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1987–88 Chicago Blackhawks season

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1987–88 Chicago Blackhawks
Division3rd Norris
1987–88 record30–41–9
Home record21–17–2
Road record9–24–7
Goals for284
Goals against328
Team information
General managerBob Pulford
CoachBob Murdoch
CaptainVacant
Alternate captainsKeith Brown
Steve Larmer
Troy Murray
Denis Savard

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

Offseason

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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 Blackhawks 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. Captain Darryl Sutter retired before the start of the season and the team chose not to name a replacement.

Regular season

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The Blackhawks were a streaky team – winning five times in a 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

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Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Detroit Red Wings 80 41 28 11 322 269 93
St. Louis Blues 80 34 38 8 278 294 76
Chicago Blackhawks 80 30 41 9 284 328 69
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 21 49 10 273 345 52
Minnesota North Stars 80 19 48 13 242 349 51

[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.

Record vs. opponents

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Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

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Vs. Wales Conference


Schedule and results

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No. R Date Score Opponent Game Winning/Tying Goal Record
1 L October 8, 1987 5–7 Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) Todd Gill 0–1–0
2 L October 10, 1987 4–6 @ Washington Capitals (1987–88) Craig Laughlin 0–2–0
3 W October 11, 1987 5–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) Troy Murray 1–2–0
4 W October 14, 1987 5–3 St. Louis Blues (1987–88) Doug Wilson 2–2–0
5 W October 17, 1987 3–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1987–88) Denis Savard 3–2–0
6 W October 18, 1987 6–4 Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) Denis Savard 4–2–0
7 W October 21, 1987 5–1 @ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) Steve Ludzik 5–2–0
8 L October 23, 1987 3–7 @ New York Rangers (1987–88) Tomas Sandstrom 5–3–0
9 L October 24, 1987 3–5 @ Hartford Whalers (1987–88) Kevin Dineen 5–4–0
10 T October 27, 1987 4–4 OT @ New York Islanders (1987–88) Richard Kromm 5–4–1
11 L October 31, 1987 5–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) Greg Terrion 5–5–1
12 L November 1, 1987 3–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) Mike Foligno 5–6–1
13 T November 4, 1987 4–4 OT Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) Doug Wilson 5–6–2
14 L November 6, 1987 3–6 @ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) Thomas Steen 5–7–2
15 W November 8, 1987 8–5 Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) Rick Vaive 6–7–2
16 W November 11, 1987 6–3 Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) Wayne Presley 7–7–2
17 L November 14, 1987 0–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) Chris Nilan 7–8–2
18 W November 15, 1987 5–4 Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) Troy Murray 8–8–2
19 W November 18, 1987 5–2 Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) Brian Noonan 9–8–2
20 L November 20, 1987 2–5 @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) George McPhee 9–9–2
21 W November 22, 1987 3–2 Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) Rick Vaive 10–9–2
22 L November 25, 1987 4–6 @ Los Angeles Kings (1987–88) Dave Taylor 10–10–2
23 L November 27, 1987 3–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) Wayne Gretzky 10–11–2
24 L November 30, 1987 0–4 @ Calgary Flames (1987–88) Joel Otto 10–12–2
25 L December 2, 1987 1–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1987–88) Ron Flockhart 10–13–2
26 L December 4, 1987 0–12 @ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) Tim Higgins 10–14–2
27 L December 5, 1987 3–7 @ Boston Bruins (1987–88) Bob Sweeney 10–15–2
28 L December 9, 1987 2–6 Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) Paul Cyr 10–16–2
29 L December 12, 1987 1–2 @ Washington Capitals (1987–88) Mike Gartner 10–17–2
30 W December 13, 1987 5–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) Rick Vaive 11–17–2
31 W December 16, 1987 4–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) Denis Savard 12–17–2
