1987–88 Los Angeles Kings season

The 1987–88 Los Angeles Kings season, was the Kings' 21st season in the National Hockey League (NHL). 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 Semifinals 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

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|1||L||October 8, 1987||1–4 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1987–88) ||0–1–0

|2||W||October 10, 1987||4–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1987–88) ||1–1–0

|3||L||October 11, 1987||2–9 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) ||1–2–0

|4||L||October 15, 1987||2–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1987–88) ||1–3–0

|5||L||October 18, 1987||2–4 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) ||1–4–0

|6||L||October 21, 1987||2–6 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) ||1–5–0

|7||L||October 23, 1987||3–4 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) ||1–6–0

|8||W||October 25, 1987||2–1 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) ||2–6–0

|9||T||October 27, 1987||4–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) ||2–6–1

|10||W||October 28, 1987||4–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1987–88) ||3–6–1

|11||L||October 30, 1987||1–5 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) ||3–7–1

|12||L||November 1, 1987||1–4 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) ||3–8–1

|13||L||November 4, 1987||4–5 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) ||3–9–1

|14||W||November 7, 1987||5–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1987–88) ||4–9–1

|15||T||November 10, 1987||4–4 OT|| align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) ||4–9–2

|16||L||November 13, 1987||7–10 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1987–88) ||4–10–2

|17||W||November 14, 1987||8–7 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) ||5–10–2

|18||L||November 17, 1987||3–4 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1987–88) ||5–11–2

|19||L||November 19, 1987||5–7 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) ||5–12–2

|20||T||November 21, 1987||6–6 OT|| align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) ||5–12–3

|21||W||November 22, 1987||8–5 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88) ||6–12–3

|22||W||November 25, 1987||6–4 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88) ||7–12–3

|23||L||November 28, 1987||4–8 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1987–88) ||7–13–3

|24||T||November 29, 1987||2–2 OT|| align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1987–88) ||7–13–4

|25||L||December 1, 1987||6–7 OT|| align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) ||7–14–4

|26||L||December 3, 1987||4–5 OT|| align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) ||7–15–4

|27||L||December 5, 1987||4–6 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) ||7–16–4

|28||L||December 6, 1987||3–10 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1987–88) ||7–17–4

|29||L||December 9, 1987||1–2 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) ||7–18–4

|30||L||December 10, 1987||3–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1987–88) ||7–19–4

|31||L||December 12, 1987||2–3 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1987–88) ||7–20–4

|32||W||December 16, 1987||7–5 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) ||8–20–4

|33||L||December 19, 1987||1–4 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1987–88) ||8–21–4

|34||W||December 20, 1987||6–3 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1987–88) ||9–21–4

|35||L||December 22, 1987||2–5 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) ||9–22–4

|36||L||December 23, 1987||1–5 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) ||9–23–4

|37||W||December 26, 1987||3–2 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) ||10–23–4

|38||L||December 28, 1987||2–5 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) ||10–24–4

|39||W||December 30, 1987||6–4 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) ||11–24–4

|40||W||January 2, 1988||5–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) ||12–24–4

|41||W||January 4, 1988||6–3 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1987–88) ||13–24–4

|42||T||January 5, 1988||4–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) ||13–24–5

|43||L||January 8, 1988||3–5 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) ||13–25–5

|44||L||January 10, 1988||2–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88) ||13–26–5

|45||W||January 11, 1988||5–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) ||14–26–5

|46||L||January 13, 1988||3–8 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1987–88) ||14–27–5

|47||L||January 16, 1988||3–4 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1987–88) ||14–28–5

|48||W||January 19, 1988||6–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1987–88) ||15–28–5

|49||W||January 21, 1988||5–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1987–88) ||16–28–5

|50||L||January 22, 1988||3–5 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) ||16–29–5

|51||W||January 24, 1988||2–1 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88) ||17–29–5

|52||L||January 26, 1988||3–5 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) ||17–30–5

|53||L||January 27, 1988||2–5 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) ||17–31–5

|54||W||January 30, 1988||5–0 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) ||18–31–5

|55||L||February 2, 1988||2–5 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) ||18–32–5

|56||W||February 3, 1988||7–2 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) ||19–32–5

|57||W||February 6, 1988||7–2 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) ||20–32–5

|58||L||February 7, 1988||2–5 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1987–88) ||20–33–5

|59||W||February 11, 1988||5–3 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1987–88) ||21–33–5

|60||L||February 13, 1988||5–7 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88) ||21–34–5

|61||L||February 15, 1988||1–6 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) ||21–35–5

|62||W||February 17, 1988||5–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88) ||22–35–5

|63||L||February 18, 1988||4–7 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1987–88) ||22–36–5

|64||W||February 20, 1988||3–0 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88) ||23–36–5

|65||W||February 24, 1988||4–3 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1987–88) ||24–36–5

|66||L||February 27, 1988||6–8 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88) ||24–37–5

|67||W||February 28, 1988||2–0 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) ||25–37–5

|68||L||March 1, 1988||3–5 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) ||25–38–5

|69||L||March 5, 1988||6–7 OT|| align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1987–88) ||25–39–5

|70||L||March 9, 1988||4–5 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1987–88) ||25–40–5

|71||T||March 10, 1988||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1987–88) ||25–40–6

|72||W||March 13, 1988||7–6 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1987–88) ||26–40–6

|73||T||March 16, 1988||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) ||26–40–7

|74||L||March 18, 1988||3–5 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88) ||26–41–7

|75||W||March 19, 1988||7–4 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1987–88) ||27–41–7

|76||L||March 23, 1988||2–6 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1987–88) ||27–42–7

|77||W||March 26, 1988||9–5 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88) ||28–42–7

|78||W||March 30, 1988||9–7 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1987–88) ||29–42–7

|79||W||April 1, 1988||6–3 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1987–88) ||30–42–7

|80||T||April 3, 1988||5–5 OT|| align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88) ||30–42–8

