# 1997–98 New York Islanders season

The 1997–98 New York Islanders season was the 26th season in the franchise's history. The Islanders missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

## Off-season

In June 1997, New York Islanders general manager Mike Milbury extended an invitation to Cammi Granato to attend Islanders training camp. Granato eventually declined.
Defenseman Bryan McCabe was named team captain.

## Regular season

In February, Bryan McCabe was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Trevor Linden, who's named the Islanders' new captain upon arrival.
The Islanders tied the Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins for most short-handed goals allowed with 16.

### Final standings

Atlantic Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 48 | 23 | 11 | 225 | 166 | 107 |
| 2 | 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 42 | 29 | 11 | 242 | 193 | 95 |
| 3 | 4 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 219 | 202 | 92 |
| 4 | 10 | New York Islanders | 82 | 30 | 41 | 11 | 212 | 225 | 71 |
| 5 | 11 | New York Rangers | 82 | 25 | 39 | 18 | 197 | 231 | 68 |
| 6 | 12 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 24 | 43 | 15 | 203 | 256 | 63 |
| 7 | 13 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 17 | 55 | 10 | 151 | 269 | 44 |
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

1997–98 regular season :
October: 5–5–2 (home: 2–3–0; road: 3–2–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1TOctober 3, 19972–2 OT@ New York Rangers (1997–98)0–0–1Recap
2WOctober 4, 19973–0Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)1–0–1Recap
3LOctober 8, 19973–6Washington Capitals (1997–98)1–1–1Recap
4LOctober 11, 19971–3@ Washington Capitals (1997–98)1–2–1Recap
5TOctober 13, 19972–2 OT@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)1–2–2Recap
6WOctober 16, 19975–2@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)2–2–2Recap
7WOctober 19, 19975–2@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)3–2–2Recap
8LOctober 21, 19972–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)3–3–2Recap
9LOctober 25, 19972–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)3–4–2Recap
10LOctober 27, 19971–2San Jose Sharks (1997–98)3–5–2Recap
11WOctober 29, 19975–2@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)4–5–2Recap
12WOctober 30, 19975–3New York Rangers (1997–98)5–5–2Recap :
November: 6–6–2 (home: 3–3–1; road: 3–3–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
13WNovember 1, 19974–2Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)6–5–2Recap
14TNovember 5, 19974–4 OTEdmonton Oilers (1997–98)6–5–3Recap
15WNovember 7, 19973–2@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)7–5–3Recap
16LNovember 8, 19972–4Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)7–6–3Recap
17LNovember 10, 19971–3New Jersey Devils (1997–98)7–7–3Recap
18TNovember 12, 19972–2 OT@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)7–7–4Recap
19WNovember 14, 19974–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)8–7–4Recap
20LNovember 15, 19970–1Florida Panthers (1997–98)8–8–4Recap
21WNovember 19, 19973–2@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)9–8–4Recap
22LNovember 20, 19971–5@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)9–9–4Recap
23LNovember 22, 19971–6@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)9–10–4Recap
24WNovember 26, 19974–1New York Rangers (1997–98)10–10–4Recap
25LNovember 28, 19971–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)10–11–4Recap
26WNovember 29, 19974–2St. Louis Blues (1997–98)11–11–4Recap :
December: 4–9–1 (home: 3–4–0; road: 1–5–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
27LDecember 2, 19972–4Ottawa Senators (1997–98)11–12–4Recap
28LDecember 3, 19973–5@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)11–13–4Recap
29WDecember 6, 19974–0Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)12–13–4Recap
30LDecember 9, 19971–3Calgary Flames (1997–98)12–14–4Recap
31LDecember 11, 19973–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)12–15–4Recap
32WDecember 13, 19974–1Florida Panthers (1997–98)13–15–4Recap
33TDecember 16, 19972–2 OT@ Washington Capitals (1997–98)13–15–5Recap
34WDecember 17, 19974–0Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)14–15–5Recap
35WDecember 20, 19974–3@ Boston Bruins (1997–98)15–15–5Recap
36LDecember 22, 19971–4Ottawa Senators (1997–98)15–16–5Recap
37LDecember 26, 19973–4@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)15–17–5Recap
38LDecember 27, 19972–6Florida Panthers (1997–98)15–18–5Recap