32 W December 19, 1987 6–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) Curt Fraser 13–17–2
33 L December 20, 1987 2–4 Boston Bruins (1987–88) Bob Sweeney 13–18–2
34 W December 23, 1987 7–5 New York Islanders (1987–88) David Mackey 14–18–2
35 L December 26, 1987 4–5 St. Louis Blues (1987–88) Bernie Federko 14–19–2
36 L December 27, 1987 2–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1987–88) Brian Benning 14–20–2
37 L December 30, 1987 4–6 Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) Dino Ciccarelli 14–21–2
38 W December 31, 1987 4–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) Rik Wilson 15–21–2
39 L January 3, 1988 3–5 Calgary Flames (1987–88) Joe Mullen 15–22–2
40 L January 6, 1988 1–6 Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) Terry Carkner 15–23–2
41 W January 8, 1988 7–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) Rick Vaive 16–23–2
42 W January 10, 1988 5–2 Los Angeles Kings (1987–88) Bob McGill 17–23–2
43 T January 11, 1988 2–2 OT @ New York Rangers (1987–88) Troy Murray 17–23–3
44 W January 13, 1988 2–1 Hartford Whalers (1987–88) Steve Thomas 18–23–3
45 L January 16, 1988 1–4 @ Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) Jeff Brown 18–24–3
46 W January 17, 1988 5–4 Washington Capitals (1987–88) Denis Savard 19–24–3
47 L January 20, 1988 3–8 Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) Mario Lemieux 19–25–3
48 W January 23, 1988 3–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) Mike Stapleton 20–25–3
49 W January 24, 1988 3–1 Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) Steve Thomas 21–25–3
50 W January 26, 1988 6–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) Denis Savard 22–25–3
51 L January 29, 1988 2–3 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) Craig Wolanin 22–26–3
52 L January 30, 1988 2–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) Mark Kachowski 22–27–3
53 L February 1, 1988 3–5 Boston Bruins (1987–88) Bob Sweeney 22–28–3
54 L February 3, 1988 4–6 Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) Adam Oates 22–29–3
55 T February 5, 1988 1–1 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) Steve Thomas 22–29–4
56 T February 7, 1988 5–5 OT @ Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) Bob Murray 22–29–5
57 W February 12, 1988 4–3 OT St. Louis Blues (1987–88) Rick Vaive 23–29–5
58 W February 14, 1988 4–3 OT Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) Steve Thomas 24–29–5
59 L February 17, 1988 3–4 Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) Shawn Burr 24–30–5
60 L February 20, 1988 1–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) Shawn Burr 24–31–5
61 T February 21, 1988 3–3 OT Calgary Flames (1987–88) Denis Savard 24–31–6
62 W February 24, 1988 6–4 Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) Dirk Graham 25–31–6
63 T February 25, 1988 1–1 OT @ New York Islanders (1987–88) Alan Kerr 25–31–7
64 W February 28, 1988 7–5 Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) Rick Vaive 26–31–7
65 L March 2, 1988 1–2 Hartford Whalers (1987–88) Randy Ladouceur 26–32–7
66 W March 5, 1988 4–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) Brian Noonan 27–32–7
67 L March 6, 1988 3–4 Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) Mel Bridgman 27–33–7
68 W March 9, 1988 4–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) Keith Brown 28–33–7
69 L March 12, 1988 4–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) Todd Gill 28–34–7
70 W March 13, 1988 5–4 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) Dirk Graham 29–34–7
71 T March 15, 1988 7–7 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1987–88) Herb Raglan 29–34–8
72 W March 17, 1988 4–3 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) Denis Savard 30–34–8
73 L March 19, 1988 0–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) Brian Skrudland 30–35–8
74 L March 20, 1988 2–5 St. Louis Blues (1987–88) Gino Cavallini 30–36–8
75 L March 23, 1988 4–5 Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) Wally Schreiber 30–37–8
76 L March 25, 1988 2–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) Jim Benning 30–38–8
77 L March 26, 1988 5–9 @ Los Angeles Kings (1987–88) Bobby Carpenter 30–39–8
78 T March 28, 1988 7–7 OT @ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) Wayne Presley 30–39–9
79 L March 30, 1988 3–4 New York Rangers (1987–88) Ulf Dahlen 30–40–9
80 L April 3, 1988 3–4 OT New Jersey Devils (1987–88) John MacLean 30–41–9