Legend:

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

Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG LW 80 53 58 111 82-91706 C 80 55 52 107 45-192207 C 65 32 46 78 1142871 RW 68 26 41 67 129-4902 D 71 16 39 55 1090504 C 71 19 33 52 84-211002 RW 68 16 35 51 18-7201 LW 71 20 23 43 46-14811 LW 37 16 12 28 573512 D 61 6 22 28 99-27411 D 58 2 23 25 159-3100 LW 40 9 12 21 825310 RW 42 6 15 21 20-14200 C 72 7 11 18 28-31101 D 46 7 9 16 69-1101 D 57 1 12 13 473000 RW 19 4 8 12 6-8200 LW/C 6 2 10 12 21100 D 58 1 11 12 158-22000 LW 28 4 6 10 8-5000 RW 33 4 4 8 40-7000 C/RW 15 2 6 8 17-5001 D 23 1 7 8 52-7100 C 20 1 6 7 8-2000 D 54 0 7 7 197-13000 RW 30 3 2 5 12-14000 LW 30 2 3 5 1895000 D 3 1 3 4 42100 LW 32 1 3 4 113-10000 G 34 0 2 2 60000 C 7 1 0 1 51000 D 4 0 1 1 13-2000 RW 26 0 1 1 8-10000 D 8 0 1 1 18-4000 D 27 0 1 1 26-14000 C 7 0 0 0 0-2000 LW 9 0 0 0 12-5000 G 5 0 0 0 20000 G 47 0 0 0 160000 D 7 0 0 0 22000 D 2 0 0 0 0-4000 LW 2 0 0 0 61000Goaltending Player MIN GPW LTGAGAA SO SA SV SV% 2676 47 17 20 7 195 4.37 213991204.861 1869 34 12 18 1 135 4.33 11005870.866 303 5 1 4 0 23 4.55 0165142.861 Team: 4848 80 30 42 8 353 4.37 325692216.863 Playoffs Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG C 5 5 3 8 4-2100 C 5 2 6 8 11-3100 LW 5 2 5 7 18-8201 RW 5 3 3 6 6-3200 D 5 1 3 4 14-5100 LW 5 2 1 3 2-3100 D 5 1 2 3 210000 C 5 1 1 2 0-7000 D 5 0 2 2 4-8000 LW/C 4 1 0 1 4-3000 LW 5 0 1 1 28-6000 C 5 0 1 1 0-1000 RW 4 0 1 1 8-1000 D 4 0 1 1 104000 RW 3 0 1 1 2-1000 LW 5 0 0 0 16-3000 C/RW 2 0 0 0 0-1000 D 1 0 0 0 00000 RW 1 0 0 0 0-2000 D 1 0 0 0 4-1000 D 2 0 0 0 4-5000 G 4 0 0 0 40000 G 1 0 0 0 00000 LW 1 0 0 0 0-1000 D 3 0 0 0 14-1000 LW 4 0 0 0 0-3000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LGAGAA SO SA SV SV% 240 4 1 3 20 5.00 0128108.844 60 1 0 1 9 9.00 05041.820 Team: 300 5 1 4 29 5.80 0178149.837

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, 1987To Los Angeles Kings1st round pick in 1987 – Wayne McBeanTo Minnesota North Stars1st round pick in 1987 – Dave Archibald 3rd round pick in 1987 NHL entry draft – Kevin Kaminski October 15, 1987To Los Angeles KingsCashTo Hartford WhalersTiger Williams December 14, 1987To Los Angeles KingsMike AllisonTo Toronto Maple LeafsSean McKenna January 21, 1988To Los Angeles KingsGordie Walker Mike SiltalaTo New York RangersJoe Paterson February 4, 1988To Los Angeles KingsChris Kontos 6th round pick in 1988 – Micah AivazoffTo Pittsburgh PenguinsBryan Erickson February 9, 1988To Los Angeles KingsGrant LedyardTo Washington CapitalsCraig Laughlin February 22, 1988To Los Angeles KingsRon DuguayTo New York RangersMark Hardy

Free agent signings March 18, 1988From New Haven Nighthawks (AHL)Hubie McDonough

Free agents lost August 15, 1987To Philadelphia FlyersMark Lofthouse December 14, 1987To Pittsburgh PenguinsScott Gruhl

Waivers October 5, 1987To Minnesota North StarsAl Tuer October 5, 1987From New York RangersPaul Fenton October 5, 1987From Philadelphia FlyersTim 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)14Wayne McBeanMedicine Hat Tigers (WHL)227Mark FitzpatrickMedicine Hat Tigers (WHL)343Ross WilsonPeterborough Petes (OHL)590Mike VukonichDenfeld High School (USHS-MN)6111Greg BattersVictoria Cougars (WHL)7132Kyosti KarjalainenBrynäs IF (Sweden)9174Jeff GawlickiNorthern Michigan University (WCHA)10195John PrestonBoston University (Hockey East)11216Rostislav VlachTJ Gottwaldov (Czechoslovakia)12237Mikael LindholmBrynäs IF (Sweden)S210Chris PanekSUNY Plattsburgh (SUNYAC)

References