1987 Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* overtime periods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location(s) |
Edmonton (Northlands Coliseum) (1,2,5,7) Philadelphia (Spectrum) (3,4,6) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaches | Edmonton: Glen Sather Philadelphia: Mike Keenan |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Captains | Edmonton: Wayne Gretzky Philadelphia: Dave Poulin |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Referees | Dave Newell (1,6) Andy Van Hellemond (2,4,7) Don Koharski (3,5) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dates | May 17 – May 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Ron Hextall (Philadelphia Flyers) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series-winning goal | Jari Kurri (14:59, second,G7) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Networks |
CBC (Canada-English, Game 1, 2, 6, 7), Global/Can-West (Canada-English, Games 3, 4, 5, and 7), SRC (Canada-French), ESPN (United States), PRISM (Philadelphia area, Games 3, 4, 6), WGBS (Philadelphia area, Games 1, 2, 5, 7) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers |
Bob Cole and Harry Neale (CBC) Dan Kelly and John Davidson (Global-CanWest) Mike Emrick and Bill Clement (ESPN) Gene Hart and Bobby Taylor (PRISM and WGBS) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 1987 Stanley Cup Final was played between the Edmonton Oilers and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Oilers won the series 4–3, for their third Stanley Cup victory. This would be the fifth of eight consecutive Finals contested by a team from Alberta (the Oilers appeared in six, the Calgary Flames in two), and the fourth of five consecutive Finals to end with the Cup presentation on Alberta ice (the Oilers won four times, the Montreal Canadiens once).
For the third straight year, the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers finished the regular season with the two best records in the NHL. (In 1984–85, the Flyers were first in NHL standings and the Oilers second; in both 1985–86 and 1986–87, the positions were reversed.) While the Oilers' success came from their vaunted offense, the Flyers relied on grit, defensive play, and solid goaltending from Vezina Trophy winner Ron Hextall.
The Oilers cruised into the Finals with relative ease, losing only two games in the process. They beat the Los Angeles Kings in five games, swept the Winnipeg Jets, and then beat the Detroit Red Wings in five to win the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl for the fourth time in five years. The Flyers, meanwhile, had a much harder road. It took them six games to knock off the New York Rangers, went the full seven against the New York Islanders, and then beat Montreal, the reigning champion, in six to claim their second Prince of Wales Trophy in three years.