39LDecember 29, 19971–5@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)15–19–5Recap
40LDecember 31, 19971–3@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)15–20–5Recap :
January: 3–8–2 (home: 2–3–1; road: 1–5–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
41LJanuary 2, 19981–2@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)15–21–5Recap
42LJanuary 3, 19981–2@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)15–22–5Recap
43LJanuary 6, 19982–4Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)15–23–5Recap
44LJanuary 8, 19982–8Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)15–24–5Recap
45LJanuary 10, 19981–2 OTCarolina Hurricanes (1997–98)15–25–5Recap
46TJanuary 12, 19981–1 OTDetroit Red Wings (1997–98)15–25–6Recap
47WJanuary 14, 19987–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)16–25–6Recap
48LJanuary 20, 19982–5@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)16–26–6Recap
49TJanuary 22, 19983–3 OT@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)16–26–7Recap
50LJanuary 24, 19982–3@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98)16–27–7Recap
51LJanuary 26, 19981–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)16–28–7Recap
52WJanuary 28, 19986–1Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)17–28–7Recap
53WJanuary 30, 19982–0Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)18–28–7Recap :
February: 2–2–1 (home: 1–2–1; road: 1–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
54TFebruary 1, 19982–2 OTBoston Bruins (1997–98)18–28–8Recap
55WFebruary 2, 19984–2@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)19–28–8Recap
56WFebruary 4, 19984–2Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)20–28–8Recap
57LFebruary 7, 19982–3New Jersey Devils (1997–98)20–29–8Recap
58LFebruary 25, 19981–4Dallas Stars (1997–98)20–30–8Recap :
March: 4–8–2 (home: 2–4–1; road: 2–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
59LMarch 1, 19984–5Boston Bruins (1997–98)20–31–8Recap
60WMarch 3, 19983–1Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)21–31–8Recap
61WMarch 6, 19984–2@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)22–31–8Recap
62LMarch 7, 19982–4Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)22–32–8Recap
63TMarch 10, 19982–2 OTBuffalo Sabres (1997–98)22–32–9Recap
64LMarch 12, 19981–2Washington Capitals (1997–98)22–33–9Recap
65LMarch 14, 19982–6Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)22–34–9Recap
66TMarch 18, 19984–4 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98)22–34–10Recap
67LMarch 20, 19981–4@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)22–35–10Recap
68WMarch 22, 19983–1@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)23–35–10Recap
69LMarch 24, 19983–4@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)23–36–10Recap
70WMarch 26, 19984–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)24–36–10Recap
71LMarch 28, 19983–4 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)24–37–10Recap
72LMarch 31, 19982–5@ Washington Capitals (1997–98)24–38–10Recap :
April: 6–3–1 (home: 4–1–0; road: 2–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
73WApril 1, 19984–0Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)25–38–10Recap
74WApril 4, 19983–0New York Rangers (1997–98)26–38–10Recap
75WApril 6, 19983–0@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)27–38–10Recap
76WApril 8, 19983–2New Jersey Devils (1997–98)28–38–10Recap
77LApril 9, 19981–4@ Boston Bruins (1997–98)28–39–10Recap
78TApril 11, 19983–3 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)28–39–11Recap
79LApril 13, 19980–2Washington Capitals (1997–98)28–40–11Recap
80LApril 15, 19982–4@ New York Rangers (1997–98)28–41–11Recap
81WApril 16, 19984–0Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)29–41–11Recap
82WApril 18, 19982–1@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)30–41–11Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## 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 Islanders only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 16 | Zigmund Palffy | RW | 82 | 45 | 42 | 87 | −2 | 34 |
| 21 | Robert Reichel | C | 82 | 25 | 40 | 65 | −11 | 32 |
| 34 | Bryan Berard | D | 75 | 14 | 32 | 46 | −32 | 59 |
| 20 | Bryan Smolinski | C | 81 | 13 | 30 | 43 | −16 | 34 |
| 29 | Kenny Jonsson | D | 81 | 14 | 26 | 40 | −2 | 58 |
| 14 | Tom Chorske | LW | 82 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 7 | 39 |
| 17 | Sergei Nemchinov | LW | 74 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 3 | 24 |
