# 1997–98 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1997–98 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 89th season of play. The Canadiens made the playoffs and advanced to the Conference Semifinals after winning 4 games to 2 in Conference Quarterfinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, their first playoff series win since the 1992–93 Stanley Cup title year. However, in the Conference semifinals, they were swept in four games by the Buffalo Sabres.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 40 | 24 | 18 | 228 | 188 | 98 |
| 2 | 5 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 221 | 194 | 91 |
| 3 | 6 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 36 | 29 | 17 | 211 | 187 | 89 |
| 4 | 7 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 37 | 32 | 13 | 235 | 208 | 87 |
| 5 | 8 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 34 | 33 | 15 | 193 | 200 | 83 |
| 6 | 9 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 33 | 41 | 8 | 200 | 219 | 74 |
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | New Jersey Devils | ATL | 82 | 48 | 23 | 11 | 225 | 166 | 107 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NE | 82 | 40 | 24 | 18 | 228 | 188 | 98 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | ATL | 82 | 42 | 29 | 11 | 242 | 193 | 95 |
| 4 | Washington Capitals | ATL | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 219 | 202 | 92 |
| 5 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 221 | 194 | 91 |
| 6 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 36 | 29 | 17 | 211 | 187 | 89 |
| 7 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 37 | 32 | 13 | 235 | 208 | 87 |
| 8 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 34 | 33 | 15 | 193 | 200 | 83 |
| 9 | Carolina Hurricanes | NE | 82 | 33 | 41 | 8 | 200 | 219 | 74 |
| 10 | New York Islanders | ATL | 82 | 30 | 41 | 11 | 212 | 225 | 71 |
| 11 | New York Rangers | ATL | 82 | 25 | 39 | 18 | 197 | 231 | 68 |
| 12 | Florida Panthers | ATL | 82 | 24 | 43 | 15 | 203 | 256 | 63 |
| 13 | Tampa Bay Lightning | ATL | 82 | 17 | 55 | 10 | 151 | 269 | 44 |
Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1997–98 regular season :
October: 6–4–2 (home: 2–3–2; road: 4–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1TOctober 1, 19972–2 OTOttawa Senators0–0–1Recap
2WOctober 4, 19974–1@ Boston Bruins1–0–1Recap
3WOctober 8, 19973–0@ Pittsburgh Penguins2–0–1Recap
4LOctober 11, 19972–6Philadelphia Flyers2–1–1Recap
5TOctober 15, 19971–1 OTPittsburgh Penguins2–1–2Recap
6WOctober 17, 19975–1@ Buffalo Sabres3–1–2Recap
7LOctober 18, 19972–3Washington Capitals3–2–2Recap
8WOctober 22, 19973–0Florida Panthers4–2–2Recap
9LOctober 23, 19971–2 OT@ New Jersey Devils4–3–2Recap
10WOctober 25, 19974–2@ Ottawa Senators5–3–2Recap
11WOctober 27, 19974–2Chicago Blackhawks6–3–2Recap
12LOctober 29, 19972–5New York Islanders6–4–2Recap :
November: 9–5–1 (home: 4–2–1; road: 5–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
13WNovember 1, 19975–1Toronto Maple Leafs7–4–2Recap
14WNovember 3, 19976–4Dallas Stars8–4–2Recap
15WNovember 5, 19974–2Phoenix Coyotes9–4–2Recap
16WNovember 7, 19974–3@ San Jose Sharks10–4–2Recap
17WNovember 8, 19974–1@ Los Angeles Kings11–4–2Recap
18WNovember 12, 19974–3 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim12–4–2Recap
19WNovember 13, 19975–2@ Phoenix Coyotes13–4–2Recap
20LNovember 15, 19972–3Washington Capitals13–5–2Recap
21WNovember 17, 19974–1Tampa Bay Lightning14–5–2Recap
22LNovember 19, 19971–2@ Carolina Hurricanes14–6–2Recap
23LNovember 22, 19972–5Detroit Red Wings14–7–2Recap
24TNovember 24, 19972–2 OTSan Jose Sharks14–7–3Recap
25WNovember 26, 19976–5@ Washington Capitals15–7–3Recap
26LNovember 28, 19970–2@ Detroit Red Wings15–8–3Recap
27LNovember 29, 19973–6@ Pittsburgh Penguins15–9–3Recap :
December: 6–6–3 (home: 4–2–2; road: 2–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
28LDecember 1, 19970–1Pittsburgh Penguins15–10–3Recap
29WDecember 3, 19972–0Los Angeles Kings16–10–3Recap
30TDecember 6, 19973–3 OTNew York Rangers16–10–4Recap
31WDecember 8, 19974–2Colorado Avalanche17–10–4Recap
32WDecember 10, 19974–3 OTSt. Louis Blues18–10–4Recap
33LDecember 12, 19972–5@ New Jersey Devils18–11–4Recap
34LDecember 13, 19972–4@ Boston Bruins18–12–4Recap
35LDecember 15, 19971–3Philadelphia Flyers18–13–4Recap
36LDecember 19, 19970–1@ Buffalo Sabres18–14–4Recap
37WDecember 20, 19974–1Ottawa Senators19–14–4Recap
38TDecember 22, 19973–3 OTEdmonton Oilers19–14–5Recap
39LDecember 23, 19973–4 OT@ Ottawa Senators19–15–5Recap
40WDecember 27, 19971–0@ Pittsburgh Penguins20–15–5Recap
41TDecember 29, 19971–1 OT@ Colorado Avalanche20–15–6Recap
42WDecember 31, 19973–2@ Calgary Flames21–15–6Recap :
January: 6–4–1 (home: 1–4–0; road: 5–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
