1987–88 Los Angeles Kings season

1987–88 Los Angeles Kings
Division	4th Smythe
Conference	7th Campbell
1987–88 record	30-42-8
Goals for	318
Goals against	359
Team information
General manager	Rogatien Vachon
Coach	Mike Murphy, Rogatien Vachon, Robbie Ftorek
Captain	Dave Taylor
Arena	The Forum
Team leaders
Goals	Jimmy Carson (55)
Assists	Luc Robitaille (58)
Points	Luc Robitaille (111)
Penalty minutes	Larry Playfair (197)
Plus/minus	Ken Baumgartner (+5) Phil Sykes (+5)
Wins	Roland Melanson (17)
Goals against average	Glenn Healy (4.33)

The 1987–88 Los Angeles Kings season, was the Kings' 21st season in the National Hockey League. It saw the Kings finish in fourth place in the Smythe Division with a record of 30 wins, 42 losses, and 8 ties for 68 points. The team finished last in the league in goaltending, with 359 goals allowed. They lost the Division Semi-finals in five games to the Calgary Flames.

This was the last season that the Kings wore purple and gold uniforms with a crown logo adorning the front. After this season, they would introduce a new logo with a white, black, and silver uniform, coinciding with the acquisition of Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers.

Regular season

Final standings

Smythe Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Calgary Flames	80	48	23	9	397	305	105
Edmonton Oilers	80	44	25	11	363	288	99
Winnipeg Jets	80	33	36	11	292	310	77
Los Angeles Kings	80	30	42	8	318	359	68
Vancouver Canucks	80	25	46	9	272	320	59

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

Smythe Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Smythe Division 1987–88 NHL records Team CGY EDM LAK VAN WIN Total Calgary — 4–3–1 4–4 6–0–2 3–4–1 17–11–4 Edmonton 3–4–1 — 4–2–2 7–0–1 4–1–3 18–7–7 Los Angeles 4–4 2–4–2 — 3–4–1 3–5 12–17–3 Vancouver 0–6–2 0–7–1 4–3–1 — 3–5 7–21–4 Winnipeg 4–3–1 1–4–3 5–3 5–3 — 15–13–4 Vs. Norris Division 1987–88 NHL records Team CHI DET MIN STL TOR Total Calgary 2–0–1 1–1–1 2–0–1 2–1 3–0 10–2–3 Edmonton 1–2 1–2 2–0–1 3–0 2–0–1 9–4–2 Los Angeles 2–1 1–2 3–0 2–1 1–1–1 9–5–1 Vancouver 1–2 1–2 2–1 1–2 1–1–1 6–8–1 Winnipeg 1–1–1 0–2–1 2–0–1 2–1 2–1 7–5–3 Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Adams Division 1987–88 NHL records Team BOS BUF HFD MTL QUE Total Calgary 1–2 2–1 3–0 2–0–1 3–0 11–3–1 Edmonton 1–1–1 3–0 2–1 0–3 1–1–1 7–6–2 Los Angeles 0–2–1 1–2 0–3 1–2 2–1 4–10–1 Vancouver 1–2 1–1–1 0–1–2 0–2–1 3–0 5–6–4 Winnipeg 0–3 1–1–1 1–2 0–3 2–0–1 4–9–2 Vs. Patrick Division 1987–88 NHL records Team NJD NYI NYR PHI PIT WSH Total Calgary 2–1 1–2 2–1 3–0 0–2–1 2–1 10–7–1 Edmonton 1–2 1–2 2–1 2–1 3–0 1–2 10–8–0 Los Angeles 1–1–1 0–3 3–0 0–3 0–1–2 1–2 5–10–3 Vancouver 3–0 0–3 1–2 1–2 2–1 0–3 7–11–0 Winnipeg 2–0–1 1–2 0–2–1 0–3 2–1 2–1 7–9–2

