Pittsburgh, NY, and NJ had a very tight race for that last playoff spot in the Patrick division. It came down to the final day of that season, in which all three of them played their respective games at roughly the same time (so there was a lot of scoreboard watching). Fun fact: Mario scored his 70th goal on an empty netter, in the last minute of the Penguins’ last game of that season.
I was a diehard Bruins fan in the 1980s when I was a teenager. I hated (past tense) the Montreal Canadiens. (After seeing so many sports championships in New England, I'm now a casual fan.) When the Bruins finally prevailed in 1988 for the first time since 1943, after 18 consecutive series losses, it was more satisfying to me than winning the Cup in 2011. It was one of the few times in my life I have experienced schadenfreude, all of them during playoff games in several sports. In 1991 or 1992 I saw both teams play at the Forum. I wore a Bruins sweatshirt and not one person in Montreal bothered me; I always remember that. Now I sincerely hope that Toronto or Montreal or any team in Canada wins the Cup soon. That Boston vs. New Jersey series was epic and bizarre. Rejean Lemelin made one of the greatest saves I've ever seen live, in Game 7 on a shot by Pat Verbeek. Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld made his infamous comments to referee Don Koharski. And then (from Wikipedia): "Schoenfeld was suspended by NHL president John Ziegler for Game 4, but the Devils received an injunction from the New Jersey Supreme Court, allowing Schoenfeld to coach the fourth game. In protest, the officials scheduled to work that game in the Meadlowands refused to take the ice, forcing the NHL to scramble for amateur officials to call the game. The injunction was lifted, the league conducted a proper hearing, Schoenfeld served his suspension during Game 5 in the Boston Garden, and the League officials returned to work." A Bostonian might know better, but that power outage at Boston Garden might have forced everyone involved to finally get serious about building a new arena. The stats from the unfinished game were counted in the playoff totals. The fog on the ice in the 1990 Final was another embarrassment.
Yes the power failure was a big contributing factor in replacing the old barn. As for the fog... that was always something that happened when the Bruins made a deep run. That great old barn (the Garden) was a hot tight arena. It still was one of the best places to see a hockey game. I do miss the Forum too. There was nothing like seeing a Habs vs Bruins game in either of those arenas.
@TheHockeyGuy I'm surprised you did not mention the " have another doughnut" incident with Jim Schoenfeld in game 3 of the Wales Conference Finals and the ensuing replacement ref fiasco in game 4 due to the Devils obtaining an injunction blocking the league's suspension of Schoenfeld
Andy Moog wasn't in Edmonton this season. Pre-trade, he spent it with the Canadian National team, including the Calgary Olympics. Also, Moog's only role in the Bruins finally defeating the Habs in a playoff series was as a good luck charm - Lemelin got all 4 wins in the series, with Moog taking the loss in the only game he played. Loob had exactly 50 goals this season. Still, as of 2024, the only fifty goal season recorded by a Swedish player.
This was the final season that the Kings would wear their Forum Blue & Gold colors as they would change to the silver and black used by the LA Raiders.
lots of things happened in hockey in 87-88 but i will always be fond of Jacques Demers winning the jack adams with his red wing captain Steve Yzerman. Demers loved him so much, even when he was coach in Montreal he talked about how great he was.
4:44: A key factor in the decline in wins and points was that Gretzky suffered a knee injury in January. Gretzky only played 64 games in the regular season. And yes, this was also after they traded Paul Coffey in November.
Boston-New Jersey series featured an infamous confrontation between Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld and ref Don Koharski where Don thinks Jim pushed him in the tunnel. The yelling would escalate between both sides with Jim Schoenfeld calling Don "a fat pig" and later more famously telling Don to "have another donut".
Everything happened that year, Chris Cuthbert calling Devils-Capitals by himself due to the power cut in Quebec during Bruins-Habs, the infamous confrontation between Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld and ref Don Koharski where Don thinks Jim pushed him in the tunnel. The yelling would escalate between both sides with Jim Schoenfeld calling Don "a fat pig" and later more famously telling Don to "have another donut" and of course, what happened in game 4 of the SCF, it was crazy.
I never understood Edmonton leaning on Fuhr so hard when Moog was a genuine #1a goalie who could easily share the load without detriment to the team. Hardly a weak spot on the fire wagon Oilers. 🤔
Here's a question: If Bruins won the three games following the power outage, who would've become champion? The series would've been 3-3, with one game called off in the middle (when it was also tied). I wonder if the rules have/had anything that would address an unprecedented situation like that. Goal differential maybe?
I'm not sure if anyone mentioned "donut-gate" from the Bruins/ Devils series; Jim Schoenfeld calls the ref Don Koharski a "fat pig, eat another donut" among other things to communicate his disgust about Koharski's inability to officiate a hockey game. Schoenfeld is suspended but shows up to coach at the following game, Dave Newell & the linesman leave the game in protest, then minor league linesmen & ref are called in to officiate the game 😮
Yeah, kinda funny for a guy that gets 149 points, lol. Well he technically was I guess, though technically he had a higher points per game average than Mario this season.
@@TheHockeyGuy Actually, if you can count it, the correct word is "fewer" (fewer cars, fewer people, fewer goals, fewer wins, etc.) If you can't count it (like air, water, etc.) the correct word is less. That being said (your favorite phrase) I still love what you do, and this is one of my favorite channels!
No hockey for me this year. Don't think I saw a single game. I think I might have heard one or two of the Devils playoff games on the radio and I think I listened to at least part of the game vs. the Black Hawks when they clinched the playoffs. Again, I don't think I missed much. This was the worst era in hockey since I began watching around 1970. The worst quality of play. It would get better in the 90s.
