# 1997–98 Dallas Stars season

The 1997–98 Dallas Stars season was the fifth National Hockey League season in Dallas, Texas (and 31st overall). The most notable aspect of the season was winning the Presidents' Trophy.

## Regular season

The Stars tied the Edmonton Oilers for most power-play goals scored, with 77, and had the best power-play percentage in the league, at 20.00%.

### Final standings

Central Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 49 | 22 | 11 | 242 | 167 | 109 |
| 2 | 3 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 44 | 23 | 15 | 250 | 196 | 103 |
| 3 | 4 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 45 | 29 | 8 | 256 | 204 | 98 |
| 4 | 6 | Phoenix Coyotes | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 224 | 227 | 82 |
| 5 | 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 192 | 199 | 73 |
| 6 | 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 30 | 43 | 9 | 194 | 237 | 69 |
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Dallas Stars | CEN | 82 | 49 | 22 | 11 | 242 | 167 | 109 |
| 2 | x – Colorado Avalanche | PAC | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 231 | 205 | 95 |
| 3 | Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 44 | 23 | 15 | 250 | 196 | 103 |
| 4 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 45 | 29 | 8 | 256 | 204 | 98 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 227 | 225 | 87 |
| 6 | Phoenix Coyotes | CEN | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 224 | 227 | 82 |
| 7 | Edmonton Oilers | PAC | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 215 | 224 | 80 |
| 8 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 34 | 38 | 10 | 210 | 216 | 78 |
| 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 192 | 199 | 73 |
| 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | CEN | 82 | 30 | 43 | 9 | 194 | 237 | 69 |
| 11 | Calgary Flames | PAC | 82 | 26 | 41 | 15 | 217 | 252 | 67 |
| 12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 26 | 43 | 13 | 205 | 261 | 65 |
| 13 | Vancouver Canucks | PAC | 82 | 25 | 43 | 14 | 224 | 273 | 64 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific
bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won Division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1997–98 regular season :
October: 9–4–1 (home: 4–2–0; road: 5–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1TOctober 1, 19972–2 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)0–0–1Recap
2LOctober 4, 19971–2St. Louis Blues (1997–98)0–1–1Recap
3WOctober 7, 19974–2@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)1–1–1Recap
4LOctober 8, 19971–3@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)1–2–1Recap
5WOctober 10, 19977–0Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)2–2–1Recap
6WOctober 14, 19975–4 OTCalgary Flames (1997–98)3–2–1Recap
7WOctober 16, 19974–0Florida Panthers (1997–98)4–2–1Recap
8WOctober 18, 19975–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)5–2–1Recap
9LOctober 19, 19971–3@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98)5–3–1Recap
10LOctober 21, 19971–5Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)5–4–1Recap
11WOctober 24, 19972–0@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)6–4–1Recap
12WOctober 25, 19973–1Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)7–4–1Recap
13WOctober 28, 19973–2@ New York Rangers (1997–98)8–4–1Recap
14WOctober 29, 19974–3@ Washington Capitals (1997–98)9–4–1Recap :
November: 9–3–3 (home: 4–1–2; road: 5–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
15TNovember 2, 19973–3 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)9–4–2Recap
16LNovember 3, 19974–6@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)9–5–2Recap
17WNovember 5, 19975–2@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)10–5–2Recap
18TNovember 7, 19972–2 OTNew York Rangers (1997–98)10–5–3Recap
19LNovember 10, 19971–7St. Louis Blues (1997–98)10–6–3Recap
20TNovember 12, 19973–3 OTBoston Bruins (1997–98)10–6–4Recap
21WNovember 15, 19975–1@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)11–6–4Recap
22WNovember 16, 19974–0@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)12–6–4Recap
23WNovember 19, 19973–2Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)13–6–4Recap
24LNovember 21, 19972–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)13–7–4Recap
25WNovember 22, 19972–0@ Boston Bruins (1997–98)14–7–4Recap
26WNovember 24, 19975–0Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)15–7–4Recap
27WNovember 26, 19974–1Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)16–7–4Recap
28WNovember 27, 19974–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)17–7–4Recap
29WNovember 29, 19975–2Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)18–7–4Recap :
December: 7–2–3 (home: 4–1–2; road: 3–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
30WDecember 3, 19974–1Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)19–7–4Recap
31WDecember 5, 19974–1Calgary Flames (1997–98)20–7–4Recap
32LDecember 8, 19970–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)20–8–4Recap
33WDecember 10, 19973–0Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)21–8–4Recap
34LDecember 12, 19970–1San Jose Sharks (1997–98)21–9–4Recap
35WDecember 15, 19978–4Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)22–9–4Recap
36WDecember 18, 19972–1@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)23–9–4Recap
37WDecember 20, 19972–1 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)24–9–4Recap
38WDecember 23, 19973–1@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)25–9–4Recap
39TDecember 27, 19973–3 OTVancouver Canucks (1997–98)25–9–5Recap
40TDecember 29, 19972–2 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)25–9–6Recap
41TDecember 31, 19972–2 OTLos Angeles Kings (1997–98)25–9–7Recap :
January: 8–4–1 (home: 3–1–1; road: 5–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
42WJanuary 2, 19982–1New York Islanders (1997–98)26–9–7Recap
43WJanuary 3, 19986–1@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)27–9–7Recap
44WJanuary 5, 19984–3 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)28–9–7Recap
45LJanuary 7, 19980–2Ottawa Senators (1997–98)28–10–7Recap
