1988 Stanley Cup Championship

Lore & Background

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 a possible game five. Game four 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, and the last Stanley Cup he would win as a player.

Reader's Guide

The Oilers cruised into the Finals with relative ease, losing only two games in the process. They beat the Winnipeg Jets in five games, swept the Calgary Flames, and then beat the Detroit Red Wings in five to win the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl for the fifth time in six years. The Bruins, meanwhile, had a much harder road. It took them six games to knock off the Buffalo Sabres, then beat their longtime rivals the Montreal Canadiens in five games, and then needed the full seven games to beat the New Jersey Devils to claim the Prince of Wales Trophy.

The Finals pitted the Oilers' offensive juggernaut against the Bruins' more balanced team. The Oilers showed their defensive prowess, surrendering just nine goals in the four completed games. Ray Bourque was physical in defending against Gretzky, but that would not ground the 'Great One' on his way to claiming his second Conn Smythe Trophy and setting playoff records with 31 assists in just 18 games, and 13 points in the Finals series.

Did You Know?

• Glenn Anderson set a new record for quickest goal from the start of a Finals game when he scored ten seconds into the contest.
• Wayne Gretzky requested a team picture on the ice with all players and non-playing members after winning the Cup, a tradition that has been followed by each Stanley Cup-winning team since.
• Five scouts and three players were left off the Stanley Cup engraving for the Oilers in 1988.