# 1996–97 Colorado Avalanche season

The 1996–97 Colorado Avalanche season was the Avalanche's second season. The franchise's 18th season in the National Hockey League and 25th season overall.

## Regular season

The Avalanche scored the most power-play goals during the regular season, with 83. And the most in the Western Conference with 277 goals.

### Season standings

Pacific Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 49 | 24 | 9 | 277 | 205 | 107 |
| 2 | 4 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 82 | 36 | 33 | 13 | 243 | 231 | 85 |
| 3 | 7 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 36 | 37 | 9 | 252 | 247 | 81 |
| 4 | 9 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 35 | 40 | 7 | 257 | 273 | 77 |
| 5 | 10 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 32 | 41 | 9 | 214 | 239 | 73 |
| 6 | 12 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 28 | 43 | 11 | 214 | 268 | 67 |
| 7 | 13 | San Jose Sharks | 82 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 211 | 278 | 62 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Colorado Avalanche | PAC | 82 | 49 | 24 | 9 | 277 | 205 | 107 |
| 2 | Dallas Stars | CEN | 82 | 48 | 26 | 8 | 252 | 198 | 104 |
| 3 | Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 38 | 26 | 18 | 253 | 197 | 94 |
| 4 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 36 | 33 | 13 | 245 | 233 | 85 |
| 5 | Phoenix Coyotes | CEN | 82 | 38 | 37 | 7 | 240 | 243 | 83 |
| 6 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 36 | 35 | 11 | 236 | 239 | 83 |
| 7 | Edmonton Oilers | PAC | 82 | 36 | 37 | 9 | 252 | 247 | 81 |
| 8 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 34 | 35 | 13 | 223 | 210 | 81 |
| 9 | Vancouver Canucks | PAC | 82 | 35 | 40 | 7 | 257 | 273 | 77 |
| 10 | Calgary Flames | PAC | 82 | 32 | 41 | 9 | 214 | 239 | 73 |
| 11 | Toronto Maple Leafs | CEN | 82 | 30 | 44 | 8 | 230 | 273 | 68 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 28 | 43 | 11 | 214 | 268 | 67 |
| 13 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 211 | 278 | 62 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific
bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

