Game Between Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins Was Replayed in 1988

Published on September 19th, 2024 9:40 am EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Did you know that Game 4 of the 1988 Stanley Cup Finals between the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins was replayed?

That's right - it was Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 1988, and the Edmonton Oilers, led by Wayne Gretzky, were playing against the Boston Bruins in Boston Garden.

The Oilers were up 3-0 in the series, and were looking to sweep the series in Game 4.

With Game 4 knotted up at 3 with just a couple of minutes left in the second period, disaster struck - the lights went out in the arena.

After a long, long delay, NHL President John Ziegler Jr. made the decision to suspend the game and replay it from scratch.

There were arena availability issues in Boston, however, so this is where things really got crazy.

Game 4 was played in Edmonton instead of Boston.

The league announced that Game 5, if there was a Game 5, would take place in Boston on the original date that Game 6 was to take place.

Game 6 was scheduled to be played in Edmonton (instead of Boston).

If Boston managed to come all the way back and tie the series, the final and deciding game would have taken place in Boston, even though they were the away team in the series.

Truly a bizarre situation.

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The Edmonton Oilers would make easy work of the Boston Bruins in Game 4, winning by a score of 6-3.

Game 4 would be the last game that Wayne Gretzky would ever play in Edmonton, as he would be traded to the Los Angeles Kings in the offseason.

That's right - Gretzky, who was still 27 years old and in his absolute prime, and who had just led the Edmonton Oilers to their fourth Stanley Cup in relatively easy fashion, would be shipped out prior to the start of the 1988-89 season.

After the Gretzky trade, the hockey world would quickly forget about the craziness that took place in Game 4.