1988-1989
OFFSEASON
A pair of defenseman are added to the Hall of Fame in Brad Park and Serge Savard. Park scored 502 goals and 1659 points with the New York Rangers, winning 2 Conn Smythe and 5 Norris Trophy's in the process. Savard had 887 points in 1450 games with Montreal and Minnesota. He won the Norris Trophy in 1973-74.
The most notable retirement announcement this off-season came from former Blackhawks winger Bob Nystrom. The 35 year old had just 20 points in 75 games last season ending a career that saw him play 1247 games for the Islanders and Chicago, scoring 277 goals and 573 points.
The most anticipated debut will be Teemu Selanne beginning his career in Winnipeg. Other rookies entering the league include Mike Modano in Minnesota, Rob Blake with Los Angeles, Jeremy Roenick in Chicago, Trevor Linden with Vancouver and Mark Reechi to Pittsburgh.
With veteran Gilles Meloche on the downside of his career and the Blackhawks uncertain if 23 year old Eddie Belfour is ready for the number one job, Chicago acquired another 23 year old to compete for the starting goaltender role as Darren Puppa was acquired from Buffalo in exchange for winger Wayne Presley. That deal was the highlight of a pretty quiet off-season on the trade front.
REGULAR SEASON
Parity was the key word this season and there was no better example than the Adams Division where just 7 points seperated first place from fourth. The Boston Bruins ended up winning the division by 2 points over the Buffalo Sabres with Montreal and Quebec rounding out the playoff teams. Craig Janney (60-60-120) had a huge season for Boston playing on the top line with Mike Krushelnyski (28-54-82) and Ray Bourque (25-72-97). Bourque seems fully settled in as a forward now in a move that was made a couple of seasons back.
The Norris Division was also very tight with 20 points seperating the first place Chicago Blackhawks from the last place Toronto Maple Leafs, who missed the playoffs by a point following a loss on the final day of the season. Denis Savard (36-66-102) surpassed the 100 point plateau for the first time in his career to help Chicago win it's second straight division title.
Despite Wayne Gretzky scoring 151 points the Edmonton Oilers finished a distint second to the Calgary Flames in the Smythe Division. The Flames had the most potent offense in the league led by Brett Hull (66-64-130), Gary Roberts (60-61-121) and Joe Nieuwendyk (42-64-106). In all, eight different players scored at least 20 goals for Calgary.
Joining Calgary as the only other team to surpass the 100 point mark on the season were the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh had the best goaltending in the league led by Jon Casey (40-15-3, 2.98) and a healthy Mario Lemieux, who played in 74 games and led the league with 167 points. Lemieux and teammate Kevin Stevens (67-68-135) tied for the league goal scoring lead.
MILESTONES
Guy Lafleur of Montreal scored his 800th career goal
Wayne Gretzky of Edmonton picked up his 1200th career point
Dale Hawerchuk of Winnipeg picked up his 900th career point and 400th goal
Dino Ciccarelli of Minnesota scored his 500th career goal
Reed Larson of Detroit earned his 500th assist
Dave Taylor of Los Angeles earned his 500th assist and 300th goal
Brian Sutter of St Louis earned his 500th assist
Ron Francis of Hartford earned his 500th assist
Joe Mullen of St Louis scored his 400th career goal
Bryan Trottier of the NY Islanders scored his 400th goal
Tim Kerr of Philadelphia scored his 400th goal
Bernie Nicholls of Los Angeles scored his 300th goal
Bobby Smith of Vancouver scored his 300th goal
John Ogrodnick of Detroit scored his 300th goal
Denis Potvin of the NY Islanders scored his 300th goal
Tom Fergus of Boston scored his 300th goal
Glenn Anderson of Toronto scored his 300th goal
Brian Propp of Philadelphia scored his 300th goal
Ron Francis of Hartford scored his 300th goal
1250 GAMES
Bill Hajt Buffalo
Larry Robinson Montreal
1000 GAMES
Rick Middleton New York Islanders
Ron Greschner Edmonton
Bryan Trottier New York Islanders
Wilf Paiement New Jersey
Mario Lemieux had a 5 goal, 3 assist night in Pittsburgh 11-2 win over Toronto on November 10th. It was the second time in his career Lemieux had an 8 point night. Lemieux would also have a 7 point night (2G 5A) in January against Winnipeg.
Gary Roberts had two 5 goal games for Calgary this season. The first came in a 6-3 win over Los Angeles on December 20th with the second one in a 10-3 win over St Louis on February 9th. Roberts would finish the season with a career best 60 goals.
Bob Errey of Pittsburgh also enjoyed a 5 goal evening, scoring them in a December 23rd 8-1 win in New Jersey.
