1997–98 NHL season

The 1997–98 NHL season was the 81st regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Washington Capitals in four games.

1997–98 NHL season
League National Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Duration October 1, 1997 – June 16, 1998
Regular season
Presidents' Trophy Dallas Stars
Season MVP Dominik Hasek (Buffalo)
Top scorer Jaromir Jagr (Pittsburgh)
Playoffs
Eastern champions Washington Capitals
  Eastern runners-up Buffalo Sabres
Western champions Detroit Red Wings
  Western runners-up Dallas Stars
Playoffs MVP Steve Yzerman (Detroit)
Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup champions Detroit Red Wings
  Runners-up Washington Capitals
NHL seasons

← 1996–97

1998–99 →

Regular season

Highlights

Jari Kurri reached 600 goals in his career, finishing with 601.

The Vancouver Canucks and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim opened the season with two games in Tokyo, Japan; this was the first time the NHL played games outside of North America.

Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points

Eastern Conference
Northeast Division
Team W L T GF GA Pts
Pittsburgh Penguins 40 24 18 228 188 98
Boston Bruins 39 30 13 221 194 91
Buffalo Sabres 36 29 17 211 187 89
Montreal Canadiens 37 32 13 235 208 87
Ottawa Senators 34 33 15 193 200 83
Carolina Hurricanes 33 41 8 200 219 74
Atlantic Division
Team W L T GF GA Pts
New Jersey Devils 48 23 11 225 166 107
Philadelphia Flyers 42 29 11 242 193 95
Washington Capitals 40 30 12 219 202 92
New York Islanders 30 41 11 212 225 71
New York Rangers 25 39 18 197 231 68
Florida Panthers 24 43 15 203 256 63
Tampa Bay Lightning 17 55 10 151 269 44
Western Conference
Central Division
Team W L T GF GA Pts
Dallas Stars 49 22 11 242 167 109
Detroit Red Wings 44 23 15 250 196 103
St. Louis Blues 45 29 8 256 204 98
Phoenix Coyotes 35 35 12 224 227 82
Chicago Blackhawks 30 39 13 192 199 73
Toronto Maple Leafs 30 43 9 194 237 69
Pacific Division
Team W L T GF GA Pts
Colorado Avalanche 39 26 17 231 205 95
Los Angeles Kings 38 33 11 227 225 87
Edmonton Oilers 35 37 10 215 224 80
San Jose Sharks 34 38 10 210 216 78
Calgary Flames 26 41 15 217 252 67
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 26 43 13 205 261 65
Vancouver Canucks 25 43 14 224 273 64

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Steve Yzerman Detroit 22 6 18 24
Sergei Fedorov Detroit 22 10 10 20
Tomas Holmstrom Detroit 22 7 12 19
Nicklas Lidstrom Detroit 22 6 13 19
Joe Juneau Washington 21 7 10 17
Adam Oates Washington 21 6 11 17
Martin Lapointe Detroit 21 9 6 15
Larry Murphy Detroit 22 3 12 15
Vyacheslav Kozlov Detroit 22 6 8 14
Mike Modano Dallas 17 4 10 14

Stanley Cup playoffs

Playoff bracket

  Conference Quarterfinals Conference Semifinals Conference Finals Stanley Cup Finals
                                     
1  New Jersey 2  
8  Ottawa 4  
  4  Washington 4  
  8  Ottawa 1  
4  Washington 4
5  Boston 2  
  4  Washington 4  
Eastern Conference
  6  Buffalo 2  
2  Pittsburgh 2  
7  Montreal 4  
  6  Buffalo 4
  7  Montreal 0  
3  Philadelphia 1
6  Buffalo 4  
  E4  Washington 0
  W3  Detroit 4
4  St. Louis 4  
5  Los Angeles 0  
  3  Detroit 4
  4  St. Louis 2  
3  Detroit 4
6  Phoenix 2  
  1  Dallas 2
Western Conference
  3  Detroit 4  
1  Dallas 4  
8  San Jose 2  
  1  Dallas 4
  7  Edmonton 1  
2  Colorado 3
7  Edmonton 4  

Conference quarterfinals

Eastern Conference

Ottawa vs. New Jersey
Date Away Home
April 22 Ottawa 2 1 New Jersey OT
April 24 Ottawa 1 3 New Jersey
April 26 New Jersey 1 2 Ottawa OT
April 28 New Jersey 3 4 Ottawa
April 30 Ottawa 1 3 New Jersey
May 2 New Jersey 1 3 Ottawa
Ottawa wins series 4–2
Montreal vs. Pittsburgh
Date Away Home
April 23 Montreal 3 2 Pittsburgh OT
April 25 Montreal 1 4 Pittsburgh
April 27 Pittsburgh 1 3 Montreal
April 29 Pittsburgh 6 3 Montreal
May 1 Montreal 5 2 Pittsburgh
May 3 Pittsburgh 0 3 Montreal
Montreal wins series 4–2
Buffalo vs. Philadelphia
Date Away Home
April 22 Buffalo 3 2 Philadelphia
April 24 Buffalo 2 3 Philadelphia
April 27 Philadelphia 1 6 Buffalo
April 29 Philadelphia 1 4 Buffalo
May 1 Buffalo 3 2 Philadelphia OT
Buffalo wins series 4–1
Boston vs. Washington
Date Away Home
April 22 Boston 1 3 Washington
April 24 Boston 4 3 Washington 2OT
April 26 Washington 3 2 Boston 2OT
April 28 Washington 3 0 Boston
May 1 Boston 4 0 Washington
May 3 Washington 3 2 Boston OT
Washington wins series 4–2