| 39 | Travis Green‡ | C | 54 | 14 | 12 | 26 | −19 | 66 |
| 25 | Mariusz Czerkawski | RW | 68 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 11 | 23 |
| 13 | Claude Lapointe | C | 78 | 10 | 10 | 20 | −9 | 47 |
| 44 | Todd Bertuzzi‡ | RW | 52 | 7 | 11 | 18 | −19 | 58 |
| 32 | Trevor Linden† | RW | 25 | 10 | 7 | 17 | −1 | 33 |
| 7 | Scott Lachance | D | 63 | 2 | 11 | 13 | −11 | 45 |
| 18 | Mike Hough | LW | 74 | 5 | 7 | 12 | −4 | 27 |
| 4 | Bryan McCabe‡ | D | 56 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 145 |
| 24 | Paul Kruse‡ | LW | 62 | 6 | 1 | 7 | −12 | 138 |
| 2 | Rich Pilon | D | 76 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 291 |
| 10 | Joe Sacco† | RW | 25 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 10 |
| 36 | J. J. Daigneault† | D | 18 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 21 |
| 33 | Ken Belanger | LW | 37 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 101 |
| 54 | Kip Miller† | C | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −2 | 2 |
| 44 | Jason Dawe† | RW | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −2 | 6 |
| 6 | Doug Houda‡ | D | 31 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −6 | 47 |
| 28 | Dennis Vaske | D | 19 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 12 |
| 36 | Dane Jackson | RW | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 55 | Vladimir Chebaturkin | D | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 0 |
| 3 | Zdeno Chara | D | 25 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 50 |
| 30 | Wade Flaherty | G | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 0 |
| 58 | John Namestnikov | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 4 |
| 49 | Vladimir Orszagh | RW | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 2 |
| 42 | Dan Plante | RW | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 6 |
| 35 | Tommy Salo | G | 62 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 31 |
| 60 | Ray Schultz | D | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 45 |
| 43 | Jason Strudwick‡ | D | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 36 |
| 1 | Eric Fichaud | G | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 11 | Sean Haggerty | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| 46 | Jason Holland‡ | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 4 |
| 12 | Mark Janssens†‡ | C | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 34 |
| 52 | Mark Lawrence | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 37 | Jeff Libby | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | Warren Luhning | RW | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 0 |
| 24 | Gino Odjick† | RW | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 31 |
| 8 | Steve Webb | RW | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 35 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 35 | Tommy Salo | 62 | 23 | 29 | 5 | 1617 | 152 | 2.64 | .906 | 4 | 3461 |
| 30 | Wade Flaherty | 16 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 309 | 23 | 1.99 | .926 | 3 | 694 |
| 1 | Eric Fichaud | 17 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 422 | 40 | 2.97 | .905 | 0 | 807 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Zigmund Palffy | |
| Team | Bob Nystrom Award | Rich Pilon | |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Warren Luhning | October 4, 1997 |
| First game | Zdeno Chara | November 19, 1997 |
| First game | Vladimir Orszagh | November 22, 1997 |
| First game | Vladimir Chebaturkin | March 24, 1998 |
| First game | Ray Schultz | March 24, 1998 |
| First game | Jeff Libby | March 26, 1998 |

## Draft picks

New York'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 | 4 | Roberto Luongo | Canada | Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL) |
| 1 | 5 | Eric Brewer | Canada | Prince George Cougars (WHL) |
| 2 | 31 | Jeff Zehr | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) |
| 3 | 59 | Jarrett Smith | Canada | Prince George Cougars (WHL) |
| 3 | 79 | Robert Schnabel | Czech Republic | Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) |
| 4 | 85 | Petr Mika | Czech Republic | Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) |
| 5 | 115 | Adam Edinger | United States | Bowling Green State University (CCHA) |
| 6 | 139 | Bobby Leavins | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 7 | 166 | Kris Knoblauch | Canada | Edmonton Ice (WHL) |
| 8 | 196 | Jeremy Symington | Canada | Petrolia Jets (WOHL) |
| 9 | 222 | Ryan Clark | United States | Lincoln Stars (USHL) |