, who had an outstanding season leading the team in scoring for the seventh year in a row with team highs of 44 goals, 87 assists and 131 points (which ranked third in the league behind Lemieux and Gretzky). Steve Larmer was again second in points with 41 goals and 48 assists. Offseason acquisition Rick Vaive was second in goals with 43, and mid-season addition, Dirk Graham had 37 points in his half-season with the Hawks. On defense, Doug Wilson again led the club with 32 points (in just 27 games), with Keith Brown leading in the club in plus/minus with +5. Gary Nylund led the team in penalty minutes with 208.

In goal, rookie Darren Pang took over in the net with a 3.48 GAA and a 17-23-1 record in 45 games. Bob Mason was relegated to the bench more and more as the season wore on and finished with a 4.15 GAA and 13-18-8 record in 41 games.

Final standings
Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Detroit Red Wings8041281132226993
St. Louis Blues803438827829476
Chicago Blackhawks803041928432869
Toronto Maple Leafs8021491027334552
Minnesota North Stars8019481324234951

[1]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
No. R Date Score Opponent Game Winning/Tying Goal Record
1LOctober 8, 19875–7Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)Todd Gill0–1–0
2LOctober 10, 19874–6@ Washington Capitals (1987–88)Craig Laughlin0–2–0
3WOctober 11, 19875–3Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88)Troy Murray1–2–0
4WOctober 14, 19875–3St. Louis Blues (1987–88)Doug Wilson2–2–0
5WOctober 17, 19873–2@ St. Louis Blues (1987–88)Denis Savard3–2–0
6WOctober 18, 19876–4Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)Denis Savard4–2–0
7WOctober 21, 19875–1@ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)Steve Ludzik5–2–0
8LOctober 23, 19873–7@ New York Rangers (1987–88)Tomas Sandstrom5–3–0
9LOctober 24, 19873–5@ Hartford Whalers (1987–88)Kevin Dineen5–4–0
10TOctober 27, 19874–4 OT@ New York Islanders (1987–88)Richard Kromm5–4–1
11LOctober 31, 19875–6@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)Greg Terrion5–5–1
12LNovember 1, 19873–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)Mike Foligno5–6–1
13TNovember 4, 19874–4 OTMontreal Canadiens (1987–88)Doug Wilson5–6–2
14LNovember 6, 19873–6@ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)Thomas Steen5–7–2
15WNovember 8, 19878–5Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)Rick Vaive6–7–2
16WNovember 11, 19876–3Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)Wayne Presley7–7–2
17LNovember 14, 19870–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)Chris Nilan7–8–2
18WNovember 15, 19875–4Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)Troy Murray8–8–2
19WNovember 18, 19875–2Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)Brian Noonan9–8–2
20LNovember 20, 19872–5@ New Jersey Devils (1987–88)George McPhee9–9–2
21WNovember 22, 19873–2Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)Rick Vaive10–9–2
22LNovember 25, 19874–6@ Los Angeles Kings (1987–88)Dave Taylor10–10–2
23LNovember 27, 19873–4@ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)Wayne Gretzky10–11–2
24LNovember 30, 19870–4@ Calgary Flames (1987–88)Joel Otto10–12–2
25LDecember 2, 19871–5@ St. Louis Blues (1987–88)Ron Flockhart10–13–2
26LDecember 4, 19870–12@ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)Tim Higgins10–14–2
27LDecember 5, 19873–7@ Boston Bruins (1987–88)Bob Sweeney10–15–2
28LDecember 9, 19872–6Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)Paul Cyr10–16–2
29LDecember 12, 19871–2@ Washington Capitals (1987–88)Mike Gartner10–17–2
30WDecember 13, 19875–1Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)Rick Vaive11–17–2
31WDecember 16, 19874–2@ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)Denis Savard12–17–2
32WDecember 19, 19876–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)Curt Fraser13–17–2
33LDecember 20, 19872–4Boston Bruins (1987–88)Bob Sweeney13–18–2
34WDecember 23, 19877–5New York Islanders (1987–88)David Mackey14–18–2
35LDecember 26, 19874–5St. Louis Blues (1987–88)Bernie Federko14–19–2
36LDecember 27, 19872–3@ St. Louis Blues (1987–88)Brian Benning14–20–2
