1988 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1988 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1987–88 season, and the culmination of the 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins. The Oilers would win the series in a four game sweep to win their fourth championship. This was the seventh of nine consecutive Finals contested by a team from Western Canada, sixth of eight by a team from Alberta (the Oilers appeared in six of them, the Calgary Flames in two, and the Vancouver Canucks in one), and the last of five consecutive Finals to end with the Cup presentation on Alberta ice (the Oilers won four such Cups, the Montreal Canadiens the other). The series is remembered for the power failure that occurred during game four at Boston Garden, which caused that game to be suspended. The league decided to replay game four at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, at the site, date and time that was originally scheduled for game five. Game 5 is also the final time that Wayne Gretzky appeared in an Edmonton Oilers uniform as he was traded to Los Angeles just prior to the next season.
1988 Stanley Cup Finals | |||||||||||||||||||
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Location(s) | Edmonton: Northlands Coliseum (1, 2, 4) Boston: Boston Garden) (3, 4) | ||||||||||||||||||
Coaches | Edmonton: Glen Sather Boston: Terry O'Reilly | ||||||||||||||||||
Captains | Edmonton: Wayne Gretzky Boston: Ray Bourque, Rick Middleton | ||||||||||||||||||
Referees | Denis Morel (1, 4) Andy Van Hellemond (3, 4) Don Koharski (2) | ||||||||||||||||||
Dates | May 18–26, 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) | ||||||||||||||||||
Series-winning goal | Wayne Gretzky (9:44, second, G4) | ||||||||||||||||||
Hall of Famers | Oilers: Glenn Anderson (2008) Grant Fuhr (2003) Wayne Gretzky (1999) Jari Kurri (2001) Kevin Lowe (2020) Mark Messier (2007) Bruins: Ray Bourque (2004) Cam Neely (2005) Coaches: Glen Sather (2007) | ||||||||||||||||||
Networks | Canada: (English): Global/Canwest (1–2), CBC (3–4) (French): SRC United States: (National): ESPN (Boston area): WSBK (1–2, 4), NESN (3–4) | ||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | (Global/Canwest) Dan Kelly and John Davidson (CBC) Bob Cole and Harry Neale (SRC) Richard Garneau and Gilles Tremblay (ESPN) Mike Emrick, Bill Clement (1–4), and Mickey Redmond (WSBK) Fred Cusick and Derek Sanderson (NESN) Fred Cusick, Derek Sanderson, and Dave Shea | ||||||||||||||||||
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