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 8, 1987	1–4	New York Islanders (1987–88)	0–1–0
2	W	October 10, 1987	4–2	St. Louis Blues (1987–88)	1–1–0
3	L	October 11, 1987	2–9	Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)	1–2–0
4	L	October 15, 1987	2–3	Boston Bruins (1987–88)	1–3–0
5	L	October 18, 1987	2–4	Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)	1–4–0
6	L	October 21, 1987	2–6	@ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)	1–5–0
7	L	October 23, 1987	3–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)	1–6–0
8	W	October 25, 1987	2–1	@ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)	2–6–0
9	T	October 27, 1987	4–4 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88)	2–6–1
10	W	October 28, 1987	4–3	@ New York Rangers (1987–88)	3–6–1
11	L	October 30, 1987	1–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)	3–7–1
12	L	November 1, 1987	1–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88)	3–8–1
13	L	November 4, 1987	4–5	Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)	3–9–1
14	W	November 7, 1987	5–4	New York Rangers (1987–88)	4–9–1
15	T	November 10, 1987	4–4 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)	4–9–2
16	L	November 13, 1987	7–10	@ Calgary Flames (1987–88)	4–10–2
17	W	November 14, 1987	8–7	Quebec Nordiques (1987–88)	5–10–2
18	L	November 17, 1987	3–4	@ New York Islanders (1987–88)	5–11–2
19	L	November 19, 1987	5–7	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88)	5–12–2
20	T	November 21, 1987	6–6 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)	5–12–3
21	W	November 22, 1987	8–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)	6–12–3
22	W	November 25, 1987	6–4	Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88)	7–12–3
23	L	November 28, 1987	4–8	Calgary Flames (1987–88)	7–13–3
24	T	November 29, 1987	2–2 OT	New Jersey Devils (1987–88)	7–13–4
25	L	December 1, 1987	6–7 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)	7–14–4
26	L	December 3, 1987	4–5 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)	7–15–4
27	L	December 5, 1987	4–6	@ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)	7–16–4
28	L	December 6, 1987	3–10	@ Washington Capitals (1987–88)	7–17–4
29	L	December 9, 1987	1–2	@ New Jersey Devils (1987–88)	7–18–4
30	L	December 10, 1987	3–4	@ Boston Bruins (1987–88)	7–19–4
31	L	December 12, 1987	2–3	@ Hartford Whalers (1987–88)	7–20–4
32	W	December 16, 1987	7–5	Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)	8–20–4
33	L	December 19, 1987	1–4	Calgary Flames (1987–88)	8–21–4
34	W	December 20, 1987	6–3	@ Calgary Flames (1987–88)	9–21–4
35	L	December 22, 1987	2–5	@ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)	9–22–4
36	L	December 23, 1987	1–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)	9–23–4
37	W	December 26, 1987	3–2	Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)	10–23–4
38	L	December 28, 1987	2–5	Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)	10–24–4
39	W	December 30, 1987	6–4	Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)	11–24–4
40	W	January 2, 1988	5–2	Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)	12–24–4
41	W	January 4, 1988	6–3	@ New Jersey Devils (1987–88)	13–24–4
42	T	January 5, 1988	4–4 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88)	13–24–5
43	L	January 8, 1988	3–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)	13–25–5
44	L	January 10, 1988	2–5	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88)	13–26–5
45	W	January 11, 1988	5–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)	14–26–5
46	L	January 13, 1988	3–8	Washington Capitals (1987–88)	14–27–5
47	L	January 16, 1988	3–4	Hartford Whalers (1987–88)	14–28–5
48	W	January 19, 1988	6–3	New York Rangers (1987–88)	15–28–5
49	W	January 21, 1988	5–4 OT	@ Calgary Flames (1987–88)	16–28–5
50	L	January 22, 1988	3–5	@ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)	16–29–5
51	W	January 24, 1988	2–1	@ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)	17–29–5
52	L	January 26, 1988	3–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1987–88)	17–30–5
53	L	January 27, 1988	2–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)	17–31–5
54	W	January 30, 1988	5–0	Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)	18–31–5
55	L	February 2, 1988	2–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)	18–32–5
56	W	February 3, 1988	7–2	Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)	19–32–5
57	W	February 6, 1988	7–2	Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)	20–32–5
58	L	February 7, 1988	2–5	Calgary Flames (1987–88)	20–33–5
59	W	February 11, 1988	5–3	Quebec Nordiques (1987–88)	21–33–5
60	L	February 13, 1988	5–7	Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88)	21–34–5
61	L	February 15, 1988	1–6	Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)	21–35–5
62	W	February 17, 1988	5–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)	22–35–5
63	L	February 18, 1988	4–7	@ St. Louis Blues (1987–88)	22–36–5
64	W	February 20, 1988	3–0	Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)	23–36–5
65	W	February 24, 1988	4–3	Washington Capitals (1987–88)	24–36–5
66	L	February 27, 1988	6–8	Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88)	24–37–5
67	W	February 28, 1988	2–0	@ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)	25–37–5
68	L	March 1, 1988	3–5	@ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)	25–38–5
69	L	March 5, 1988	6–7 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)	25–39–5
70	L	March 9, 1988	4–5	@ Hartford Whalers (1987–88)	25–40–5
71	T	March 10, 1988	3–3 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1987–88)	25–40–6
72	W	March 13, 1988	7–6	St. Louis Blues (1987–88)	26–40–6
73	T	March 16, 1988	3–3 OT	Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)	26–40–7
74	L	March 18, 1988	3–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)	26–41–7
75	W	March 19, 1988	7–4	Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)	27–41–7
76	L	March 23, 1988	2–6	New York Islanders (1987–88)	27–42–7
77	W	March 26, 1988	9–5	Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88)	28–42–7
78	W	March 30, 1988	9–7	Calgary Flames (1987–88)	29–42–7
79	W	April 1, 1988	6–3	@ Calgary Flames (1987–88)	30–42–7
80	T	April 3, 1988	5–5 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)	30–42–8

