1986–87 Detroit Red Wings season

1986–87 Detroit Red Wings
Division2nd Norris
Conference5th Campbell
1986–87 record34–36–10
Home record20–14–6
Road record14–22–4
Goals for260
Goals against274
Team information
General managerJim Devellano
CoachJacques Demers
CaptainSteve Yzerman
Alternate captainsGerard Gallant[1]
Tim Higgins[2]
Lee Norwood[3]
Mike O'Connell[4]
John Ogrodnick[5]
ArenaJoe Louis Arena
Team leaders
GoalsGerard Gallant (38)
AssistsSteve Yzerman (59)
PointsSteve Yzerman (90)
Penalty minutesJoe Kocur (276)
Plus/minusDarren Veitch (13)
WinsGreg Stefan (20)
Goals against averageGlen Hanlon (3.20)

The 1986–87 Detroit Red Wings season saw the Red Wings finish in second place in the Norris Division (NHL) with a record of 34 wins, 36 losses, and 10 draws for 78 points, a 38-point improvement from the previous season. They swept the Chicago Blackhawks in four games in the opening round, then rallied from a 3–1 deficit against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the division final, before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers in five games in the Campbell Conference final. This season marked a turning point for the franchise. After making the playoffs just four times between 1967 and 1986, the Red Wings missed the playoffs only once between 1987 and 2016 (that coming in 1989–90).

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Norris Division[6]
GP W L T GF GA Pts
St. Louis Blues 80 32 33 15 281 293 79
Detroit Red Wings 80 34 36 10 260 274 78
Chicago Blackhawks 80 29 37 14 290 310 72
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 32 42 6 286 319 70
Minnesota North Stars 80 30 40 10 296 314 70

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

Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Wales Conference


Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 L October 9, 1986 1–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) 0–1–0
2 W October 11, 1986 4–3 Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) 1–1–0
3 L October 15, 1986 3–4 OT Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) 1–2–0
4 L October 17, 1986 3–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) 1–3–0
5 W October 18, 1986 5–3 @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) 2–3–0
6 L October 22, 1986 3–4 Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) 2–4–0
7 T October 24, 1986 1–1 OT St. Louis Blues (1986–87) 2–4–1
8 W October 25, 1986 3–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1986–87) 3–4–1
9 W October 29, 1986 5–2 Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) 4–4–1
10 W October 30, 1986 3–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) 5–4–1
11 L November 1, 1986 0–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) 5–5–1
12 W November 5, 1986 5–4 OT New York Rangers (1986–87) 6–5–1
13 L November 8, 1986 1–2 OT @ New York Islanders (1986–87) 6–6–1
14 W November 9, 1986 2–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) 7–6–1
15 L November 12, 1986 3–5 @ New Jersey Devils (1986–87) 7–7–1
16 L November 13, 1986 5–7 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) 7–8–1
17 L November 15, 1986 0–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) 7–9–1
18 L November 19, 1986 3–4 New Jersey Devils (1986–87) 7–10–1
19 T November 21, 1986 3–3 OT Washington Capitals (1986–87) 7–10–2
20 W November 22, 1986 4–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) 8–10–2
21 L November 26, 1986 1–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) 8–11–2
22 L November 28, 1986 1–2 OT St. Louis Blues (1986–87) 8–12–2
23 W November 29, 1986 4–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1986–87) 9–12–2
24 L December 2, 1986 4–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) 9–13–2
25 T December 5, 1986 3–3 OT Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) 9–13–3
26 W December 6, 1986 4–1 @ Hartford Whalers (1986–87) 10–13–3
27 T December 9, 1986 5–5 OT Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) 10–13–4
28 T December 11, 1986 6–6 OT Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) 10–13–5
29 L December 16, 1986 3–8 @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) 10–14–5
30 W December 17, 1986 5–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) 11–14–5
31 T December 20, 1986 2–2 OT Hartford Whalers (1986–87) 11–14–6
32 L December 21, 1986 4–7 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) 11–15–6
33 W December 23, 1986 3–1 Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) 12–15–6
34 W December 26, 1986 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) 13–15–6
35 T December 27, 1986 5–5 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) 13–15–7
36 W December 31, 1986 6–4 Calgary Flames (1986–87) 14–15–7
37 W January 2, 1987 2–1 Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) 15–15–7
38 W January 3, 1987 3–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) 16–15–7
39 L January 6, 1987 1–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) 16–16–7
40 T January 8, 1987 4–4 OT @ Boston Bruins (1986–87) 16–16–8
41 L January 10, 1987 2–5 Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) 16–17–8
42 L January 11, 1987 3–5 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) 16–18–8
43 L January 13, 1987 3–5 Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) 16–19–8
44 L January 15, 1987 1–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) 16–20–8
45 W January 17, 1987 3–2 Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) 17–20–8
46 W January 18, 1987 1–0 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) 18–20–8
47 W January 21, 1987 8–5 New York Islanders (1986–87) 19–20–8
48 W January 23, 1987 4–3 St. Louis Blues (1986–87) 20–20–8
49 L January 24, 1987 3–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1986–87) 20–21–8
50 L January 28, 1987 1–2 Washington Capitals (1986–87) 20–22–8
51 W January 31, 1987 4–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) 21–22–8
52 L February 1, 1987 1–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) 21–23–8
53 L February 4, 1987 4–5 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) 21–24–8
54 W February 6, 1987 6–4 Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) 22–24–8
55 W February 7, 1987 5–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) 23–24–8
56 W February 14, 1987 5–1 New Jersey Devils (1986–87) 24–24–8
57 L February 17, 1987 2–6 @ New York Rangers (1986–87) 24–25–8
58 W February 18, 1987 5–2 Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) 25–25–8
59 W February 20, 1987 6–3 Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) 26–25–8
60 T February 22, 1987 2–2 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) 26–25–9
61 L February 24, 1987 2–8 @ Washington Capitals (1986–87) 26–26–9
62 W February 26, 1987 5–4 Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) 27–26–9
63 W February 28, 1987 4–1 New York Rangers (1986–87) 28–26–9
64 W March 2, 1987 4–3 OT @ Boston Bruins (1986–87) 29–26–9
65 L March 3, 1987 3–5 @ Hartford Whalers (1986–87) 29–27–9
66 W March 5, 1987 9–3 Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) 30–27–9
67 L March 7, 1987 3–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1986–87) 30–28–9
68 L March 10, 1987 4–7 @ Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) 30–29–9
69 L March 11, 1987 3–6 @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) 30–30–9
70 W March 14, 1987 4–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) 31–30–9
71 T March 15, 1987 1–1 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) 31–30–10
72 W March 17, 1987 3–1 Boston Bruins (1986–87) 32–30–10
73 L March 19, 1987 2–3 New York Islanders (1986–87) 32–31–10
74 W March 21, 1987 3–0 Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) 33–31–10
75 L March 22, 1987 2–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) 33–32–10
76 L March 25, 1987 1–6 Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) 33–33–10
77 W March 28, 1987 5–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) 34–33–10
78 L April 1, 1987 1–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) 34–34–10
79 L April 4, 1987 3–4 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) 34–35–10
80 L April 5, 1987 2–3 OT St. Louis Blues (1986–87) 34–36–10