Western Conference

San Jose vs. Dallas
Date Away Home
April 23 San Jose 1 4 Dallas
April 24 San Jose 2 5 Dallas
April 26 Dallas 1 4 San Jose
April 28 Dallas 0 1 San Jose OT
April 30 San Jose 2 3 Dallas
May 2 Dallas 3 2 San Jose OT
Dallas wins series 4–2
Edmonton vs. Colorado
Date Away Home
April 22 Edmonton 3 2 Colorado
April 24 Edmonton 2 5 Colorado
April 26 Colorado 5 4 Edmonton OT
April 28 Colorado 3 1 Edmonton
April 30 Edmonton 3 1 Colorado
May 2 Colorado 0 2 Edmonton
May 4 Edmonton 4 0 Colorado
Edmonton wins series 4–3
Phoenix vs. Detroit
Date Away Home
April 22 Phoenix 3 6 Detroit
April 24 Phoenix 7 4 Detroit
April 26 Detroit 2 3 Phoenix
April 28 Detroit 4 2 Phoenix
April 30 Phoenix 1 3 Detroit
May 3 Detroit 5 2 Phoenix
Detroit wins series 4–2
Los Angeles vs. St. Louis
Date Away Home
April 23 Los Angeles 3 8 St. Louis
April 25 Los Angeles 1 3 St. Louis
April 27 St. Louis 4 3 Los Angeles
April 29 St. Louis 2 1 Los Angeles
St. Louis wins series 4–0

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference
Ottawa vs. Washington
Date Away Home
May 7 Ottawa 2 4 Washington
May 9 Ottawa 1 6 Washington
May 11 Washington 3 4 Ottawa
May 13 Washington 2 0 Ottawa
May 15 Ottawa 0 3 Washington
Washington win series 4–1
Montreal vs. Buffalo
Date Away Home
May 8 Montreal 2 3 Buffalo OT
May 10 Montreal 3 6 Buffalo
May 12 Buffalo 5 4 Montreal 2OT
May 14 Buffalo 3 1 Montreal
Buffalo wins series 4–0
Western Conference
Edmonton vs. Dallas
Date Away Home
May 7 Edmonton 1 3 Dallas
May 9 Edmonton 2 0 Dallas
May 11 Dallas 1 0 Edmonton OT
May 13 Dallas 3 1 Edmonton
May 16 Edmonton 1 2 Dallas
Dallas wins series 4–1
St. Louis vs. Detroit
Date Away Home
May 8 St. Louis 4 2 Detroit
May 10 St. Louis 1 6 Detroit
May 12 Detroit 3 2 St. Louis 2OT
May 14 Detroit 5 2 St. Louis
May 17 St. Louis 3 1 Detroit
May 19 Detroit 6 1 St. Louis
Detroit wins series 4–2

Conference finals

Eastern Conference
Buffalo vs. Washington
Date Away Home
May 23 Buffalo 2 0 Washington
May 25 Buffalo 2 3 Washington OT
May 28 Washington 4 3 Buffalo OT
May 30 Washington 2 0 Buffalo
June 2 Buffalo 2 1 Washington
June 4 Washington 3 2 Buffalo OT
Washington wins series 4–2
and Prince of Wales Trophy
Western Conference
Detroit vs. Dallas
Date Away Home
May 24 Detroit 2 0 Dallas
May 26 Detroit 1 3 Dallas
May 29 Dallas 3 5 Detroit
May 31 Dallas 2 3 Detroit
June 3 Detroit 2 3 Dallas OT
June 5 Dallas 0 2 Detroit
Detroit wins series 4–2 and
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl

Stanley Cup final

Washington vs. Detroit
Date Away Home
June 9 Washington 1 2 Detroit
June 11 Washington 4 5 Detroit OT
June 13 Detroit 2 1 Washington
June 16 Detroit 4 1 Washington
Detroit wins series 4–0
and Stanley Cup
Steve Yzerman (Detroit)
wins Conn Smythe Trophy

NHL Awards

The NHL Awards took place in Toronto, Ontario

Presidents' Trophy: Dallas Stars
Prince of Wales Trophy: Washington Capitals
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Jamie McLennan, St. Louis Blues
Calder Memorial Trophy: Sergei Samsonov, Boston Bruins
Frank J. Selke Trophy: Jere Lehtinen, Dallas Stars
Hart Memorial Trophy: Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres
Conn Smythe Trophy: Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings
Jack Adams Award: Pat Burns, Boston Bruins
James Norris Memorial Trophy: Rob Blake, Los Angeles Kings
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Kelly Chase, St. Louis Blues
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Ron Francis, Pittsburgh Penguins
Lester B. Pearson Award: Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres
Lester Patrick Trophy: Peter Karmanos, Max McNab, Neal Broten, John Mayasich
NHL Plus/Minus Award: Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues
Vezina Trophy: Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres
William M. Jennings Trophy: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils

All-Star teams

First Team   Position   Second Team
Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres G Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings D Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues
Rob Blake, Los Angeles Kings D Scott Niedermayer, New Jersey Devils
Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche C Wayne Gretzky, New York Rangers
Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins RW Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Mighty Ducks
John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers LW Keith Tkachuk, Phoenix Coyotes

First games

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1997–98 (listed with their first team, stars(*) mark start in playoffs):

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1997–98 (listed with their last team):

References