37LDecember 30, 19874–6Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)Dino Ciccarelli14–21–2
38WDecember 31, 19874–1@ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)Rik Wilson15–21–2
39LJanuary 3, 19883–5Calgary Flames (1987–88)Joe Mullen15–22–2
40LJanuary 6, 19881–6Quebec Nordiques (1987–88)Terry Carkner15–23–2
41WJanuary 8, 19887–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)Rick Vaive16–23–2
42WJanuary 10, 19885–2Los Angeles Kings (1987–88)Bob McGill17–23–2
43TJanuary 11, 19882–2 OT@ New York Rangers (1987–88)Troy Murray17–23–3
44WJanuary 13, 19882–1Hartford Whalers (1987–88)Steve Thomas18–23–3
45LJanuary 16, 19881–4@ Quebec Nordiques (1987–88)Jeff Brown18–24–3
46WJanuary 17, 19885–4Washington Capitals (1987–88)Denis Savard19–24–3
47LJanuary 20, 19883–8Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88)Mario Lemieux19–25–3
48WJanuary 23, 19883–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)Mike Stapleton20–25–3
49WJanuary 24, 19883–1Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)Steve Thomas21–25–3
50WJanuary 26, 19886–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)Denis Savard22–25–3
51LJanuary 29, 19882–3 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1987–88)Craig Wolanin22–26–3
52LJanuary 30, 19882–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88)Mark Kachowski22–27–3
53LFebruary 1, 19883–5Boston Bruins (1987–88)Bob Sweeney22–28–3
54LFebruary 3, 19884–6Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)Adam Oates22–29–3
55TFebruary 5, 19881–1 OT@ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)Steve Thomas22–29–4
56TFebruary 7, 19885–5 OT@ Quebec Nordiques (1987–88)Bob Murray22–29–5
57WFebruary 12, 19884–3 OTSt. Louis Blues (1987–88)Rick Vaive23–29–5
58WFebruary 14, 19884–3 OTBuffalo Sabres (1987–88)Steve Thomas24–29–5
59LFebruary 17, 19883–4Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)Shawn Burr24–30–5
60LFebruary 20, 19881–6@ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)Shawn Burr24–31–5
61TFebruary 21, 19883–3 OTCalgary Flames (1987–88)Denis Savard24–31–6
62WFebruary 24, 19886–4Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)Dirk Graham25–31–6
63TFebruary 25, 19881–1 OT@ New York Islanders (1987–88)Alan Kerr25–31–7
64WFebruary 28, 19887–5Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88)Rick Vaive26–31–7
65LMarch 2, 19881–2Hartford Whalers (1987–88)Randy Ladouceur26–32–7
66WMarch 5, 19884–2@ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)Brian Noonan27–32–7
67LMarch 6, 19883–4Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)Mel Bridgman27–33–7
68WMarch 9, 19884–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)Keith Brown28–33–7
69LMarch 12, 19884–6@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)Todd Gill28–34–7
70WMarch 13, 19885–4 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1987–88)Dirk Graham29–34–7
71TMarch 15, 19887–7 OT@ St. Louis Blues (1987–88)Herb Raglan29–34–8
72WMarch 17, 19884–3 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88)Denis Savard30–34–8
73LMarch 19, 19880–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)Brian Skrudland30–35–8
74LMarch 20, 19882–5St. Louis Blues (1987–88)Gino Cavallini30–36–8
75LMarch 23, 19884–5Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)Wally Schreiber30–37–8
76LMarch 25, 19882–3@ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)Jim Benning30–38–8
77LMarch 26, 19885–9@ Los Angeles Kings (1987–88)Bobby Carpenter30–39–8
78TMarch 28, 19887–7 OT@ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)Wayne Presley30–39–9
79LMarch 30, 19883–4New York Rangers (1987–88)Ulf Dahlen30–40–9
80LApril 3, 19883–4 OTNew Jersey Devils (1987–88)John MacLean30–41–9

Playoffs

The Hawks faced Brett Hull and the St. Louis Blues, who finished second in the Norris. After the Blackhawks had been swept two years in a row in the first round, they opened the series in St Louis by getting swept by scores of 4-1 and 3-2. The series moved to the Chicago Stadium where the Hawks would break their playoff losing streak with a 6-3 victory. The winning ways did not last though, as the Hawks would drop the next two games - 6-5 and 5-3.

