The 1986/87 NHL season was the 70th season in the National Hockey League . 21 teams played 80 games each. The Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup after a 4-3 win in the final series against the Philadelphia Flyers . It was the Oilers' third championship in four years.
In the first playoff round, the game was also played in "best-of-seven" mode for the first time - instead of in "best of five" mode as before. The NHL All-Star Game was replaced by Rendez-vous '87 in Quebec City , a series of two games between an NHL All-Star Team and the USSR National Ice Hockey Team .