1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=1986–87
Team=Philadelphia Flyers
Conference=Wales
ConferenceRank=1st
Division=Patrick
DivisionRank=1st
Record=46–26–8
HomeRecord=29–9–2
RoadRecord=17–17–6
GoalsFor=310
GoalsAgainst=245
GeneralManager=Bob Clarke
Coach=Mike Keenan
Captain=Dave Poulin
AltCaptain=Mark Howe
Brad Marsh
Arena=The Spectrum
Attendance=17,212 [FlyersHistory.net, [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/attend.cgi All Time Team Attendance] ]
GoalsLeader=Tim Kerr (58)
AssistsLeader=Dave Poulin (45)
PointsLeader=Tim Kerr (95)
PIMLeader=Rick Tocchet (288)
PlusMinusLeader=Mark Howe (+57)
WinsLeader=Ron Hextall (37)
GAALeader=Bob Froese (2.67)
DivisionWin=yes
ConferenceWin=yesThe 1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers 20th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers reached the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals.

In 1986 the rejuvenated Flyers found themselves with another Vezina Trophy goaltender between the pipes with a rookie named Ron Hextall. He became the third Flyers goaltender to win the Vezina, joining Parent and Lindbergh. With Hextall providing the critical stops at crucial times, the Flyers captured a third-straight Patrick Division title, and were able to gain revenge on the Rangers by beating them in six games, as well as surviving a tough seven-game test from a gritty Islanders club. By the time the Flyers defeated the defending Stanley Cup Champion Canadiens in six to win the Wales Conference and return to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Flyers had again been decimated by injuries, including losing Tim Kerr for the remainder of the playoffs. As a result, the Flyers lost in heartbreaking fashion to Edmonton in seven tough, hard-fought games. Hextall was voted playoff MVP, the second such time a Flyer won the Conn Smythe Trophy despite being on the losing team, the other being Reggie Leach in 1976.

Regular season

With the previous Spring's upset loss to the Rangers fresh on their minds, the Flyers got off to a 6–0–0 start to the season, and only lost road games to the Islanders and Penguins in an 8–2–0 October.Things began to click in November as Brad McCrimmon returned from his suspension over a contract dispute and the emergence of Hextall forced Bob Froese into a back-up role.

Brian Propp scored four goals in a 7–1 win over St. Louis on December 2, but three games later he was lost for two months after suffering a serious knee injury against the Oilers. Froese was dealt to the New York Rangers for Kjell Samuelsson on December 18, but the team kept rolling, reaching 25–7–2 on December 21 after a rousing 7–6 comeback win over the Blues. However, the next game in Buffalo saw Ilkka Sinisalo go down with a knee injury and the team lost four in a row on a holiday road trip (Sabres, Canucks, Oilers, Kings).

A seven-game unbeaten streak in January put the Flyers at 31–11–3, three points ahead of the Oilers for best record in the NHL, but injuries began to put a strain on the ranks. With Propp, Sinisalo, Mark Howe, and Ron Sutter all suffering through long-term problems, plus minor injuries cropping up, the team sputtered late, going 15–15–5 over the remainder of the schedule.

An embarrassing 9–5 home loss on the season's final day to the New York Islanders was no indication of the memorable playoff run to come.

Twice within a span of one week in late January, the Flyers engaged in bench-clearing brawls. The first came in a 3–1 loss to the Islanders at home on January 18 which cost head coach Keenan a one-game suspension. Oddly enough, the second occurred during the game Keenan was suspended for, a 4–3 setback to the Devils at the Meadowlands January 24. That fracas, which came after the final buzzer, saw Hextall pummel Devils goaltender Alain Chevrier among several other battles.

eason standings

Game log

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Playoffs

Game log

Awards and records

Awards

Additions and subtractions

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1986 NHL Entry Draft. [hockeydb.com, [http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1986e.html 1986 NHL Entry Draft] ]

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL and the Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL. [FlyersHistory.net, [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/otheraffiliates.cgi Non-AHL Affiliates] ] [FlyersHistory.net, [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/ml-season.cgi?1986-87 AHL Season Overview: 1986–87] ]

ee also

*1986–87 NHL season
*1987 Stanley Cup Finals

References

*General: [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/season.cgi?1986-87 1986–87 Flyers season] on FlyersHistory.net
*Regular season game log: [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/games.cgi?1986-87 Philadelphia Flyers regular season game log] on FlyersHistory.net
*Playoffs game log: [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/poffs.cgi Philadelphia Flyers playoffs game log] on FlyersHistory.net