Playoffs

The Red Wings finished the season 34–36–10, a major improvement over the disastrous 1985–86 campaign. Just missing out on first place in the Norris Division, the Wings faced rival, Chicago in Round One. Detroit stunned the Blackhawks in a 4-game sweep, the franchise's first series victory since 1977–78. In the Norris Finals, Detroit faced another archrival, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs jumped out to a 3–1 series lead, but Detroit stormed back, winning the series in seven games, including a 3–0 win in the deciding game. The Red Wings then faced the heavily favored Edmonton Oilers in the Campbell Conference Finals. Detroit took Game One, but the Oilers would eventually take the series in five games. Edmonton would go on to win the Stanley Cup.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Steve Yzerman C 80 31 59 90 43 -1 9 1 2
Gerard Gallant LW 80 38 34 72 216 -5 17 0 4
Darren Veitch D 77 13 45 58 52 14 7 1 2
Petr Klima W 77 30 23 53 42 -9 6 0 5
Shawn Burr LW/C 80 22 25 47 107 2 1 2 1
Adam Oates C 76 15 32 47 21 0 4 0 1
John Ogrodnick LW 39 12 28 40 6 -2 4 1 1
Brent Ashton LW 35 15 16 31 22 -3 3 1 3
Mike O'Connell D 77 5 26 31 70 -25 3 1 0
Lee Norwood D 57 6 21 27 163 -23 4 0 2
Dave Barr RW 37 13 13 26 49 7 4 0 5
Tim Higgins RW 77 12 14 26 124 -2 0 1 1
Bob Probert LW 63 13 11 24 221 -6 2 0 0
Joe Kocur RW 77 9 9 18 276 -10 2 0 2
Doug Shedden C 33 6 12 18 6 3 1 0 1
Harold Snepsts D 54 1 13 14 129 7 0 0 0
Ric Seiling RW/C 74 3 8 11 49 -4 0 0 0
Randy Ladouceur D 34 3 6 9 70 -4 1 0 1
Dave Lewis D 58 2 5 7 66 12 0 0 0
Gilbert Delorme D 24 2 3 5 33 -1 0 0 0
Steve Chiasson D 45 1 4 5 73 -7 0 0 0
Rick Zombo D 44 1 4 5 59 -6 0 0 0
Mel Bridgman C 13 2 2 4 19 1 0 1 1
Basil McRae LW 36 2 2 4 193 -3 1 0 1
Greg Stefan G 43 0 4 4 24 0 0 0 0
Mark Lamb C 22 2 1 3 8 0 0 0 0
Billy Carroll C 31 1 2 3 6 -9 0 0 1
Doug Halward D 11 0 3 3 19 4 0 0 0
Mark Kumpel RW 5 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0
Mark Laforest G 5 0 1 1 7 0 0 0 0
Joe Murphy RW 5 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Jeff Sharples D 3 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Chris Cichocki RW 2 0 0 0 2 -2 0 0 0
Glen Hanlon G 36 0 0 0 20 0 0 0 0
Eddie Johnstone RW 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Dale Krentz LW 8 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Sam St. Laurent G 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Greg Stefan 2351 43 20 17 3 135 3.45 1 1082 947 .875
Glen Hanlon 1963 36 11 16 5 104 3.18 1 975 871 .893
Mark Laforest 219 5 2 1 0 12 3.29 0 111 99 .892
Sam St. Laurent 342 6 1 2 2 16 2.81 0 135 119 .881
Team: 4875 80 34 36 10 267 3.29 2 2303 2036 .884