Playoffs

(S1) Calgary Flames vs. (S4) Los Angeles Kings

April 6	Los Angeles Kings		2–9		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
No scoring		First period			06:00 – Lanny McDonald (1) 08:07 – Al MacInnis (1) 09:36 – Joel Otto (1) 14:42 – pp – Hakan Loob (1)
Jimmy Carson (1) – 07:21 Dave Taylor (1) – pp – 14:49		Second period			02:54 – Joel Otto (2) 10:37 – Joe Mullen (1)
No scoring		Third period			10:07 – pp – Joe Nieuwendyk (1) 13:19 – Gary Roberts (1) 15:02 – Hakan Loob (2)
Roland Melanson 41 saves / 50 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 15 saves / 17 shots

April 7	Los Angeles Kings		4–6		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
Dave Taylor (2) – pp – 15:13		First period			05:06 – pp – Paul Reinhart (1) 09:49 – Joe Mullen (2)
Jimmy Carson (2) – 15:34 Chris Kontos (1) – 19:17		Second period			03:24 – pp – Joel Otto (3) 04:45 – Tim Hunter (1)
Paul Fenton (1) – 16:47		Third period			09:33 – pp – John Tonelli (1) 19:26 – sh – Gary Suter (1)
Glenn Healy 29 saves / 34 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 23 saves / 27 shots

April 9	Calgary Flames		2–5		Los Angeles Kings	The Forum	Recap
Colin Patterson (1) – sh – 13:58		First period			12:42 – Jimmy Carson (3)
No scoring		Second period			04:38 – pp – Bernie Nicholls (1) 15:15 – pp – Luc Robitaille (1)
Dana Murzyn (1) – 07:31		Third period			00:46 – Bobby Carpenter (1) 14:08 – pp – Jimmy Carson (4)
Mike Vernon 21 saves / 26 shots		Goalie stats			Glenn Healy 28 saves / 30 shots

April 10	Calgary Flames		7–3		Los Angeles Kings	The Forum	Recap
Hakan Loob (3) – sh – 01:29 Brad McCrimmon (1) – pp – 04:56 Gary Roberts (2) – 10:50		First period			12:13 – Dave Taylor (3) 13:10 – pp – Luc Robitaille (2)
Tim Hunter (2) – 14:35 Hakan Loob (4) – 16:05		Second period			08:12 – pp – Steve Duchesne (1)
Lanny McDonald (2) – 00:19 Hakan Loob (5) – 08:41		Third period			No scoring
Mike Vernon 22 saves / 25 shots		Goalie stats			Glenn Healy 27 saves / 34 shots