Playoffs

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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 and lost both games 4–1 and 3–2. The series moved to the Chicago Stadium where the Hawks broke their 11-game playoff losing streak with a 6–3 victory. The winning ways did not last though, as the Hawks lost the next two games – 6–5 and 5–3.

No. R Date Score Opponent Game Winning Goal Record
1 L April 6, 1988 1–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1987–88) Brett Hull 0–1
2 L April 7, 1988 2–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1987–88) Brett Hull 0–2
3 W April 9, 1988 6–3 St. Louis Blues (1987–88) Denis Savard 1–2
4 L April 10, 1988 5–6 St. Louis Blues (1987–88) Tony Hrkac 1–3
4 L April 12, 1988 3–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1987–88) Brett Hull 1–4

Player stats

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Regular season

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Denis Savard C 80 44 87 131 95 4 14 7 6
Steve Larmer RW 80 41 48 89 42 -5 21 7 0
Rick Vaive RW 76 43 26 69 108 -20 19 0 6
Troy Murray C 79 22 36 58 96 -17 3 2 2
Dirk Graham W 42 17 19 36 32 4 6 1 2
Doug Wilson D 27 8 24 32 28 -17 6 1 1
Brian Noonan RW 77 10 20 30 44 -27 3 0 2
Behn Wilson D 58 6 23 29 166 -19 3 0 0
Steve Thomas LW 30 13 13 26 40 1 5 0 3
Bob Murray D 62 6 20 26 44 -7 1 0 0
Wayne Presley RW 42 12 10 22 52 -13 4 0 1
Steve Ludzik C 73 6 15 21 40 -14 1 0 1
Everett Sanipass LW 57 8 12 20 126 -9 0 0 0
Gary Nylund D 76 4 15 19 208 -9 0 0 0
Dan Vincelette LW 69 6 11 17 109 -15 2 0 0
Duane Sutter RW 37 7 9 16 70 2 3 0 0
Bruce Cassidy D 21 3 10 13 6 -3 2 0 0
Bob McGill D 67 4 7 11 131 -19 0 0 1
Mike Stapleton C 53 2 9 11 59 -10 0 0 1
Curt Fraser LW 27 4 6 10 57 -13 1 0 1
Trent Yawney D 15 2 8 10 15 1 2 0 0
Rik Wilson D 14 4 5 9 6 4 0 0 1
Keith Brown D 24 3 6 9 45 5 0 0 1
Glen Cochrane D 73 1 8 9 204 -7 0 0 0
Marc Bergevin D 58 1 6 7 85 -19 0 0 0
Dave Manson D 54 1 6 7 185 -12 0 0 0
Darren Pang G 45 0 6 6 2 0 0 0 0
David Mackey LW 23 1 3 4 71 -14 0 0 1
Jim Playfair D 12 1 3 4 21 4 1 0 0
Bill Watson RW 9 2 0 2 0 -5 0 0 0
Mark LaVarre RW 18 1 1 2 25 -8 0 0 0
Bob Mason G 41 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
Bill Gardner C 2 1 0 1 2 -1 1 0 0
Kent Paynter D 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Darren Pang 2548 45 17 23 1 163 3.84 0 1501 1338 .891
Bob Mason 2312 41 13 18 8 160 4.15 0 1353 1193 .882
Team: 4860 80 30 41 9 323 3.99 0 2854 2531 .887

Playoffs

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Rick Vaive RW 5 6 2 8 38 1 5 0 0
Denis Savard C 5 4 3 7 17 3 0 1 1
Steve Larmer RW 5 1 6 7 0 1 1 0 0
Bob Murray D 5 1 3 4 2 -1 1 0 0
Trent Yawney D 5 0 4 4 8 1 0 0 0
Dirk Graham W 4 1 2 3 4 -1 0 0 0
Steve Thomas LW 3 1 2 3 6 1 0 0 0
Everett Sanipass LW 2 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0
Keith Brown D 5 0 2 2 10 -3 0 0 0
Troy Murray C 5 1 0 1 8 -4 1 0 0
Steve Ludzik C 5 0 1 1 13 0 0 0 0
Glen Cochrane D 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Mark LaVarre RW 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Dave Manson D 5 0 0 0 27 1 0 0 0
Bob Mason G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bob McGill D 3 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0
Brian Noonan RW 3 0 0 0 4 -1 0 0 0
Gary Nylund D 5 0 0 0 10 -1 0 0 0
Darren Pang G 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Wayne Presley RW 5 0 0 0 4 4 0 0 0
Mike Rucinski C 2 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Duane Sutter RW 5 0 0 0 21 -1 0 0 0
Dan Vincelette LW 4 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Behn Wilson D 3 0 0 0 6 -2 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Darren Pang 240 4 1 3 18 4.50 0 130 112 .862
Bob Mason 60 1 0 1 3 3.00 0 31 28 .903
Team: 300 5 1 4 21 4.20 0 161 140 .870

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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

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Transactions

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Draft picks

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Chicago's draft picks at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The Blackhawks attempted to select Derek Pizzey in the second round of the 1987 NHL Supplemental Draft, but the claim was ruled invalid since Pizzey hadn't turned age 21 yet and therefore did not meet eligibility requirements.[4]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 8 Jimmy Waite  Canada Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)
2 29 Ryan McGill  Canada Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
3 50 Cam Russell  Canada Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)
3 60 Mike Dagenais  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHL)
5 92 Ulf Sandstrom  Sweden Modo Hockey (Sweden)
6 113 Mike McCormick  United States Richmond Sockeyes (BCJHL)
7 134 Stephen Tepper  United States Westborough High School (USHS-MA)
8 155 John Reilly  United States Phillips Andover Academy (USHS-MA)
9 176 Lance Werness  United States Burnsville High School (USHS-MN)
10 197 Dale Marquette  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
11 218 Bill LaCouture  United States Natick High School (USHS-MA)
12 239 Mike Lappin  United States Northwood School (USHS-NY)

Farm teams

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "1987-88 Chicago Blackhawks Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  4. ^ "1987 NHL Supplemental Draft -- Round 2 Selections". Hockey Draft Central. Retrieved December 6, 2021.

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

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