1987 Stanley Cup Final

Game one

With the game tied at 1–1 after 40 minutes of play, the Oilers won thanks to third-period goals by Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey, and Jari Kurri. Gretzky registered a goal and an assist in the onslaught as part of a 4–2 win. The Flyers outshot Edmonton 31–26.

Game two

This time, the Flyers led 2–1 after two periods. Despite matching the Oilers line for line and speed for speed, Edmonton burned Philly with a third-period goal, then on the game-winner by Kurri, who took advantage of some disorganized defensive play by the Flyers in overtime to score the game-winning goal with a wide-open chance in a 3–2 overtime victory.

Game three

Looking to take a commanding 3–0 series lead, Edmonton came out firing, taking a 2–0 lead after one period on goals by Mark Messier and Coffey, then stretching it to 3–0 on Anderson's fluke breakaway goal 1:49 into the second.

With their backs against the wall, the Flyers began a comeback on second-period goals by Murray Craven and Peter Zezel. Early in the third, tallies 17 seconds apart by Scott Mellanby and Brad McCrimmon tied the game, then put the Flyers ahead 4–3. For the remainder of the period, the Flyers gamely kept the Oilers' potent offense at bay until Brian Propp's empty-net goal sealed a 5–3 win.

Until this point, no team had ever rebounded from a 3–0 deficit to win a game in the Final, and the Flyers won their first-ever playoff game after yielding a game's first three goals.

Game four

The momentum from game three did not carry over for Philadelphia. Gretzky notched three assists as the Oilers won, 4–1, and took a three games to one series lead. In a relatively sedate affair, the most shocking event came when Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall viciously chopped his stick across the back of the legs of Edmonton's Kent Nilsson in the third period when trailing 4–1. Hextall was apparently incensed that Anderson and other Oilers had cruised through the goal crease untouched and unpenalized during the game, and took out his frustration on the last Oiler he happened to see skate by. Hextall's actions caused Nilsson no injury, but Hextall would be suspended for the first eight games of the 1987–88 season.

Game five

Edmonton's newspapers had published plans for a future victory parade that day, and the Oilers tried to make those plans come to fruition when they beat Hextall for two quick first-period goals. Although the Flyers got one back and trailed 2–1 after one period, Hextall let Edmonton's third goal of the game, a tip-in by Marty McSorley with nearly two minutes gone in the second slip between his arm and body; time was growing short.

Facing the end of their season, the Flyers clawed back and tied the game 3–3 on goals by Doug Crossman and Pelle Eklund. With almost six minutes played in the third, Propp fed Rick Tocchet in the slot for the go-ahead score. Hextall and the Flyers' defence clamped down on the Oilers the rest of the way and the series came back to Philadelphia.

Game six

With a chance to close out the series without the pressure of home ice, Edmonton took a 2–0 lead against a hesitant Flyers club on a disputed goal by Kevin Lowe and a stuffer by checking winger Kevin McClelland. The Oilers took control of the game in all aspects, outshooting Philly 15–5 in the opening 20 minutes. The Flyers had little chance until Lindsay Carson managed to thread a puck through Grant Fuhr's pads a little more than seven minutes into the second period. The Oilers kept the pressure on, and carried play into the third period. However, Anderson's careless high-sticking penalty with eight minutes left in regulation led to Propp's electric game-tying goal, snapping a shot high into the left corner of the net.

Eighty-four seconds later, little-used Flyer defenceman J. J. Daigneault stepped up to a dying puck inside the Oilers' blue line, and cranked the puck just inside the right post to give the Flyers a 3–2 advantage. Daigneault's goal stirred the Spectrum crowd to a frenzy providing what has been called the loudest moment in that arena's history, and the game is often nicknamed "The Night the Spectrum Shook".^[3][4] The only threat to that lead came with ten seconds left, when Mark Messier picked off Hextall's attempted clear, broke in, and took one shot into Hextall's pads and a second over the top of the net. Mark Howe knocked down a last-ditch Oiler effort at the buzzer, and the Final headed to a seventh game for the first time since 1971.

Game seven

Two unusual occurrences marked the opening of the game, which marked the first game 7 since 1971: the Flyers were awarded a two-man advantage one minute into the contest, and scored the first goal of the game for the first time in the Final. Craven banked a shot off Fuhr's skate only 1:41 into the game for a 1–0 Philadelphia lead. The Oilers came back six minutes later when Messier finished off a 3-on-1 with a backhander to tie the game. Kurri delivered a huge blow to Flyers victory hopes when he beat Hextall with quick wrist shot off a Gretzky pass at 14:59 into the second period, giving the Oilers a one-goal cushion. Edmonton dominated the second and third periods of the game, controlling the flow with their speed, maintaining puck possession such that they allowed the Flyers only 6 shots on goal in the middle 20 minutes and a mere 2 shots in the third, while scoring one goal each in the second (on 13 shots) and third (on 12 shots) periods, including an insurance goal on Anderson's 30-footer up the middle with 2:24 left in the game.^[5]

Philadelphia's Hextall, who had 40 saves in game seven, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs MVP despite Edmonton's victory. His feat was the fourth time a Conn Smythe winner came from a losing team. He was preceded by Roger Crozier, goaltender with the Detroit Red Wings in 1966, St. Louis Blues goalie Glenn Hall in 1968, and Flyers right wing Reggie Leach in 1976. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, also a goalie, would later become the 2003 playoff MVP with the Final-losing Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

This is the most recent game seven in the Final to have a lead change, and the most recent to have a game-tying goal until 2024. All nine games seven played since then (1994, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2019, and 2024) had neither, aside from the aforementioned 2024 Final which had a game-tying goal. This was also the last time that the champs would skate off with the Cup after winning the trophy. When the Oilers repeated the next year, they started the tradition in which everyone gathered around with the Cup in a team photo.

