1986–87 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1986–87 Detroit Red Wings season saw the Red Wings finish in second place in the Norris Division (NHL) with a record of 34 wins, 36 losses, and 10 draws for 78 points, a 38-point improvement from the previous season. Despite losing nine of their last 14 regular season games, the Red Wings swept the Chicago Blackhawks in four games in the opening round, rallied from a 3–1 deficit against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the division final, before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers in five games in the Campbell Conference final. This season marked a turning point for the franchise, after making the playoffs just four times between 1967 and 1986, the Red Wings missed the playoffs only once between 1987 and 2016 (1989–90).

Regular season

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|1||L||October 9, 1986||1–6 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) ||0–1–0

|2||W||October 11, 1986||4–3 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) ||1–1–0

|3||L||October 15, 1986||3–4 OT|| align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) ||1–2–0

|4||L||October 17, 1986||3–4 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) ||1–3–0

|5||W||October 18, 1986||5–3 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) ||2–3–0

|6||L||October 22, 1986||3–4 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) ||2–4–0

|7||T||October 24, 1986||1–1 OT|| align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1986–87) ||2–4–1

|8||W||October 25, 1986||3–1 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1986–87) ||3–4–1

|9||W||October 29, 1986||5–2 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) ||4–4–1

|10||W||October 30, 1986||3–1 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) ||5–4–1

|11||L||November 1, 1986||0–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) ||5–5–1

|12||W||November 5, 1986||5–4 OT|| align="left"| New York Rangers (1986–87) ||6–5–1

|13||L||November 8, 1986||1–2 OT|| align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1986–87) ||6–6–1

|14||W||November 9, 1986||2–1 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) ||7–6–1

|15||L||November 12, 1986||3–5 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1986–87) ||7–7–1

|16||L||November 13, 1986||5–7 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) ||7–8–1

|17||L||November 15, 1986||0–6 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) ||7–9–1

|18||L||November 19, 1986||3–4 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1986–87) ||7–10–1

|19||T||November 21, 1986||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Washington Capitals (1986–87) ||7–10–2

|20||W||November 22, 1986||4–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) ||8–10–2

|21||L||November 26, 1986||1–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) ||8–11–2

|22||L||November 28, 1986||1–2 OT|| align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1986–87) ||8–12–2

|23||W||November 29, 1986||4–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1986–87) ||9–12–2

|24||L||December 2, 1986||4–5 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) ||9–13–2

|25||T||December 5, 1986||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) ||9–13–3

|26||W||December 6, 1986||4–1 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1986–87) ||10–13–3

|27||T||December 9, 1986||5–5 OT|| align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) ||10–13–4

|28||T||December 11, 1986||6–6 OT|| align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) ||10–13–5

|29||L||December 16, 1986||3–8 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) ||10–14–5

|30||W||December 17, 1986||5–4 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) ||11–14–5

|31||T||December 20, 1986||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1986–87) ||11–14–6

|32||L||December 21, 1986||4–7 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) ||11–15–6

|33||W||December 23, 1986||3–1 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) ||12–15–6

|34||W||December 26, 1986||4–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) ||13–15–6

|35||T||December 27, 1986||5–5 OT|| align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) ||13–15–7

|36||W||December 31, 1986||6–4 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1986–87) ||14–15–7

|37||W||January 2, 1987||2–1 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) ||15–15–7

|38||W||January 3, 1987||3–2 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) ||16–15–7

|39||L||January 6, 1987||1–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) ||16–16–7

|40||T||January 8, 1987||4–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1986–87) ||16–16–8

|41||L||January 10, 1987||2–5 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) ||16–17–8

|42||L||January 11, 1987||3–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) ||16–18–8

|43||L||January 13, 1987||3–5 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) ||16–19–8

|44||L||January 15, 1987||1–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) ||16–20–8

|45||W||January 17, 1987||3–2 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) ||17–20–8

|46||W||January 18, 1987||1–0 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) ||18–20–8

|47||W||January 21, 1987||8–5 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1986–87) ||19–20–8

|48||W||January 23, 1987||4–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1986–87) ||20–20–8

|49||L||January 24, 1987||3–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1986–87) ||20–21–8

|50||L||January 28, 1987||1–2 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1986–87) ||20–22–8

|51||W||January 31, 1987||4–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) ||21–22–8

|52||L||February 1, 1987||1–6 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) ||21–23–8

|53||L||February 4, 1987||4–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) ||21–24–8

|54||W||February 6, 1987||6–4 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) ||22–24–8

|55||W||February 7, 1987||5–3 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) ||23–24–8

|56||W||February 14, 1987||5–1 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1986–87) ||24–24–8

|57||L||February 17, 1987||2–6 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1986–87) ||24–25–8

|58||W||February 18, 1987||5–2 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) ||25–25–8

|59||W||February 20, 1987||6–3 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) ||26–25–8

|60||T||February 22, 1987||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) ||26–25–9

|61||L||February 24, 1987||2–8 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1986–87) ||26–26–9

|62||W||February 26, 1987||5–4 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) ||27–26–9

|63||W||February 28, 1987||4–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1986–87) ||28–26–9

|64||W||March 2, 1987||4–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1986–87) ||29–26–9

|65||L||March 3, 1987||3–5 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1986–87) ||29–27–9

|66||W||March 5, 1987||9–3 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) ||30–27–9

|67||L||March 7, 1987||3–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1986–87) ||30–28–9

