1988 Stanley Cup Final
1988 ice hockey championship series
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The 1988 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1987–88 season, and the culmination of the 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins. The Oilers swept the Bruins to once again repeat as Stanley Cup champions. It was the Oilers’ fourth championship in franchise history.[a]
Boston: Boston Garden) (3, 4)[a]
Boston: Terry O'Reilly
Boston: Ray Bourque, Rick Middleton
Andy Van Hellemond (3, 4)[c]
Don Koharski (2)
| 1988 Stanley Cup Final | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Location(s) | Edmonton: Northlands Coliseum (1, 2, 4)[a] Boston: Boston Garden) (3, 4)[a] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coaches | Edmonton: Glen Sather Boston: Terry O'Reilly | ||||||||||||||||||
| Captains | Edmonton: Wayne Gretzky Boston: Ray Bourque, Rick Middleton | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referees | Denis Morel (1, 4)[b] Andy Van Hellemond (3, 4)[c] Don Koharski (2) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | May 18–26, 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Series-winning goal | Wayne Gretzky (9:44, second) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Oilers: Glenn Anderson (2008) Grant Fuhr (2003) Wayne Gretzky (1999) Jari Kurri (2001) Kevin Lowe (2020) Mark Messier (2007) Bruins: Ray Bourque (2004) Cam Neely (2005) Coaches: Glen Sather (1997) Officials: Andy Van Hellemond (1999) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Networks | Canada: (English): Global/Canwest (1–2), CBC (3–4)[d] (French): SRC United States: (National): ESPN (Boston area): WSBK (1–2, 4),[e] NESN (3–4)[e] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | (Global/Canwest) Dan Kelly and John Davidson (CBC) Bob Cole and Harry Neale (SRC) Richard Garneau and Gilles Tremblay (ESPN) Mike Emrick, Bill Clement (1–4),[f] and Mickey Redmond (WSBK/NESN) Fred Cusick, Derek Sanderson, and Dave Shea (NESN only) | ||||||||||||||||||
This was the seventh of nine consecutive Finals contested by a team from Western Canada, sixth of eight by a team from Alberta (the Oilers appeared in six of them, the Calgary Flames in two, and the Vancouver Canucks in one), and the last of five consecutive Finals to end with the Cup presentation on Alberta ice (the Oilers won four such Cups, the Montreal Canadiens the other). The series is remembered for the power failure that occurred during game four at Boston Garden, which caused that game to be suspended. The league decided to replay game four at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, at the site, date and time that was originally scheduled for a possible game five. Game four is also the final time that Wayne Gretzky appeared in an Edmonton Oilers uniform as he was traded to Los Angeles just prior to the next season, and the last Stanley Cup he would win as a player.
Paths to the Finals
The Oilers cruised into the Finals with relative ease, losing only two games in the process. They beat the Winnipeg Jets in five games, swept the Calgary Flames, and then beat the Detroit Red Wings in five to win the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl for the fifth time in six years.
The Bruins, meanwhile, had a much harder road. It took them six games to knock off the Buffalo Sabres, then beat their longtime rivals the Montreal Canadiens in five games, and then needed the full seven games to beat the New Jersey Devils to claim the Prince of Wales Trophy.
Game summaries
The Finals pitted the Oilers' offensive juggernaut against the Bruins' more balanced team. The Oilers showed their defensive prowess, surrendering just nine goals in the four completed games. Ray Bourque was physical in defending against Gretzky, but that would not ground the "Great One" on his way to claiming his second Conn Smythe Trophy and setting playoff records with 31 assists in just 18 games, and 13 points in the Finals series.
Game one
| May 18 | Boston Bruins | 1–2 | Edmonton Oilers | Northlands Coliseum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cam Neely (8) – 13:15 | Second period | 01:56 – pp – Wayne Gretzky (10) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 01:15 – Keith Acton (2) | ||||||
Game two
| May 20 | Boston Bruins | 2–4 | Edmonton Oilers | Northlands Coliseum | Recap |
Game three
| May 22 | Edmonton Oilers | 6–3 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap |
Game four (suspended)
Glenn Anderson set a new record for quickest goal from the start of a Finals game when he scored ten seconds into the contest. That record was tied two years later in the third game of the 1990 Finals by John Byce who, in a twist, was playing for the Bruins against the Oilers.[1] Fog interfered with the game, requiring stoppages during the second period so that all 40+ players could skate around the ice to clear it away. The Oilers' Craig Simpson scored with 3:23 left in the second period, tying the game at 3–3, then the arena suffered a power failure before the ensuing face-off. The teams were sent to their dressing room until – after a very long delay and no change in the situation – NHL President John Ziegler Jr. announced that the game was suspended.[2] Despite the game being suspended and replayed, Anderson's record is official.
