The 1987–88 New Jersey Devils season was the

14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a s ...

season for the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and sixth season since the franchise relocated from

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

prior to the

1982–83 NHL season The 1982–83 NHL season was the 66th season of the National Hockey League. The New York Islanders won their fourth Stanley Cup in a row with their second consecutive finals sweep by beating the Edmonton Oilers four games to none. No team in any ...

. The Devils finished fourth in the

Patrick Division The Patrick Division is a former division of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division moved to the Prince of Wales Conference in 1981. The division existed for 19 seasons unt ...

with a record of 38 wins, 36 losses, and 6 ties for 82 points, garnering the first winning record in the franchise's 14-year history. On the final day of the regular season, the Devils were tied with their nemesis, the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

, for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division. After New York defeated the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

3–0, all eyes were on the Devils, who were playing the Blackhawks in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The Devils trailed 3–2 midway through the third period, but John MacLean scored to tie the game, and with two minutes left in overtime, he added the winning goal. Although the Rangers and Devils both finished with 82 points, the Devils had two more wins, sending them to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history, but the first time in New Jersey. The Devils rode the momentum of this victory into a surprisingly deep playoff run, ousting the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

in six games in the Division Semi-finals and the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

in seven games in the Division Finals. They then met the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

in the Wales Conference Finals and stretched the series to seven games, but finally fell short in the seventh game (see below).

Offseason

Hoping to light a spark under the team, team owner John McMullen hired

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

coach and athletic director

Lou Lamoriello Louis P. Lamoriello (born October 21, 1942) is an American professional ice hockey executive who is the president of hockey operations and general manager for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is also the former gene ...

as team president in April 1987. Lamoriello appointed himself

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

shortly before the 1987–88 season. This move came as a considerable surprise to NHL circles; although Lamoriello had been a college coach for 19 years, he had never played, coached, or managed in the NHL and was almost unknown outside the American college hockey community.

Regular season

On November 25, 1987, Aaron Broten scored just 13 seconds into overtime to give the Devils an 8-7 road win over the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 1987–88 NHL regular season. On the last day of the season, Sunday, April 3, 1988, the Devils were scheduled to play the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1929, closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1995. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. ...

, the Rangers were scheduled to host

at home, and the Penguins were scheduled to host

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

at home. Going into the game, the Devils were tied with the

with 80 points and one point ahead of the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

(79) for the last playoff spot in the

. The Penguins beat the Whalers, 4–2, to finish their season with 81 points, and the Rangers shut out the Nordiques, 3–0, to finish their season with 82 points, eliminating the Penguins. When both games ended, the Devils-Blackhawks game was still in progress. Both teams skated to a 3–3 tie after 60 minutes. For the Devils to qualify for the playoffs, they would have to score in overtime to get the win and the two points to win the tiebreaker over the Rangers. An overtime loss would keep them at 80 points, and a 3–3 tie would move them up only to 81 points, handing the last playoff berth to the Rangers. At 2:21 of the overtime period, John MacLean scored the game-winning goal on a rebound slap-shot past Blackhawks netminder

Darren Pang Darren Robert Pang (born February 17, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played his professional career with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (1984–85 and 1987–89). He is currently the lead c ...

to give the Devils a 4–3 win. Both the Devils and Rangers finished with 82 points. However, since the Devils had two more wins during the regular season, they ended up taking the Patrick Division's 4th playoff spot and thereby sealed the first ever playoff berth for the franchise in New Jersey.

Gary Thorne Gary F. Thorne (born June 9, 1948) is an American sportscaster. He was the lead play-by-play announcer for Baltimore Orioles games on MASN from 2007 to 2020. He has also worked for ESPN and ABC, including National Hockey League, Major League ...

called MacLean's overtime, playoff-berth-clinching goal on

SportsChannel New York MSG Sportsnet (visually branded on-air as MSGSN) is an American regional sports network owned by MSG Entertainment; it operates as a sister channel to MSG Network. The network serves the New York City metropolitan area, whose reach expands to cov ...

Season standings

Sean Burke

Sean Burke was drafted by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

in the second round of the

1985 NHL Entry Draft The 1985 NHL Entry Draft was the 23rd NHL Entry Draft. It was the first draft outside Montreal. The event was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, and attended by 7,000 fans. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams sele ...

. He earned national attention from his international play. He backstopped Canada's junior team to a silver medal in the 1986 World Junior Championships and a fourth-place finish for the national men's team at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. Burke went from the Olympics to the Devils. He started 11 games for the Devils in the

1987–88 NHL season The 1987–88 NHL season was the 71st season of the National Hockey League. It was an 80-game season with the top four teams in each division advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This season would see the Edmonton Oilers win their fourth Stanl ...

, including an overtime victory against the

on the final night of the season that qualified the Devils for their first playoff series. Dubbed a "rookie sensation", Burke helped the Devils go on a playoff roll, defeating the division-leader

in the first round in six games and then the

in seven games. Burke was one game away from the Stanley Cup Finals but lost in Game 7 of the Wales Conference finals to the

Schedule and results

Playoffs

The team made it all the way to the conference finals, but lost to the

in seven games. In that series, after a horrendous Game 3 loss to Boston, head coach

Jim Schoenfeld James Grant Schoenfeld (born September 4, 1952) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He most recently was the assistant general manager with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), as well as an inte ...

verbally abused referee

Don Koharski Don Koharski (born December 2, 1955) is a retired professional ice hockey referee in the National Hockey League. He currently resides in Tampa, Florida, with his wife, with whom he has two sons. Starting with the 1994–95 NHL season, he wore unif ...

, screaming obscenities and hollering, "Have another

doughnut A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franc ...

, you fat pig!" The incident resulted in a suspension for Schoenfeld, which the franchise appealed to the

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts.Jeffrey S. Mandel, New Jersey Appellate Pra ...

. This unprecedented appeal to authority outside the NHL gave the Devils a preliminary stay of the coach's suspension. In protest, referee Dave Newell and the assigned linesmen boycotted the next game. After more than an hour's delay, amateur officials were tracked down in the stands and worked the game wearing yellow practice sweaters. To resolve the incident, the NHL suspended Schoenfeld for Game 5. Schoenfeld later admitted he regretted his comments.

Patrick Division semi-finals vs. New York Islanders

New Jersey wins series 4-2

Patrick Division finals vs. Washington Capitals

New Jersey wins series 4–3.

Prince of Wales Conference Finals vs. Boston Bruins

New Jersey loses series 3–4.

Player statistics

Forwards

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes''

Defensemen