43WJanuary 2, 19985–3@ Edmonton Oilers22–15–6Recap
44WJanuary 3, 19984–2@ Vancouver Canucks23–15–6Recap
45LJanuary 7, 19981–2 OTBoston Bruins23–16–6Recap
46WJanuary 8, 19988–2@ New York Islanders24–16–6Recap
47WJanuary 12, 19986–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning25–16–6Recap
48TJanuary 14, 19983–3 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers25–16–7Recap
49WJanuary 21, 19984–2Boston Bruins26–16–7Recap
50LJanuary 24, 19983–4Carolina Hurricanes26–17–7Recap
51LJanuary 25, 19981–3New Jersey Devils26–18–7Recap
52WJanuary 29, 19983–2@ Philadelphia Flyers27–18–7Recap
53LJanuary 31, 19983–4Ottawa Senators27–19–7Recap :
February: 1–4–0 (home: 0–2–0; road: 1–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
54WFebruary 1, 19986–3@ Carolina Hurricanes28–19–7Recap
55LFebruary 4, 19982–4@ New York Islanders28–20–7Recap
56LFebruary 7, 19981–4Buffalo Sabres28–21–7Recap
57LFebruary 25, 19982–6Pittsburgh Penguins28–22–7Recap
58LFebruary 28, 19980–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs28–23–7Recap :
March: 6–6–3 (home: 4–2–2; road: 2–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
59WMarch 4, 19983–1@ Dallas Stars29–23–7Recap
60LMarch 5, 19980–4@ St. Louis Blues29–24–7Recap
61LMarch 7, 19981–2Buffalo Sabres29–25–7Recap
62WMarch 9, 19986–1Florida Panthers30–25–7Recap
63TMarch 11, 19982–2 OTVancouver Canucks30–25–8Recap
64WMarch 12, 19984–1New York Rangers31–25–8Recap
65WMarch 14, 19984–2New Jersey Devils32–25–8Recap
66TMarch 16, 19983–3 OTCalgary Flames32–25–9Recap
67LMarch 18, 19981–2 OT@ New York Rangers32–26–9Recap
68LMarch 19, 19980–1@ Chicago Blackhawks32–27–9Recap
69LMarch 21, 19984–5Mighty Ducks of Anaheim32–28–9Recap
70WMarch 25, 19982–1 OT@ Tampa Bay Lightning33–28–9Recap
71LMarch 26, 19984–5@ Florida Panthers33–29–9Recap
72WMarch 28, 19988–2Tampa Bay Lightning34–29–9Recap
73TMarch 31, 19983–3 OT@ Carolina Hurricanes34–29–10Recap :
April: 3–3–3 (home: 0–2–2; road: 3–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
74WApril 1, 19984–3@ Florida Panthers35–29–10Recap
75LApril 4, 19980–1Carolina Hurricanes35–30–10Recap
76TApril 6, 19982–2 OT@ Washington Capitals35–30–11Recap
77WApril 7, 19983–2@ New York Rangers36–30–11Recap
78LApril 10, 19981–2@ Buffalo Sabres36–31–11Recap
79TApril 11, 19983–3 OTNew York Islanders36–31–12Recap
80LApril 15, 19982–6Boston Bruins36–32–12Recap
81WApril 16, 19982–0@ Ottawa Senators37–32–12Recap
82TApril 18, 19983–3 OTBuffalo Sabres37–32–13Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1998 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (2) Pittsburgh Penguins – Canadiens win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LApril 23, 19982–3@ Pittsburgh PenguinsPenguins lead 1–0Recap
2WApril 25, 19984–1@ Pittsburgh PenguinsSeries tied 1–1Recap
3WApril 27, 19983–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCanadiens lead 2–1Recap
4LApril 29, 19983–6Pittsburgh PenguinsSeries tied 2–2Recap
5WMay 1, 19985–2@ Pittsburgh PenguinsCanadiens lead 3–2Recap
6WMay 3, 19983–0Pittsburgh PenguinsCanadiens win 4–2Recap :
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. (6) Buffalo Sabres – Sabres win 4–0
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LMay 8, 19982–3 OT@ Buffalo SabresSabres lead 1–0Recap
2LMay 10, 19983–6@ Buffalo SabresSabres lead 2–0Recap
3LMay 12, 19984–5 2OTBuffalo SabresSabres lead 3–0Recap
4LMay 14, 19981–3Buffalo SabresSabres win 4–0Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; 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 Canadiens only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens 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 |
| 8 | Mark Recchi | RW | 82 | 32 | 42 | 74 | 11 | 51 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 6 |
| 25 | Vincent Damphousse | C | 76 | 18 | 41 | 59 | 14 | 58 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −4 | 22 |
| 11 | Saku Koivu | C | 69 | 14 | 43 | 57 | 8 | 48 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| 27 | Shayne Corson | LW | 62 | 21 | 34 | 55 | 2 | 108 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 26 |
| 26 | Martin Rucinsky | LW | 78 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 13 | 84 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | −2 | 4 |
| 38 | Vladimir Malakhov | D | 74 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 16 | 70 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 10 |
| 49 | Brian Savage | LW | 64 | 26 | 17 | 43 | 11 | 36 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 6 |
| 43 | Patrice Brisebois | D | 79 | 10 | 27 | 37 | 16 | 67 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −5 | 0 |