Game four was subsequently rescheduled and moved to Edmonton, which was originally set to be the site of a game five if necessary. The Oilers won that game, sweeping the series and winning their fourth Stanley Cup in five years. The NHL announced that, in the event that the Bruins had managed to win game four, game five would have been played on the original date for game six in Boston, Edmonton would have hosted the rescheduled game six, and then game seven would have been played in Boston as the makeup game.[3][4][5]
| May 24 | Boston Bruins | 3–3 | Edmonton Oilers | Boston Garden | Recap |
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | EDM | Glenn Anderson (9) | Mark Messier, Craig Muni | 0:10 | 1–0 EDM |
| EDM | Esa Tikkanen (8) – pp | Wayne Gretzky | 15:33 | 2–0 EDM | |
| BOS | Greg Hawgood (1) | Rick Middleton, Bob Sweeney | 16:56 | 2–1 EDM | |
| 2nd | BOS | Glen Wesley (5) – sh | Unassisted | 6:12 | 2–2 |
| BOS | Glen Wesley (6) – pp | Ken Linseman | 7:37 | 3–2 BOS | |
| EDM | Craig Simpson (12) – pp | Steve Smith, Wayne Gretzky | 16:37 | 3–3 | |
| 3rd | None (game suspended at 16:37) | ||||
Game four
| May 26 | Boston Bruins | 3–6 | Edmonton Oilers | Northlands Coliseum | Recap | |||
| Steve Kasper (6) – 00:43 Ken Linseman (11) – pp – 09:44 |
First period | 06:07 – Normand Lacombe (3) 15:03 – pp – Esa Tikkanen (9) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 06:38 – Mike Krushelnyski (4) 09:44 – pp – Wayne Gretzky (12) 19:58 – Craig Simpson (13) | ||||||
| Steve Kasper (7) – 06:35 | Third period | 01:21 – Esa Tikkanen (10) | ||||||
In the new Game 4, Boston had the lead on two goals in the first nine minutes but were held without a goal for over thirty minutes as Edmonton rode a three-goal second period to a 6–3 victory to win the Cup.
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | BOS | Steve Kasper (6) | R. Burridge (10), R. Bourque (17) | 0:43 | 1–0 BOS |
| EDM | Normand Lacombe (3) | C. Muni (3), K. Lowe (1) | 6:07 | 1–1 | |
| BOS | Ken Linseman (11) – pp | R. Bourque (18) | 9:44 | 2–1 BOS | |
| EDM | Esa Tikkanen (8) – pp | J. Kurri (16), W. Gretzky (28) | 15:03 | 2–2 | |
| 2nd | EDM | Mike Krushelnyski (4) | K. McClelland (3), Kevin Lowe (2) | 6:38 | 3–2 EDM |
| EDM | Wayne Gretzky (12) – pp | E. Tikkanen (17), J. Smith (10) | 9:44 | 4–2 EDM | |
| EDM | Craig Simpson (12) | Wayne Gretzky (29), R. Gregg (7) | 19:58 | 5–2 EDM | |
| 3rd | EDM | Esa Tikkanen (9) | J. Kurri (17), R. Gregg (8) | 1:21 | 6–2 EDM |
| BOS | Steve Kasper (7) | G. Johnston (1), G. Wesley (8) | 6:35 | 6–3 EDM | |
Team rosters
Years indicated in boldface under the "Finals appearance" column signify that the player won the Stanley Cup in the given year.
Boston Bruins
Edmonton Oilers
Stanley Cup engraving
The 1988 Stanley Cup was presented to Oilers captain Wayne Gretzky by NHL President John Ziegler following the Oilers 6–3 win over the Bruins in game four.
The following Oilers players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup
1987–88 Edmonton Oilers
Players
- 99 Wayne Gretzky (Captain)
- 11 Mark Messier (A)
- 12 Dave Hannan
- 14 Craig MacTavish
- 23 Keith Acton
- 26 Mike Krushelnyski*
- 9 Glenn Anderson
- 10 Esa Tikkanen
- 15 Geoff Courtnall
- 17 Jari Kurri
- 18 Craig Simpson
- 19 Normand Lacombe
- 24 Kevin McClelland
- 4 Kevin Lowe (A)
- 5 Steve Smith
- 6 Jeff Beukeboom
- 21 Randy Gregg
- 22 Charlie Huddy
- 28 Craig Muni
- 33 Marty McSorley †
- * Played both centre and wing.