Playoffs

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Steve Yzerman C 16 5 13 18 8 1 0 0
Gerard Gallant LW 16 8 6 14 43 2 0 0
Brent Ashton LW 16 4 9 13 6 2 0 0
Adam Oates C 16 4 7 11 6 0 0 1
Shawn Burr LW/C 16 7 2 9 20 0 0 2
Mel Bridgman C 16 5 2 7 28 0 1 1
Bob Probert LW 16 3 4 7 63 1 0 1
Darren Veitch D 12 3 4 7 8 2 0 1
Lee Norwood D 16 1 6 7 31 0 0 1
Joe Kocur RW 16 2 3 5 71 1 0 2
Mike O'Connell D 16 1 4 5 14 0 0 0
Dave Lewis D 14 0 4 4 10 0 0 0
Petr Klima W 13 1 2 3 4 0 0 0
Gilbert Delorme D 16 0 2 2 14 0 0 0
Harold Snepsts D 11 0 2 2 18 0 0 0
Greg Stefan G 9 0 2 2 0 0 0 0
Dave Barr RW 13 1 0 1 14 0 0 0
Tim Higgins RW 12 0 1 1 16 0 0 0
Rick Zombo D 7 0 1 1 9 0 0 0
Steve Chiasson D 2 0 0 0 19 0 0 0
Glen Hanlon G 8 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Mark Kumpel RW 8 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Mark Lamb C 11 0 0 0 11 0 0 0
Ric Seiling RW/C 7 0 0 0 5 0 0 0
Jeff Sharples D 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Glen Hanlon 467 8 5 2 13 1.67 2 227 214 .943
Greg Stefan 508 9 4 5 24 2.83 0 252 228 .905
Team: 975 16 9 7 37 2.28 2 479 442 .923

[8]

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;

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Detroit's draft picks at the 1986 NHL Entry Draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal. The Red Wings initially selected Ian Kidd first overall in the 1986 NHL Supplemental Draft, but the claim was invalidated after it was determined Kidd didn't meet eligibility requirements.[9]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 1 Joe Murphy  Canada Michigan State University (CCHA)
2 22 Adam Graves  Canada Windsor Compuware Spitfires (OHL)
3 43 Derek Mayer  Canada University of Denver (WCHA)
4 64 Tim Cheveldae  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
5 85 Johan Garpenlov  Sweden Nacka HK (Sweden)
6 106 Jay Stark  Canada Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
7 127 Par Djoos  Sweden Mora IK (Sweden)
8 148 Dean Morton  Canada Oshawa Generals (OHL)
9 169 Marc Potvin  Canada Stratford Cullitons (WOJBHL)
10 190 Scott King  Canada Vernon Lakers (BCJHL)
11 211 Tom Bissett  United States Michigan Technological University (WCHA)
12 232 Peter Ekroth  Sweden Södertälje SK (Sweden)
S2 5 Rob Doyle  Canada Colorado College (WCHA)

Farm teams

See also

References

  1. ^ "History".
  2. ^ "Schenectady Gazette – Google News Archive Search".
  3. ^ "Schenectady Gazette – Google News Archive Search".
  4. ^ "Schenectady Gazette – Google News Archive Search".
  5. ^ "Schenectady Gazette – Google News Archive Search".
  6. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  7. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  8. ^ "1986-87 Detroit Red Wings Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
  9. ^ "Kings draft Yale star". The Californian. September 19, 1986. Retrieved December 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.