| 22 | Dave Manson | D | 81 | 4 | 30 | 34 | 22 | 122 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| 17 | Benoit Brunet | LW | 68 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 11 | 61 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 20 | Valeri Bure‡ | RW | 50 | 7 | 22 | 29 | −5 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Marc Bureau | C | 74 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 6 |
| 5 | Stephane Quintal | D | 71 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 13 | 97 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 24 | Scott Thornton | LW | 67 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 158 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 71 | Sebastien Bordeleau | C | 53 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 5 | 36 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 44 | Jonas Hoglund† | LW | 28 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −1 | 0 |
| 37 | Patrick Poulin† | C | 34 | 4 | 6 | 10 | −1 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 23 | Turner Stevenson | RW | 63 | 4 | 6 | 10 | −8 | 110 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 12 |
| 44 | Stephane Richer‡ | RW | 14 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Peter Popovic | D | 69 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −6 | 38 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | Darcy Tucker‡ | RW | 39 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −6 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Zarley Zalapski† | D | 28 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 4 |
| 52 | Craig Rivet | D | 61 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 93 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 41 | Jocelyn Thibault | G | 47 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 0 |
| 29 | Brett Clark | D | 41 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Eric Houde | C | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | David Wilkie‡ | D | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 55 | Igor Ulanov† | D | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 21 | Jassen Cullimore‡ | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 48 | Francois Groleau | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 46 | Matt Higgins | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 51 | David Ling‡ | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Andy Moog | G | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 14 | Terry Ryan | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Mick Vukota† | RW | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 76 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 60 | Jose Theodore | G | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |

### 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 |
| 41 | Jocelyn Thibault | 47 | 19 | 15 | 8 | 1109 | 109 | 2.47 | .902 | 2 | 2652 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 5.53 | .750 | 0 | 43 |
| 35 | Andy Moog | 42 | 18 | 17 | 5 | 1024 | 97 | 2.49 | .905 | 3 | 2337 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 204 | 24 | 3.04 | .882 | 1 | 474 |
| 60 | Jose Theodore | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 0.50 | .971 | 0 | 120 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honour | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Shayne Corson |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Saku Koivu |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Mark Recchi |
| Team | Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy | Patrice Brisebois |
| Team | Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy | Marc Bureau |
| Team | Molson Cup | Mark Recchi |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| First game | Brett Clark | October 4, 1997 | |
| First game | Matt Higgins | November 26, 1997 | |

## Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1997 NHL entry draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 11 | Jason Ward | Canada | Erie Otters (OHL) |
| 2 | 37 | Gregor Baumgartner | Austria | Laval Titan College Francais (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 65 | Ilkka Mikkola | Finland | Karpat (Finland) |
| 4 | 91 | Daniel Tetrault | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 5 | 118 | Konstantin Sidulov | Russia | Mechel Chelyabinsk (Russia) |
| 5 | 122 | Gennady Razin | Ukraine | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 6 | 145 | Jonathan Desroches | Canada | Granby Predateurs (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 172 | Ben Guite | Canada | University of Maine (Hockey East) |
| 8 | 197 | Petr Kubos | Czech Republic | Petra Vsetin (Czech Republic) |
| 8 | 202 | Andrei Sidyakin | Russia | Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia) |
| 9 | 228 | Jarl-Espen Ygranes | Norway | Furuset (Norway) |