- † Played wing in the regular season.
Coaching and administrative staff
- Peter Pocklington (Owner)
- Glen Sather (President/General Manager/Head Coach)
- John Muckler (Co-Coach), Edward Ted Green (Asst. Coach)
- Bruce MacGregor (Asst. General Manager)
- Barry Fraser (Director of Player Personnel/Chief Scout), Bill Tuele (Director of Public Relations)
- Dr. Gordon Cameron (Team Physician), Peter Millar (Athletic Therapist), Juergen Merz (Massage Therapist)
- Barrie Stafford (Trainer), Lyle Kulchisky (Asst. Trainer)
Stanley Cup engraving
- #29 Daryl Reaugh (G) – joined the team after Andy Moog left in September to play for Team Canada, and at the 1988 Olympics. Reaugh would play 6 games (dressed for 60). After the Olympics, Moog was traded to Boston Bruins for minor leaguer goalie Bill Ranford. Reaugh was sent to the minors, being recalled during the conference finals. His name was left off because he was playing in the minors after the trade deadline. Reaugh was included on the team picture.
- #20 Steve Dykstra (D) – played 42 NHL games in the 1987–88 season. Dykstra joined Edmonton in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres, playing in 15 of the Oilers' last 21 games, but not in the playoffs. He was left off because he did not play all 42 games with Edmonton.
- #32 Jim Wiemer (D) – played 12 regular-season games and two games in the Conference Finals. He was left off the Stanley Cup because he did not play in the finals
- This would mark the final time Wayne Gretzky would win the Stanley Cup. In 1991, Gretzky would win the Grey Cup as Co-Owner, of the Toronto Argonauts. He became the 7th person to get his name on both the Stanley Cup and Grey Cup. (See Joe Miller, Lionel Conacher, Carl Voss, Leo Dandurand, Harold Ballard & Norman Kwong who also won both the Grey Cup and Stanley Cup.)
- Team picture on the ice, after winning a championship
- After the Oilers won the 1988 Stanley Cup, Wayne Gretzky (in what ended up being his last game with the Oilers) requested a picture on the ice with all the players, and all non-playing members, including management, coaches, trainers, scouts, locker room assistants. The team honoured his request, and it has remained a tradition followed by each Stanley Cup-winning team. The team picture tradition after winning a championship then became a tradition followed by most hockey championship teams at all levels around the world.
Gretzky wanted every member of the Oilers to be included on the team picture. However, when the cup was engraved all five scouts were left off: Garnet Bailey, Ed Chadwick, Lorne Davis, Matti Vaisanen (on the Cup in 1985, 1987, 1990), Bob Freeman (part time, not on the Cup). The Oilers also left three players off the Stanley Cup: Daryl Reaugh, Steve Dykstra, Jim Weimer. Bill Tuele (Public Relations Director) had his name added to the cup for the first time. He has rings with the Oilers in 1984, 1985, 1987, but his name was not put on the Stanley Cup those seasons.
Broadcasting
In the United States, this was the final year under ESPN's national three-year deal. Under the U.S. TV contracts that would take effect beginning next season, SportsChannel America would take over as the NHL's American television partner.
ESPN's coverage of the 1988 Cup Finals was blacked out locally in the Boston area due to WSBK and NESN's local rights to Bruins games.
In Canada, this was the second and final year that the English-language rights to the Cup Finals was split between the Global-Canwest consortium and the CBC. Global aired games one and two. The CBC aired game three, then both the original and replayed game fours. CBC had the rights to game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, and Canwest/Global also had the rights to games 6 & 7 of the Stanley Cup Final between Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins (both CBC and Canwest/Global had the rights of Game 7, using separate production facilities and separate on-air talent), which were not necessary.[3][4][5]
See also
Notes
- Game four was abandoned due to a power failure at the Boston Garden with the score tied 3–3; it was subsequently replayed in Edmonton
- Morel refereed the original game 4 in Boston
- Van Hellemond refereed the replayed game 4 in Edmonton
- CBC aired both the original and replayed game fours.
- Both NESN and WSBK simulcasted the original game four in Boston, and WSBK only aired the replayed game four in Edmonton.
- Clement did not work during the replayed game four in Edmonton due to an illness.