No. R Date Score Opponent Game Winning Goal Record
1LApril 6, 19881-4@ St. Louis Blues (1987–88)Brett Hull0-1
2LApril 7, 19882-3@ St. Louis Blues (1987–88)Brett Hull0-2
3WApril 9, 19886–3St. Louis Blues (1987–88)Denis Savard1-2
4LApril 10, 19885-6St. Louis Blues (1987–88)Tony Hrkac1-3
4LApril 12, 19883-5@ St. Louis Blues (1987-88)Brett Hull1-4

Player stats

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Denis SavardC8044871319541476
Steve LarmerRW8041488942-52170
Rick VaiveRW76432669108-201906
Troy MurrayC7922365896-17322
Dirk GrahamW42171936324612
Doug WilsonD278243228-17611
Brian NoonanRW7710203044-27302
Behn WilsonD5862329166-19300
Steve ThomasLW30131326401503
Bob MurrayD626202644-7100
Wayne PresleyRW4212102252-13401
Steve LudzikC736152140-14101
Everett SanipassLW5781220126-9000
Gary NylundD7641519208-9000
Dan VinceletteLW6961117109-15200
Duane SutterRW377916702300
Bruce CassidyD21310136-3200
Bob McGillD674711131-19001
Mike StapletonC53291159-10001
Curt FraserLW27461057-13101
Trent YawneyD152810151200
Rik WilsonD1445964001
Keith BrownD24369455001
Glen CochraneD73189204-7000
Marc BergevinD5816785-19000
Dave MansonD54167185-12000
Darren PangG4506620000
David MackeyLW2313471-14001
Jim PlayfairD12134214100
Bill WatsonRW92020-5000
Mark LaVarreRW1811225-8000
Bob MasonG4102200000
Bill GardnerC21012-1100
Kent PaynterD200020000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Darren Pang254845172311633.84015011338.891
Bob Mason231241131881604.15013531193.882
Team:486080304193233.99028542531.887

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Rick VaiveRW5628381500
Denis SavardC5437173011
Steve LarmerRW516701100
Bob MurrayD51342-1100
Trent YawneyD504481000
Dirk GrahamW41234-1000
Steve ThomasLW312361000
Everett SanipassLW220220000
Keith BrownD502210-3000
Troy MurrayC51018-4100
Steve LudzikC5011130000
Glen CochraneD500020000
Mark LaVarreRW100020000
Dave MansonD5000271000
Bob MasonG100000000
Bob McGillD300022000
Brian NoonanRW30004-1000
Gary NylundD500010-1000
Darren PangG400020000
Wayne PresleyRW500044000
Mike RucinskiC20000-1000
Duane SutterRW500021-1000
Dan VinceletteLW40000-2000
Behn WilsonD30006-2000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Darren Pang240413184.500130112.862
Bob Mason6010133.0003128.903
Team:300514214.200161140.870

[2]

Note: Pos = Position; 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;

Awards and records

Transactions

Roster

Draft picks

Chicago'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)
18Jimmy Waite CanadaChicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
229Ryan McGill CanadaSwift Current Broncos (WHL)
350Cam Russell CanadaHull Olympiques (QMJHL)
360Mike Dagenais CanadaPeterborough Petes (OHL)
592Ulf Sandstrom SwedenModo Hockey (Sweden)
6113Mike McCormick United StatesRichmond Sockeyes (BCJHL)
7134Stephen Tepper United StatesWestborough High School (USHS-MA)
8155John Reilly United StatesPhillips Andover Academy (USHS-MA)
9176Lance Werness United StatesBurnsville High School (USHS-MN)
10197Dale Marquette CanadaBrandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
11218Bill LaCouture United StatesNatick High School (USHS-MA)
12239Mike Lappin United StatesNorthwood School (USHS-NY)

Farm teams

See also

References
  1. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. "1987-88 Chicago Blackhawks Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-16.

2. 1988-89 Chicago Blackhawks Yearbook (official team publication)

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