April 12	Los Angeles Kings		4–6		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
Jay Wells (1) – 11:06		First period			04:01 – pp – Hakan Loob (6) 18:22 – pp – Al MacInnis (2)
Bernie Nicholls (2) – 02:45		Second period			03:38 – Paul Reinhart (2)
Paul Fenton (2) – pp – 16:10 Jimmy Carson (5) – 18:18		Third period			01:57 – Hakan Loob (7) 02:32 – Tim Hunter (3) 09:03 – Ric Nattress (1)
Glenn Healy 23 saves / 29 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 26 saves / 30 shots

Calgary won series 4–1

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Luc Robitaille LW 80 53 58 111 82 -9 17 0 6 Jimmy Carson C 80 55 52 107 45 -19 22 0 7 Bernie Nicholls C 65 32 46 78 114 2 8 7 1 Dave Taylor RW 68 26 41 67 129 -4 9 0 2 Steve Duchesne D 71 16 39 55 109 0 5 0 4 Bobby Carpenter C 71 19 33 52 84 -21 10 0 2 Jim Fox RW 68 16 35 51 18 -7 2 0 1 Paul Fenton LW 71 20 23 43 46 -14 8 1 1 Mike Allison LW 37 16 12 28 57 3 5 1 2 Mark Hardy D 61 6 22 28 99 -27 4 1 1 Jay Wells D 58 2 23 25 159 -3 1 0 0 Phil Sykes LW 40 9 12 21 82 5 3 1 0 Bryan Erickson RW 42 6 15 21 20 -14 2 0 0 Bob Bourne C 72 7 11 18 28 -31 1 0 1 Ken Hammond D 46 7 9 16 69 -1 1 0 1 Tom Laidlaw D 57 1 12 13 47 3 0 0 0 Craig Laughlin RW 19 4 8 12 6 -8 2 0 0 Chris Kontos LW/C 6 2 10 12 2 1 1 0 0 Dean Kennedy D 58 1 11 12 158 -22 0 0 0 Lyle Phair LW 28 4 6 10 8 -5 0 0 0 Paul Guay RW 33 4 4 8 40 -7 0 0 0 Ron Duguay C/RW 15 2 6 8 17 -5 0 0 1 Grant Ledyard D 23 1 7 8 52 -7 1 0 0 Tim Tookey C 20 1 6 7 8 -2 0 0 0 Larry Playfair D 54 0 7 7 197 -13 0 0 0 Sean McKenna RW 30 3 2 5 12 -14 0 0 0 Ken Baumgartner LW 30 2 3 5 189 5 0 0 0 John English D 3 1 3 4 4 2 1 0 0 Joe Paterson LW 32 1 3 4 113 -10 0 0 0 Glenn Healy G 34 0 2 2 6 0 0 0 0 Dan Gratton C 7 1 0 1 5 1 0 0 0 Eric Germain D 4 0 1 1 13 -2 0 0 0 Bob Kudelski RW 26 0 1 1 8 -10 0 0 0 Denis Larocque D 8 0 1 1 18 -4 0 0 0 Wayne McBean D 27 0 1 1 26 -14 0 0 0 Glen Currie C 7 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 Craig Duncanson LW 9 0 0 0 12 -5 0 0 0 Bob Janecyk G 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Roland Melanson G 47 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 Petr Prajsler D 7 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 Craig Redmond D 2 0 0 0 0 -4 0 0 0 Tiger Williams LW 2 0 0 0 6 1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV% Roland Melanson 2676 47 17 20 7 195 4.37 2 1399 1204 .861 Glenn Healy 1869 34 12 18 1 135 4.33 1 1005 870 .866 Bob Janecyk 303 5 1 4 0 23 4.55 0 165 142 .861 Team: 4848 80 30 42 8 353 4.37 3 2569 2216 .863