Code:
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
ADAMS DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Boston Bruins 80 44 32 4 92
Buffalo Sabres 80 42 32 6 90
Montreal Canadiens 80 42 34 4 88
Quebec Nordiques 80 41 36 3 85
Hartford Whalers 80 33 40 7 73
PATRICK DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 56 22 2 114
New York Islanders 80 35 41 4 74
Washington Capitals 80 31 40 9 71
New York Rangers 80 29 47 4 62
New Jersey Devils 80 22 52 6 50
Philadelphia Flyers 80 23 54 3 49
NORRIS DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Chicago Black Hawks 80 41 32 7 89
Minnesota North Stars 80 39 34 7 85
Detroit Red Wings 80 36 39 5 77
St Louis Blues 80 32 42 6 70
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 31 42 7 69
SMYTHE DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Calgary Flames 80 54 23 3 111
Edmonton Oilers 80 45 28 7 97
Winnipeg Jets 80 40 34 6 86
Los Angeles Kings 80 36 38 6 78
Vancouver Canucks 80 32 42 6 70
SCORING LEADERS TEAM GP G A PTS
Mario Lemieux PIT 74 67 100 167
Wayne Gretzky EDM 80 49 102 151
Kevin Stevens PIT 79 67 68 135
Brett Hull CGY 80 66 64 130
Ron Francis HAR 80 60 69 129
Joe Sakic QUE 80 55 68 123
Dale Hawerchuk WPG 72 53 70 123
Gary Roberts CGY 80 60 61 121
Craig Janney BOS 71 60 60 120
Michel Goulet QUE 80 54 65 119
Luc Robitaille LA 80 50 69 119
Glenn Anderson TOR 80 53 59 112
Doug Gilmour STL 72 40 72 112
Joe Nieuwendyk CGY 80 42 64 106
Paul Coffey EDM 80 30 75 105
Steve Thomas TOR 80 37 67 104
Pat Verbeek VAN 76 45 57 102
Denis Savard CHI 80 36 66 102
Mike Gartner WSH 80 55 46 101
Tim Kerr PHI 80 53 48 101
Pierre Turgeon BUF 80 28 73 101
Phil Housley BUF 74 24 75 99
Dirk Graham HAR 80 37 61 98
Ray Sheppard BUF 80 52 45 97
Ray Bourque BOS 78 25 72 97
GOALIE WIN LEADERS TM W-L-T GAA SAVE%
Jon Casey PIT 40-15-3 2.98 .875
Grant Fuhr EDM 38-20-7 3.15 .878
Mike Liut BOS 37-25-2 3.52 .875
Patrick Roy MON 33-28-6 3.34 .880
Ed Belfour CHI 32-23-6 3.58 .861
Glen Healy LA 32-20-6 3.51 .880
Doug Keans QUE 32-16-3 3.45 .877
Andy Moog BUF 31-24-8 3.22 .889
Mario Gosselin NYI 30-25-6 3.60 .887
PLAYOFFS
For the second year in a row the Calgary Flames swept Edmonton in the quarterfinals. Calgary would be the only team from last season's semi-finals to return. The Oilers made another early exit from the playoffs despite a 7 goal, 18 point effort from Wayne Gretzky in his 9 postseason games.
In the Norris Division the Chicago Blackhawks beat St Louis in 6 games in the opening round and then swept Minnesota to advance to the semi-finals.
The other conference was a mess. The third place Washington Capitals beat the Islanders in 6 games and then knocked off the New York Rangers in a 7 game quarterfinal series that needed overtime in 4 games including Game Seven to determine a winner. The Rangers, despite finishing the regular season with 52 points less than Pittsburgh, beat the Penguins in a 7 game series in the preliminary round. Mario Lemieux was held to 1 goal in the series.
In the Adams Division Quebec upset first place Boston in a 7 game series while Buffalo knocked off Montreal in 5. The Sabres advanced to meet Washington following a win in 6 games in the quarterfinals. Defenseman Phil Housley (4-19-23) and forward Pierre Turgeon (6-16-22) were dominant in the first two rounds.
SEMI-FINALS
The Buffalo Sabres had no trouble with the Washington Capitals as the Sabres swept the series with 4 easy victories. Housley had 9 more points in the 4 games while Turgeon had 5 goals and an assist but the big scorer was Ray Sheppard, who scored 7 goals in the series to increase his playoff leading total to 15.
Chicago and Calgary split the first four games of their series with each team winning on home ice. The home ice trend continued in Game Five when Steve Larmer and Troy Murray each had a goal and an assist in a 5-1 Chicago victory. The Hawks would wrap up the series 2 nights later in Calgary when Murray scored 3 goals and Tony Tanti had 3 helpers in a 6-5 Chicago victory.
STANLEY CUP FINALS
Last year it was Detroit ending a long Cup drought. Could this year be another Original Six team's turn as the Chicago Blackhawks look to win their first Cup since 1973? The Blackhawks have won 5 Stanley Cups in their history - 1966,1967,1968,1970 and 1973. The Sabres have never won the Cup but did make the finals twice, falling to the Islanders in 1979 and Edmonton in 1984.
