Franchise History
Standings by Year
Final NHL standings as of the last day of the regular season, for any year on record. View by Division, Conference, or League, and track where Buffalo (and every other team) stood across a season with the trend chart below.
1986–87 Final Standings
1986–87 Game ResultsBuffalo finished 21st in the league, 5th in the Adams.
Prince of Wales
Adams
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS ▾ | PTS% | GF | GA | SOW | SOL | DIFF | xPTS | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | y-Hartford Whalers | 80 | 43 | 30 | 7 | 93 | .581 | 287 | 270 | – | – | +17 | 85 | L1 |
| 2 | x-Montréal Canadiens | 80 | 41 | 29 | 10 | 92 | .575 | 277 | 241 | – | – | +36 | 91 | W9 |
| 3 | x-Boston Bruins | 80 | 39 | 34 | 7 | 85 | .531 | 301 | 276 | – | – | +25 | 87 | L2 |
| 4 | x-Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 31 | 39 | 10 | 72 | .450 | 267 | 276 | – | – | -9 | 77 | W3 |
| 5 | Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 28 | 44 | 8 | 64 | .400 | 280 | 308 | – | – | -28 | 72 | W1 |
Patrick
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS ▾ | PTS% | GF | GA | SOW | SOL | DIFF | xPTS | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | z-Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 46 | 26 | 8 | 100 | .625 | 310 | 245 | – | – | +65 | 98 | L2 |
| 2 | x-Washington Capitals | 80 | 38 | 32 | 10 | 86 | .537 | 285 | 278 | – | – | +7 | 82 | W5 |
| 3 | x-New York Islanders | 80 | 35 | 33 | 12 | 82 | .512 | 279 | 281 | – | – | -2 | 79 | W1 |
| 4 | x-New York Rangers | 80 | 34 | 38 | 8 | 76 | .475 | 307 | 323 | – | – | -16 | 76 | L3 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 30 | 38 | 12 | 72 | .450 | 297 | 290 | – | – | +7 | 82 | W2 |
| 6 | New Jersey Devils | 80 | 29 | 45 | 6 | 64 | .400 | 293 | 368 | – | – | -75 | 62 | L3 |
Clarence Campbell
Smythe
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS ▾ | PTS% | GF | GA | SOW | SOL | DIFF | xPTS | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | p-Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 50 | 24 | 6 | 106 | .662 | 372 | 284 | – | – | +88 | 101 | W1 |
| 2 | x-Calgary Flames | 80 | 46 | 31 | 3 | 95 | .594 | 318 | 289 | – | – | +29 | 88 | L1 |
| 3 | x-Winnipeg Jets (1979) | 80 | 40 | 32 | 8 | 88 | .550 | 279 | 271 | – | – | +8 | 82 | W1 |
| 4 | x-Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 31 | 41 | 8 | 70 | .438 | 318 | 341 | – | – | -23 | 74 | L3 |
| 5 | Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 29 | 43 | 8 | 66 | .412 | 282 | 314 | – | – | -32 | 71 | W3 |
Norris
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS ▾ | PTS% | GF | GA | SOW | SOL | DIFF | xPTS | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x-St. Louis Blues | 80 | 32 | 33 | 15 | 79 | .494 | 281 | 293 | – | – | -12 | 77 | W3 |
| 2 | x-Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 34 | 36 | 10 | 78 | .487 | 260 | 274 | – | – | -14 | 76 | L3 |
| 3 | x-Chicago Blackhawks | 80 | 29 | 37 | 14 | 72 | .450 | 290 | 310 | – | – | -20 | 75 | W1 |
| 4 | x-Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 32 | 42 | 6 | 70 | .438 | 286 | 319 | – | – | -33 | 71 | L1 |
| 5 | Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 30 | 40 | 10 | 70 | .438 | 296 | 314 | – | – | -18 | 75 | L1 |
x - clinched playoff spot, y - clinched division, z - clinched conference, p - clinched Presidents' Trophy.
xPTS is the points a team’s goals for and against project: the Pythagorean win estimate GF² / (GF² + GA²), scaled to points as win% × 2 × games played. It follows the current pace on any “as of” date. +/-xPTS is real points minus xPTS, after removing each team’s overtime-loss points. That step matters because xPTS splits a flat 2 points per game, while an overtime game pays out 3, so without it almost every team since 1999–00 reads as lucky. What is left is the points a team banked above or below its goal margin: positive means winning more of the close and overtime games than goal difference alone predicts.