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Jimmy Carson C 5 5 3 8 4 -2 1 0 0 Bernie Nicholls C 5 2 6 8 11 -3 1 0 0 Luc Robitaille LW 5 2 5 7 18 -8 2 0 1 Dave Taylor RW 5 3 3 6 6 -3 2 0 0 Steve Duchesne D 5 1 3 4 14 -5 1 0 0 Paul Fenton LW 5 2 1 3 2 -3 1 0 0 Jay Wells D 5 1 2 3 21 0 0 0 0 Bobby Carpenter C 5 1 1 2 0 -7 0 0 0 Tom Laidlaw D 5 0 2 2 4 -8 0 0 0 Chris Kontos LW/C 4 1 0 1 4 -3 0 0 0 Ken Baumgartner LW 5 0 1 1 28 -6 0 0 0 Bob Bourne C 5 0 1 1 0 -1 0 0 0 Paul Guay RW 4 0 1 1 8 -1 0 0 0 Dean Kennedy D 4 0 1 1 10 4 0 0 0 Craig Laughlin RW 3 0 1 1 2 -1 0 0 0 Mike Allison LW 5 0 0 0 16 -3 0 0 0 Ron Duguay C/RW 2 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 John English D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jim Fox RW 1 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 Eric Germain D 1 0 0 0 4 -1 0 0 0 Ken Hammond D 2 0 0 0 4 -5 0 0 0 Glenn Healy G 4 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 Roland Melanson G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lyle Phair LW 1 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 Larry Playfair D 3 0 0 0 14 -1 0 0 0 Phil Sykes LW 4 0 0 0 0 -3 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV% Glenn Healy 240 4 1 3 20 5.00 0 128 108 .844 Roland Melanson 60 1 0 1 9 9.00 0 50 41 .820 Team: 300 5 1 4 29 5.80 0 178 149 .837

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Defencemen

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Steve Duchesne	71	16	39	55	109
Mark Hardy	61	6	22	28	99
Jay Wells	58	2	23	25	159

Awards and records

• Luc Robitaille, Left Wing, NHL First All-Star Team

Transactions

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1987–88 season.

Trades

June 13, 1987	To Los Angeles Kings 1st round pick in 1987 – Wayne McBean	To Minnesota North Stars 1st round pick in 1987 – Dave Archibald 3rd round pick in 1987 NHL Entry Draft – Kevin Kaminski
October 15, 1987	To Los Angeles Kings Cash	To Hartford Whalers Tiger Williams
December 14, 1987	To Los Angeles Kings Mike Allison	To Toronto Maple Leafs Sean McKenna
January 21, 1988	To Los Angeles Kings Gordie Walker Mike Siltala	To New York Rangers Joe Paterson
February 4, 1988	To Los Angeles Kings Chris Kontos 6th round pick in 1988 – Micah Aivazoff	To Pittsburgh Penguins Bryan Erickson
February 9, 1988	To Los Angeles Kings Grant Ledyard	To Washington Capitals Craig Laughlin
February 22, 1988	To Los Angeles Kings Ron Duguay	To New York Rangers Mark Hardy

Free agent signings

March 18, 1988

From New Haven Nighthawks (AHL) Hubie McDonough

Free agents lost

August 15, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers Mark Lofthouse
December 14, 1987	To Pittsburgh Penguins Scott Gruhl

Waivers

October 5, 1987	To Minnesota North Stars Al Tuer
October 5, 1987	From New York Rangers Paul Fenton
October 5, 1987	From Philadelphia Flyers Tim Tookey

Draft picks

Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	4	Wayne McBean	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
2	27	Mark Fitzpatrick	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
3	43	Ross Wilson	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHL)
5	90	Mike Vukonich	United States	Denfeld High School (USHS-MN)
6	111	Greg Batters	Canada	Victoria Cougars (WHL)
7	132	Kyosti Karjalainen	Sweden	Brynäs IF (Sweden)
9	174	Jeff Gawlicki	United States	Northern Michigan University (WCHA)
10	195	John Preston	Canada	Boston University (Hockey East)
11	216	Rostislav Vlach	Czechoslovakia	TJ Gottwaldov (Czechoslovakia)
12	237	Mikael Lindholm	Sweden	Brynäs IF (Sweden)
S2	10	Chris Panek	United States	SUNY Plattsburgh (SUNYAC)