The Hawks will be missing defenseman Doug Wilson and Doug Crossman, both of whom have been sidelined throughout the playoffs. Buffalo will also be minus two rearguards as Uwe Krupp and Reijo Ruotsalainen have also missed the entire postseason.
Steve Larmer scores twice and adds two assists while Denis Savard gets 3 helpers as Chicago draws first blood, winning Game One 5-2 over the Sabres in Buffalo. Dave Manson, Gary Nylund and Andy Brickley also score for Chicago while Buffalo gets goals from Shawn Anderson and Ray Sheppard.
Buffalo rebounds with a 5-4 victory in Game Two as John Tucker, scoring for just the second time in 17 playoff games, got the game winner midway through the third period. Chicago had tied the game earlier in the third on a pair of Tony Tanti goals. Denis Savard and Marc Bergevin scored the other Chicago goals while Ray Sheppard had 2 for Buffalo with Stan Smyl and Randy Cunneyworth getting the others.
The Sabres take the series lead with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game Three. Phil Housley tied the game for Buffalo with 2:04 remaining in regulation and Ken Priestlay beat Chicago goaltender Eddie Belfour for the game winner at 7:35 of the first overtime. Ray Sheppard had another 2 goal night for the Sabres, giving him 20 so far in the postseason. Steve Larmer, Denis Savard and Tony Tanti replied for Chicago in a game that saw the Blackhawks outshoot the Sabres 34-23. Andy Moog had a strong game in the Buffalo net.
The Hawks make a statement in Game Four, evening the series with a 7-3 victory. Troy Murray had a 5 point night, including 1 goal, while Tony Tanti had 2 goals and an assist. Steve Larmer also had three points for Chicago, 1 goal and 2 helpers. Rookie Jeremy Roenick, Carey Wilson and Dave Manson also scored for Chicago. The Sabres got goals from Aaron Broten, Pierre Turgeon and Hannu Virta.
A huge third period from the Buffalo Sabres puts them within one win of the Stanley Cup. The Chicago Blackhawks seemed to have Game Five well in hand as they lead 6-3 after 40 minutes but the Sabres scored 5 times in the third period and claimed an 8-7 victory. Pierre Turgeon led the way with 2 goals and 3 assists for Buffalo while Ray Sheppard added 2 more goals to his total - giving him 22 in the post-season and equalling Mario Lemieux's record. Other Buffalo goals came from Hannu Virta, Lindy Ruff, Ken Priestlay and Mikael Andersson. Chicago had 3 point nights from Troy Murray, Denis Savard and Steve Larmer. Ed Belfour allowed 8 goals on 28 shots before giving way to backup Ken Wregget midway through the third.
Steve Larmer scores 3 goals to keep the Blackhawks alive and force a 7th game by winning Game Six at the Chicago Stadium 4-2. Ed Olczyk also scored for Chicago while Denis Savard had 3 assists. Ray Sheppard got his playoff record breaking 23rd goal for the Sabres with Calle Johansson getting the other goal.
Game Seven in Buffalo and the Sabres delight the hometown fans with a 5-3 victory. There were some scary moments for Sabres fans when it was learned Andy Moog had a suffered an injury and would be replaced by 40 year old backup Glenn Resch in the Buffalo net. Resch did the job and the Sabres defense minimized the shots against, allowing just 22 from the Hawks while firing 35 of their own on Chicago netminder Ed Belfour.
Ray Sheppard scored another goal with Stan Smyl, Christian Ruuttu, Dave Andreychuk and Mikael Andersson also scoring for the winners. Jeff Norton had two and Ed Olczyk were the Chicago scorers.
Despite Ray Sheppard setting a new playoff record with 24 goals the Conn Smythe Trophy went to Buffalo defenseman Phil Housley (6-34-40), who tied teammate Pierre Turgeon (14-26-40) for second in playoff scoring behind Chicago's Steve Larmer (20-23-43).
Other award winners are:
HART TROPHY: Wayne Gretzky Edmonton (80GP 49-102-151)
VEZINA TROPHY: Grant Fuhr Edmonton (38-20-7, 3.15)
NORRIS TROPHY: Gary Suter Calgary (75GP 20-75-95)
ART ROSS TROPHY: Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh (74GP 67-100-167)
CALDER TROPHY: Teemu Selanne Winnipeg (77GP 25-52-77)
The game does not select the all-star team but I will start naming first and second team all-stars
Code:
POS FIRST TEAM SECOND TEAM
G Jon Casey Pittsburgh Grant Fuhr Edmonton
D Gary Suter Calgary Phil Housley Buffalo
D Paul Coffey Edmonton Paul Reinhart Pittsburgh
C Mario Lemieux Pittsbugh Wayne Gretzky Edmonton
LW Kevin Stevens Pittsburgh Gary Roberts Calgary
RW Brett Hull Calgary Michel Goulet Quebec