## Playoffs

* April 24, 1997: Patrick Roy shut out Chicago by a score of 7-0. He earned his 89th postseason victory and became the goalie with the most postseason wins, surpassing the old record set by New York Islanders goalie Billy Smith.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1996–97 regular season :
October: 8–4–1 (home: 5–1–1; road: 3–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 4, 19962–4@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)0–1–0Recap
2LOctober 5, 19961–4@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)0–2–0Recap
3WOctober 8, 19966–0San Jose Sharks (1996–97)1–2–0Recap
4TOctober 10, 19966–6 OTMighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)1–2–1Recap
5WOctober 11, 19962–0@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)2–2–1Recap
6WOctober 15, 19967–2Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)3–2–1Recap
7LOctober 17, 19961–2Florida Panthers (1996–97)3–3–1Recap
8WOctober 19, 19969–2Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)4–3–1Recap
9LOctober 22, 19961–5@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)4–4–1Recap
10WOctober 23, 19964–1@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)5–4–1Recap
11WOctober 26, 19964–2@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)6–4–1Recap
12WOctober 28, 19961–0Washington Capitals (1996–97)7–4–1Recap
13WOctober 30, 19966–3St. Louis Blues (1996–97)8–4–1Recap :
November: 8–2–3 (home: 4–1–2; road: 4–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
14TNovember 2, 19960–0 OTBuffalo Sabres (1996–97)8–4–2Recap
15TNovember 3, 19961–1 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)8–4–3Recap
16WNovember 6, 19964–1@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)9–4–3Recap
17WNovember 8, 19964–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)10–4–3Recap
18WNovember 9, 19965–2Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)11–4–3Recap
19WNovember 11, 19966–2@ New York Islanders (1996–97)12–4–3Recap
20WNovember 13, 19964–1@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)13–4–3Recap
21LNovember 14, 19964–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)13–5–3Recap
22TNovember 16, 19964–4 OTHartford Whalers (1996–97)13–5–4Recap
23WNovember 20, 19966–0Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)14–5–4Recap
24WNovember 22, 19963–2New York Islanders (1996–97)15–5–4Recap
25LNovember 27, 19962–5New York Rangers (1996–97)15–6–4Recap
26WNovember 30, 19962–1New Jersey Devils (1996–97)16–6–4Recap :
December: 7–4–1 (home: 4–2–0; road: 3–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
27WDecember 4, 19962–0Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)17–6–4Recap
28LDecember 6, 19963–4St. Louis Blues (1996–97)17–7–4Recap
29LDecember 7, 19962–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)17–8–4Recap
30WDecember 11, 19966–1@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)18–8–4Recap
31LDecember 14, 19961–4@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)18–9–4Recap
32WDecember 17, 19964–3Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)19–9–4Recap
33TDecember 18, 19964–4 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)19–9–5Recap
34LDecember 21, 19962–6Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)19–10–5Recap
35WDecember 23, 19964–3Calgary Flames (1996–97)20–10–5Recap
36WDecember 28, 19965–2@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)21–10–5Recap
37WDecember 29, 19963–2Dallas Stars (1996–97)22–10–5Recap
38WDecember 31, 19964–1@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)23–10–5Recap :
January: 8–2–3 (home: 3–0–1; road: 5–2–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39WJanuary 2, 19973–2Calgary Flames (1996–97)24–10–5Recap
40TJanuary 4, 19974–4 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1996–97)24–10–6Recap
41TJanuary 6, 19972–2 OT@ New York Rangers (1996–97)24–10–7Recap
42TJanuary 8, 19971–1 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)24–10–8Recap
43WJanuary 9, 19972–0@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)25–10–8Recap
44WJanuary 11, 19973–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)26–10–8Recap
45WJanuary 15, 19974–2Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)27–10–8Recap
46WJanuary 20, 19974–2@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)28–10–8Recap
47LJanuary 21, 19972–3 OT@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)28–11–8Recap
48WJanuary 23, 19974–3 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)29–11–8Recap
49LJanuary 25, 19971–4@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)29–12–8Recap
50WJanuary 27, 19975–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)30–12–8Recap
51WJanuary 29, 19976–3Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)31–12–8Recap :
February: 7–4–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 4–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
52LFebruary 1, 19971–2@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)31–13–8Recap
53WFebruary 2, 19975–2@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)32–13–8Recap
54LFebruary 8, 19972–4Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)32–14–8Recap
55WFebruary 11, 19973–1Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)33–14–8Recap
56WFebruary 13, 19973–2@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)34–14–8Recap
57WFebruary 15, 19975–2@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)35–14–8Recap
58WFebruary 18, 19973–2 OTBoston Bruins (1996–97)36–14–8Recap
59WFebruary 21, 19974–3 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)37–14–8Recap
60WFebruary 23, 19974–3Ottawa Senators (1996–97)38–14–8Recap
61LFebruary 25, 19971–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)38–15–8Recap
62LFebruary 27, 19972–6Dallas Stars (1996–97)38–16–8Recap :
March: 8–5–1 (home: 6–2–1; road: 2–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
63WMarch 1, 19972–1Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)39–16–8Recap
64WMarch 3, 19975–1Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)40–16–8Recap
65WMarch 5, 19977–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)41–16–8Recap
66LMarch 6, 19973–6@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)41–17–8Recap
67TMarch 9, 19972–2 OTMighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)41–17–9Recap
68LMarch 12, 19972–3Calgary Flames (1996–97)41–18–9Recap
69WMarch 14, 19976–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)42–18–9Recap
70WMarch 16, 19974–2Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)43–18–9Recap
71WMarch 18, 19974–2Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)44–18–9Recap
72WMarch 21, 19974–3Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)45–18–9Recap
73LMarch 23, 19970–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)45–19–9Recap
74WMarch 25, 19974–0@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)46–19–9Recap
75LMarch 26, 19975–6 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)46–20–9Recap
76LMarch 29, 19972–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)46–21–9Recap :
April: 3–3–0 (home: 1–2–0; road: 2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
77WApril 2, 19975–1@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)47–21–9Recap
78LApril 4, 19976–7 OT@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)47–22–9Recap
79WApril 6, 19972–1Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)48–22–9Recap
