The 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began on April 6, after the conclusion of the 1987–88 NHL season. It concluded on May 26, with the defending champion Edmonton Oilers defeating the Boston Bruins to win their second straight Stanley Cup and fourth in five years. The Stanley Cup The Presidents' Trophy winning Calgary Flames had home ice advantage during the playoffs thanks in part to Edmonton's struggles without Wayne Gretzky, who missed 16 games due to injury. The Oilers, who had won the Cup in three of the previous four seasons, were still thought to have a good chance at repeating with Gretzky's return. The clash between the Flames and Oilers in the Smythe Division Final was highly anticipated. The New Jersey Devils made the playoffs for the first time since their move from Denver, winning in overtime at Chicago Stadium on the season's final day to edge the New York Rangers for the Patrick Division's fourth spot. This was only the second time they made the playoffs including their Colorado and Kansas City days. The 1988 playoffs most notable moment was the cancellation of game four of the finals in Boston after fog issues, a result of high heat and the subsequent building power outage resulted in the game being canceled outright with the result not counting, yet the league retained player stats from the game. The series would move directly on to Edmonton. Gretzky would go on to set NHL playoff records with 31 assists in 18 games and 13 points in the Stanley Cup Finals. This was the first Finals meeting between these two teams. The original game four is well known for the high heat resulting in fog that interfered with the game and a subsequent power outage that caused the game to be canceled at 16:37 of the second period. The game results didn't count, but players were able to retain their stats counting towards their playoff records, as per NHL rules. The series moved on to Edmonton, thus allowing the Oilers to win the Cup at home at Northlands Coliseum and complete the sweep. May 18 Boston Bruins 1–2 Edmonton Oilers Northlands Coliseum Recap May 20 Boston Bruins 2–4 Edmonton Oilers Northlands Coliseum Recap May 22 Edmonton Oilers 6–3 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap May 24 Edmonton Oilers 3–3 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap May 26 Boston Bruins 3–6 Edmonton Oilers Northlands Coliseum Recap Edmonton won series 4–0 These are the top ten skaters based on points. Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM Adam Oates Detroit Red Wings 16 8 12 20 -2 6 Bob Probert Detroit Red Wings 16 8 13 21 +8 51 Esa Tikkanen Edmonton Oilers 19 10 17 27 +2 72 Glenn Anderson Edmonton Oilers 19 9 16 25 +5 49 Jari Kurri Edmonton Oilers 19 14 17 31 +15 12 Ken Linseman Boston Bruins 23 11 14 25 +4 56 Mark Messier Edmonton Oilers 19 11 23 34 +9 29 Patrik Sundstrom New Jersey Devils 18 7 13 20 +7 14 Ray Bourque Boston Bruins 23 3 18 21 +16 26 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers 19 12 31 43 +9 16 Goaltenders This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded. Player Team GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI Rejean Lemelin Boston Bruins 17 11 6 428 45 2.64 .895 1 1024:27 Grant Fuhr Edmonton Oilers 19 16 2 470 55 2.91 .883 0 1135:37 Glen Hanlon Detroit Red Wings 8 4 3 170 22 3.07 .871 1 430:37 Pete Peeters Washington Capitals 12 7 5 325 34 3.12 .895 0 652:49 Patrick Roy Montreal Canadiens 8 3 4 217 24 3.36 .889 0 428:57