1987 NHL Playoffs
Adams Division
Hartford and
Montreal meet a little earlier then usual this year.
Todd Gill’s game 6 overtime goal eliminates the division winning
Whalers in 6 games.
Wayne Gretzky did not play. His day to day injury kept him out all series.
Quebec almost blows a 3-0 series lead, but
Doug Gilmour gets 4 points in a seventh game blowout, avoiding disaster. The
Nordiques best ever season came to an end after 7 hard fought games with their provincial rivals.
Montreal, the 4th place team in the Adams, wins the division, and will play in the Wales Conference Finals.
Patrick Division
Philadelphia wins their opening round series with the
Rangers fairly easily. They allow just 9 goals in the 5 games. The
Devils shake off a bad start to win 4 straight against the
Islanders. They are trying to get back to the finals. They get another step closer with a 6 game victory over the
Flyers.
Philly must feel like this is an opportunity wasted, as they held a 2-0 series lead before losing 4 straight!
Norris Division
Detroit with a healthy
Lemieux is not a 4th place team.
Mario gets 9 points in their first round victory over
Toronto.
St. Louis, impressively smothers the
Blackhawks into submission to advance in 5. The
Blues won big, while
Detroit seemed to win the close ones in their division final series. It came down to game 7, where
Mario Lemieux scored both
Detroit goals in a 2-1 win. The
Wings advance!
Smythe Division
Winnipeg scores 3 unanswered goals in game 6 to tie it, and
Al MacInnis wins it in a fantastic comeback to eliminate the
Flames in 6. It takes
LA seven games, and almost a full on 4th period to beat the
Canucks.
Bob Brooke scores the overtime goal that wins the series. Another marathon series sees the
Kings go up 3-0, only to lose that lead with the
Jets winning consecutive overtime games. In game 7, on their home ice, the
Jets blow a 2-1 third period lead, allowing the
Kings 3 straight goals.
LA advances in 7!
Wales Conference Finals
Montreal, with a 28-45-7 record, good for 63 points, gets home ice advantage over
New Jersey, who won 43 games, and finished with 90 points. That alone, is enough for me not to buy the new game. Come on…..
New Jersey, angry that the NHL’s lack of attention, awarding the
Habs home ice advantage, take their frustrations out on
Montreal.
Jody Gage scored twice,
Doug Lidster and
Brett Hull get powerplay goals, and
Mats Naslund added another. Then the first period ended. 5-0
Devils. New Jersey would go on to score 6 more, on their way to an 11-3 route.
Montreal gives a better game two effort by default.
Pat LaFontaine and
Dave Andreychuk give them a lead, that’s short lived, as the Devils have it tied after a period.
New Jersey goes ahead in the 2nd, on a
Dave Reid goal.
Mats Naslund adds some 3rd period insurance.
Devils win game two, 4-2.
Jody Gage's two game one goals help the Devils blow out Montreal!
In
New Jersey for game three, we see five first period goals, bringing the series total to 14 so far!
New Jersey led 3-2 after a period, and it stay that way until the third. With the final seconds ticking away, and the goalie pulled, while on a PP,
Pat LaFontaine gets his 11th of the playoffs with just 27 seconds left to tie it, keeping
Montreal hopes alive. In overtime,
Brian MacLellan is the hero, winning a must win game for
Montreal! 4-3
Habs. Montreal keeps the road team pattern alive in game 4. They dominate, starting with
Dave Andreychuk’s goal, just 5 seconds into the game. They end up building up a 5-1 lead, to eventually tie the series with a 5-2 win!
McLellan's OT goal kept Montreal alive!
Montreal seems to have grabbed all the momentum.
New Jersey scores the first goal of game five, but
Montreal answers almost immediately, with 2 goals, and lead 2-1.
Brett Hull ties it early in the third, but
Montreal again responds with 2 goals!
Hull adds another to cut the lead to one, but the
Devils have nothing left.
Montreal wins their third straight, 4-3, and are on the verge of another upset!
Brad Shaw gives the
Devils a first period lead in game six that actually holds up for a while. The key wording being for a while.
Montreal ties it in the 2nd, off the stick of
Dave Babych. In the third,
Dave Poulin gives
Montreal a lead with 6 minutes remaining. The
Devils can’t find another goal.
Montreal wins 2-1, and upsets the
Devils!
Campbell Conference Final
The
Red Wings have a chance to make their first finals in 21 years!
Wayne Presley and
Gaetan Duchesne score a minute apart in the first, making it 2-0
Wings. The lead widens to 4-0 before the
Kings score two quick ones in the last 5 minutes, but it’s not enough. 4-2
Detroit strikes first. The
Kings provide a response in game two.
Bruce Cassidy scores 89 seconds in. Despite
Detroit tying it,
LA adds 3 more goals in the final 5 minutes of the period. They score again in the 2nd, and the rout is on. 7-1
Kings tie the series.
Vanbiesbrouck is chased from the Red Wings net in game two!
Mario Lemieux makes his first impact on the series, getting 3 assists.
Detroit builds up a 4-1 lead, which is too big for the
Kings to counter.
Lemieux is first star as
Detroit wins 4-2. In game four,
LA grabs an early lead.
Mario Lemieux then got going. He assists on 4 straight
Detroit goals, while completely shutting down the
Kings offense.
LA is held to just 20 shots. The
Red Wings cruise to a 7-1 win.
Lemieux gets with 7 assists in games 3/4!
Mario Lemieux finally scores his first goal of the series in game five. It gives
Detroit a 2-1 lead in the first period. The
Red Wings defense is again suffocating.
LA is held to just 16 shots today. When
Randy Cunneyworth scores
Detroit’s third goal, that lead seems insurmountable for the
Kings. It is!
Detroit wins 3-1 and takes the series in 5!