80LApril 9, 19971–4San Jose Sharks (1996–97)48–23–9Recap
81WApril 11, 19972–1@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)49–23–9Recap
82LApril 13, 19972–4Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)49–24–9Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) Chicago Blackhawks – Avalanche win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WApril 16, 19976–0Chicago BlackhawksAvalanche lead 1–0Recap
2WApril 18, 19973–1Chicago BlackhawksAvalanche lead 2–0Recap
3LApril 20, 19973–4 2OT@ Chicago BlackhawksAvalanche lead 2–1Recap
4LApril 22, 19973–6@ Chicago BlackhawksSeries tied 2–2Recap
5WApril 24, 19977–0Chicago BlackhawksAvalanche lead 3–2Recap
6WApril 26, 19976–3@ Chicago BlackhawksAvalanche win 4–2Recap :
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (7) Edmonton Oilers – Avalanche win 4–1
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WMay 2, 19975–1Edmonton OilersAvalanche lead 1–0Recap
2WMay 4, 19974–1Edmonton OilersAvalanche lead 2–0Recap
3LMay 7, 19973–4@ Edmonton OilersAvalanche lead 2–1Recap
4WMay 9, 19973–2 OT@ Edmonton OilersAvalanche lead 3–1Recap
5WMay 11, 19974–3Edmonton OilersAvalanche win 4–1Recap :
Western Conference Finals vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings – Red Wings win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WMay 15, 19972–1Detroit Red WingsAvalanche lead 1–0Recap
2LMay 17, 19972–4Detroit Red WingsSeries tied 1–1Recap
3LMay 19, 19971–2@ Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 2–1Recap
4LMay 22, 19970–6@ Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 3–1Recap
5WMay 24, 19976–0Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 3–2Recap
6LMay 26, 19971–3@ Detroit Red WingsRed Wings win 4–2Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 21 | Peter Forsberg | C | 65 | 28 | 58 | 86 | 31 | 73 | 14 | 5 | 12 | 17 | −6 | 10 |
| 19 | Joe Sakic | C | 65 | 22 | 52 | 74 | −10 | 34 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 5 | 14 |
| 8 | Sandis Ozolinsh | D | 80 | 23 | 45 | 68 | 4 | 88 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 17 | −1 | 24 |
| 13 | Valeri Kamensky | LW | 68 | 28 | 38 | 66 | 5 | 38 | 17 | 8 | 14 | 22 | −1 | 16 |
| 18 | Adam Deadmarsh | RW | 78 | 33 | 27 | 60 | 8 | 136 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −6 | 24 |
| 11 | Keith Jones† | RW | 67 | 23 | 20 | 43 | 5 | 105 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| 48 | Scott Young | RW | 72 | 18 | 19 | 37 | −5 | 14 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −1 | 14 |
| 28 | Eric Lacroix | LW | 81 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 16 | 26 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 19 |
| 9 | Mike Ricci | C | 63 | 13 | 19 | 32 | −3 | 59 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 17 |
| 22 | Claude Lemieux | RW | 45 | 11 | 17 | 28 | −4 | 43 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 7 | 32 |
| 20 | Rene Corbet | LW | 76 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 14 | 67 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 27 |
| 25 | Mike Keane | RW | 81 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 2 | 63 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 24 |
| 26 | Stephane Yelle | C | 79 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 1 | 38 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| 24 | Jon Klemm | D | 80 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 12 | 37 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 6 |
| 4 | Uwe Krupp | D | 60 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 12 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 52 | Adam Foote | D | 78 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 16 | 135 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 62 |
| 3 | Aaron Miller | D | 56 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 5 | Alexei Gusarov | D | 58 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 4 | 28 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| 2 | Sylvain Lefebvre | D | 71 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 30 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 25 |
| 23 | Brent Severyn | LW | 66 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −6 | 193 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 7 | Curtis Leschyshyn‡ | D | 11 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Yves Sarault | LW | 28 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | Landon Wilson‡ | RW | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Christian Matte | RW | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Craig Billington | G | 23 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 10 | Josef Marha | C | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Patrick Roy | G | 62 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 15 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 12 |
| 6 | Wade Belak | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | Rich Brennan | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Marc Denis | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Eric Messier | LW | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 33 | Patrick Roy | 62 | 38 | 15 | 7 | 1861 | 143 | 2.32 | .923 | 7 | 3698 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 559 | 38 | 2.21 | .932 | 3 | 1034 |
| 1 | Craig Billington | 23 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 584 | 53 | 2.65 | .909 | 1 | 1200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 3.00 | .923 | 0 | 20 |
| 30 | Marc Denis | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 3 | 3.02 | .885 | 0 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL First All-Star Team | Sandis Ozolinsh (Defense) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Peter Forsberg |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Sandis Ozolinsh |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Patrick Roy |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Joe Sakic |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Eric Messier | November 11, 1996 |
| First game | Marc Denis | December 7, 1996 |
| First game | Christian Matte | December 18, 1996 |
| First game | Wade Belak | December 21, 1996 |
| First game | Rich Brennan | January 6, 1997 |

## Draft picks

Colorado's draft picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 25 | Peter Ratchuk | United States | Shattuck-Saint Mary's (USHS-MN) |
| 2 | 51 | Yuri Babenko | Russia | Krylya Sovetov (Russia) |
| 3 | 79 | Mark Parrish | United States | St. Cloud State University (WCHA) |
| 4 | 98 | Ben Storey | Canada | Harvard University (ECAC) |
| 4 | 107 | Randy Petruk | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 5 | 134 | Luke Curtin | United States | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) |
| 6 | 146 | Brian Willsie | Canada | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 6 | 160 | Kai Fischer | Germany | Dusseldorfer EG (Germany) |
| 7 | 167 | Dan Hinote | United States | United States Military Academy (NCAA Independent) |
| 7 | 176 | Samuel Pahlsson | Sweden | Modo Hockey (Sweden) |
| 7 | 188 | Roman Pylner | Czech Republic | HC Litvinov Jr. (Czech Republic) |
| 8 | 214 | Matthew Scorsune | United States | Hotchkiss School (USHS-CT) |
| 9 | 240 | Justin Clark | United States | University of Michigan (CCHA) |