Rendez-vous '87



Rendez-vous '87 was an ice hockey exhibition series between the Soviet national ice hockey team and a team of All-Stars from the National Hockey League, held in Quebec City. It replaced the NHL's All-Star festivities for the 1986–87 NHL season. The Soviet team was paid $80,000 for their appearance in Rendez-vous '87, while the NHLers raised $350,000 for the players' pension fund.

Rendez-vous '87 was designed as a follow-up to the Challenge Cup series in 1979, hoping that the team of NHL All-Stars could beat the Soviet team, unlike before. To this end, the series was a two-game affair instead of a three-game affair in 1979. The two-game series took place during five days of festivities starting on February 9, 1987 and finishing on February 13. The series was very successful, with some, including Wayne Gretzky, calling for more international hockey, especially between Canada and the Soviet Union, the two top powers of hockey at the time. The teams split the series, with the NHLers winning the first game, 4-3, followed by a Soviet 5-3 victory two nights later which gave the Soviets an overall 8-7 victory.



Game One - February 11, 1987
NHL All-Stars won the game 4–3, thanks in part to the line of Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen.


 * Referee: Sergei Morozov
 * Linesmen: Ron Finn, Ray Scapinello

Game Two - February 13, 1987
The Soviets won the contest 5–3. This game featured the emergence of the young Soviet forward line consisting of Valeri Kamensky, Viacheslav Bykov, and Andrei Khomutov. After the game, the players on each team exchanged hockey sweaters as part of the hockey tradition.


 * Referee : Dave Newell
 * Linesmen : Ron Finn, Ray Scapinello
 * Tournament MVP's, NHL All-Stars Wayne Gretzky; Team USSR Valeri Kamensky