Edmonton Oilers

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Age	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
9		Glenn Anderson	RW	L	26	1979	Vancouver, British Columbia	fourth (1983, 1984, 1985)
6		Jeff Beukeboom	D	R	22	1983	Ajax, Ontario	first (did not play)
16		Kelly Buchberger	RW	L	20	1985	Langenburg, Saskatchewan	first
7		Paul Coffey	D	L	25	1980	Weston, Ontario	fourth (1983, 1984, 1985)
31		Grant Fuhr	G	R	24	1981	Spruce Grove, Alberta	fourth (1983, 1984, 1985)
21		Randy Gregg	D	L	31	1981–82	Edmonton, Alberta	fourth (1983, 1984, 1985)
99		Wayne Gretzky – C	C	L	26	1979–80	Brantford, Ontario	fourth (1983, 1984, 1985)
22		Charlie Huddy	D	L	27	1980–81	Oshawa, Ontario	fourth (1983, 1984, 1985)
12		Dave Hunter	LW	L	29	1979–80	Petrolia, Ontario	fourth (1983, 1984, 1985)
26		Mike Krushelnyski	C	L	27	1984–85	Montreal, Quebec	second (1985)
17		Jari Kurri	RW	R	27	1980	Helsinki, Finland	fourth (1983, 1984, 1985)
18		Moe Lemay	LW	L	25	1986–87	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	first
4		Kevin Lowe – A	D	L	28	1979	Lachute, Quebec	fourth (1983, 1984, 1985)
14		Craig MacTavish	C	L	28	1985–86	London, Ontario	first
24		Kevin McClelland	RW	R	24	1983–84	Oshawa, Ontario	third (1984, 1985)
33		Marty McSorley	RW	R	24	1985–86	Hamilton, Ontario	first
11		Mark Messier – A	LW	L	26	1979	Edmonton, Alberta	fourth (1983, 1984, 1985)
35		Andy Moog	G	L	27	1980	Penticton, British Columbia	fourth (1983, 1984, 1985)
28		Craig Muni	D	L	24	1986–87	Toronto, Ontario	first
15		Kent Nilsson	C	L	30	1986–87	Nynashamn, Sweden	first
20		Jaroslav Pouzar	LW	L	35	1986–87	Cakov, Czechoslovakia	fourth (1983, 1984, 1985)
29		Reijo Ruotsalainen	D	R	27	1986–87	Oulu, Finland	first
5		Steve Smith	D	L	24	1981	Glasgow, Scotland	first
10		Esa Tikkanen	LW	L	22	1983	Helsinki, Finland	second (1985)

Philadelphia Flyers

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Age	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
34		Craig Berube	LW	L	21	1985–86	Calahoo, Alberta	first (did not play)
21		Dave Brown	RW	R	24	1982	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	second (1985)
18		Lindsay Carson	LW	L	26	1979	Oxbow, Saskatchewan	second (1985)
32		Murray Craven	LW	L	22	1984–85	Medicine Hat, Alberta	second (1985)
3		Doug Crossman	D	L	26	1983–84	Peterborough, Ontario	second (1985)
15		J. J. Daigneault	D	L	21	1986–87	Montreal, Quebec	first
9		Pelle Eklund	LW	L	24	1983	Solna, Sweden	first
27		Ron Hextall	G	L	23	1982	Brandon, Manitoba	first
36		Al Hill	C	L	32	1984–85	Nanaimo, British Columbia	second (1980, did not play)
17		Ed Hospodar	D	L	28	1984–85	Bowling Green, Ohio	second (1985, did not play: suspended)
2		Mark Howe – A	D	L	32	1982–83	Detroit, Michigan	second (1985)
12		Tim Kerr	RW	R	27	1980–81	Windsor, Ontario	second (1985, did not play: injured)
8		Brad Marsh – A	D	L	29	1981–82	London, Ontario	second (1985)
10		Brad McCrimmon	D	L	28	1982–83	Dodsland, Saskatchewan	second (1985)
19		Scott Mellanby	RW	R	20	1984	Montreal, Quebec	first
42		Don Nachbaur	C	L	28	1984–85	Kitimat, British Columbia	second (1983)
20		Dave Poulin – C	C	L	28	1982–83	Timmins, Ontario	second (1985)
26		Brian Propp	LW	L	28	1979	Lanigan, Saskatchewan	third (1980, 1985)
33		Chico Resch	G	L	38	1985–86	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan	second (1980)
28		Kjell Samuelsson	D	R	28	1986–87	Tingsryd, Sweden	first
23		Ilkka Sinisalo	RW	L	28	1981–82	Valkeakoski, Finland	second (1985)
24		Derrick Smith	LW	L	22	1983	Scarborough, Ontario	second (1985)
29		Daryl Stanley	D	L	24	1981–82	Winnipeg, Manitoba	first
14		Ron Sutter	C	R	23	1982	Viking, Alberta	second (1985)
22		Rick Tocchet	RW	R	23	1983	Scarborough, Ontario	second (1985)
37		Tim Tookey	C	L	26	1985–86	Edmonton, Alberta	first
25		Peter Zezel	C	L	22	1983	Scarborough, Ontario	second (1985)

Stanley Cup engraving

• #8 Wayne Van Dorp (LW) – played three regular season games, and three games in the Conference Finals This was not enough to qualify for his name being engraved on the Stanley Cup.