|68||L||March 10, 1987||4–7 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) ||30–29–9

|69||L||March 11, 1987||3–6 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) ||30–30–9

|70||W||March 14, 1987||4–3 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) ||31–30–9

|71||T||March 15, 1987||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) ||31–30–10

|72||W||March 17, 1987||3–1 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1986–87) ||32–30–10

|73||L||March 19, 1987||2–3 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1986–87) ||32–31–10

|74||W||March 21, 1987||3–0 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) ||33–31–10

|75||L||March 22, 1987||2–3 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) ||33–32–10

|76||L||March 25, 1987||1–6 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) ||33–33–10

|77||W||March 28, 1987||5–1 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) ||34–33–10

|78||L||April 1, 1987||1–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) ||34–34–10

|79||L||April 4, 1987||3–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) ||34–35–10

|80||L||April 5, 1987||2–3 OT|| align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1986–87) ||34–36–10

Legend:

Playoffs The Red Wings finished the season 34–36–10, a major improvement over the disastrous 1985–86 campaign. Just missing out on first place in the Norris Division, the Wings faced rival, Chicago in Round One. Detroit stunned the Blackhawks in a 4-game sweep, the franchise's first series victory since 1977–78. In the Norris Finals, Detroit faced another archrival, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs jumped out to a 3–1 series lead, but Detroit stormed back, winning the series in seven games, including a 3–0 win in the deciding game. The Red Wings then faced the heavily favored Edmonton Oilers in the Campbell Conference Finals. Detroit took Game One, but the Oilers would eventually take the series in five games. Edmonton would go on to win the Stanley Cup.

Player statistics

Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG C 80 31 59 90 43-1912 LW 80 38 34 72 216-51704 D 77 13 45 58 5214712 W 77 30 23 53 42-9605 LW/C 80 22 25 47 1072121 C 76 15 32 47 210401 LW 39 12 28 40 6-2411 LW 35 15 16 31 22-3313 D 77 5 26 31 70-25310 D 57 6 21 27 163-23402 RW 37 13 13 26 497405 RW 77 12 14 26 124-2011 LW 63 13 11 24 221-6200 RW 77 9 9 18 276-10202 C 33 6 12 18 63101 D 54 1 13 14 1297000 RW/C 74 3 8 11 49-4000 D 34 3 6 9 70-4101 D 58 2 5 7 6612000 D 24 2 3 5 33-1000 D 45 1 4 5 73-7000 D 44 1 4 5 59-6000 C 13 2 2 4 191011 LW 36 2 2 4 193-3101 G 43 0 4 4 240000 C 22 2 1 3 80000 C 31 1 2 3 6-9001 D 11 0 3 3 194000 RW 5 0 1 1 02000 G 5 0 1 1 70000 RW 5 0 1 1 20000 D 3 0 1 1 20000 RW 2 0 0 0 2-2000 G 36 0 0 0 200000 RW 6 0 0 0 01000 LW 8 0 0 0 0-2000 G 6 0 0 0 00000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LTGAGAA SO SA SV SV% 2351 43 20 17 3 135 3.45 11082947.875 1963 36 11 16 5 104 3.18 1975871.893 219 5 2 1 0 12 3.29 011199.892 342 6 1 2 2 16 2.81 0135119.881 Team: 4875 80 34 36 10 267 3.29 223032036.884

Playoffs Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG C 16 5 13 18 8100 LW 16 8 6 14 43200 LW 16 4 9 13 6200 C 16 4 7 11 6001 LW/C 16 7 2 9 20002 C 16 5 2 7 28011 LW 16 3 4 7 63101 D 12 3 4 7 8201 D 16 1 6 7 31001 RW 16 2 3 5 71102 D 16 1 4 5 14000 D 14 0 4 4 10000 W 13 1 2 3 4000 D 16 0 2 2 14000 D 11 0 2 2 18000 G 9 0 2 2 0000 RW 13 1 0 1 14000 RW 12 0 1 1 16000 D 7 0 1 1 9000 D 2 0 0 0 19000 G 8 0 0 0 2000 RW 8 0 0 0 4000 C 11 0 0 0 11000 RW/C 7 0 0 0 5000 D 2 0 0 0 2000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LGAGAA SO SA SV SV% 467 8 5 2 13 1.67 2227214.943 508 9 4 5 24 2.83 0252228.905 Team: 975 16 9 7 37 2.28 2479442.923

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;       MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage; Draft picks Detroit's draft picks at the 1986 NHL entry draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal. The Red Wings initially selected Ian Kidd first overall in the 1986 NHL supplemental draft, but the claim was invalidated after it was determined Kidd didn't meet eligibility requirements.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)11Joe MurphyMichigan State University (CCHA)222Adam GravesWindsor Compuware Spitfires (OHL)343Derek MayerUniversity of Denver (WCHA)464Tim CheveldaeSaskatoon Blades (WHL)585Johan GarpenlovNacka HK (Sweden)6106Jay StarkPortland Winter Hawks (WHL)7127Par DjoosMora IK (Sweden)8148Dean MortonOshawa Generals (OHL)9169Marc PotvinStratford Cullitons (WOJBHL)10190Scott KingVernon Lakers (BCJHL)11211Tom BissettMichigan Technological University (WCHA)12232Peter EkrothSödertälje SK (Sweden)S25Rob DoyleColorado College (WCHA)

See also 1986–87 NHL season

References