46TJanuary 9, 19983–3 OTDetroit Red Wings (1997–98)28–10–8Recap
47LJanuary 11, 19981–2 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)28–11–8Recap
48WJanuary 12, 19983–1@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)29–11–8Recap
49WJanuary 14, 19982–1 OT@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)30–11–8Recap
50WJanuary 21, 19983–2Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)31–11–8Recap
51WJanuary 24, 19983–2@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)32–11–8Recap
52WJanuary 26, 19985–1Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)33–11–8Recap
53LJanuary 29, 19982–3@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)33–12–8Recap
54LJanuary 31, 19983–6@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)33–13–8Recap :
February: 5–0–0 (home: 3–0–0; road: 2–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
55WFebruary 2, 19985–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)34–13–8Recap
56WFebruary 4, 19981–0Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)35–13–8Recap
57WFebruary 7, 19983–1Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)36–13–8Recap
58WFebruary 25, 19984–1@ New York Islanders (1997–98)37–13–8Recap
59WFebruary 28, 19984–0Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)38–13–8Recap :
March: 5–5–3 (home: 3–3–2; road: 2–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
60TMarch 1, 19982–2 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)38–13–9Recap
61LMarch 4, 19981–3Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)38–14–9Recap
62LMarch 7, 19981–2@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)38–15–9Recap
63TMarch 8, 19981–1 OTPhoenix Coyotes (1997–98)38–15–10Recap
64LMarch 12, 19984–5@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)38–16–10Recap
65WMarch 13, 19986–3Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)39–16–10Recap
66WMarch 17, 19984–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)40–16–10Recap
67WMarch 18, 19983–1@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)41–16–10Recap
68WMarch 20, 19986–1Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)42–16–10Recap
69TMarch 22, 19980–0 OTPittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)42–16–11Recap
70LMarch 26, 19980–1Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)42–17–11Recap
71LMarch 28, 19981–4San Jose Sharks (1997–98)42–18–11Recap
72WMarch 29, 19983–1New Jersey Devils (1997–98)43–18–11Recap :
April: 6–4–0 (home: 5–0–0; road: 1–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
73LApril 1, 19981–3@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)43–19–11Recap
74LApril 3, 19981–4@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)43–20–11Recap
75LApril 4, 19983–5@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)43–21–11Recap
76WApril 6, 19984–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)44–21–11Recap
77WApril 8, 19982–1 OTWashington Capitals (1997–98)45–21–11Recap
78WApril 11, 19985–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)46–21–11Recap
79WApril 12, 19984–3St. Louis Blues (1997–98)47–21–11Recap
80WApril 15, 19983–1Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)48–21–11Recap
81LApril 16, 19982–3@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)48–22–11Recap
82WApril 18, 19983–1Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)49–22–11Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1998 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) San Jose Sharks – Stars win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WApril 22, 19984–1San Jose SharksStars lead 1–0Recap
2WApril 24, 19985–2San Jose SharksStars lead 2–0Recap
3LApril 26, 19981–4@ San Jose SharksStars lead 2–1Recap
4LApril 28, 19980–1 OT@ San Jose SharksSeries tied 2–2Recap
5WApril 30, 19983–2San Jose SharksStars lead 3–2Recap
6WMay 2, 19983–2 OT@ San Jose SharksStars win 4–2Recap :
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (7) Edmonton Oilers – Stars win 4–1
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WMay 7, 19983–1Edmonton OilersStars lead 1–0Recap
2LMay 9, 19980–2Edmonton OilersSeries tied 1–1Recap
3WMay 11, 19981–0 OT@ Edmonton OilersStars lead 2–1Recap
4WMay 13, 19983–1@ Edmonton OilersStars lead 3–1Recap
5WMay 16, 19982–1Edmonton OilersStars win 4–1Recap :
Western Conference Finals vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings – Red Wings win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LMay 24, 19980–2Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 1–0Recap
2WMay 26, 19983–1Detroit Red WingsSeries tied 1–1Recap
3LMay 29, 19983–5@ Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 2–1Recap
4LMay 31, 19982–3@ Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 3–1Recap
5WJune 3, 19983–2 OTDetroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 3–2Recap
6LJune 5, 19980–2@ 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 Stars only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Stars 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 |
| 25 | Joe Nieuwendyk | C | 73 | 39 | 30 | 69 | 16 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | Mike Modano | C | 52 | 21 | 38 | 59 | 25 | 32 | 17 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 12 |
| 16 | Pat Verbeek | RW | 82 | 31 | 26 | 57 | 15 | 170 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 26 |
| 56 | Sergei Zubov | D | 73 | 10 | 47 | 57 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 2 |
| 15 | Jamie Langenbrunner | RW | 81 | 23 | 29 | 52 | 9 | 61 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −5 | 14 |
| 5 | Darryl Sydor | D | 79 | 11 | 35 | 46 | 17 | 51 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 14 |
| 26 | Jere Lehtinen | RW | 72 | 23 | 19 | 42 | 19 | 20 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Greg Adams | LW | 49 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 11 | 20 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 2 | Derian Hatcher | D | 70 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 9 | 132 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −1 | 39 |
| 21 | Guy Carbonneau | C | 77 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 3 | 40 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 27 | Shawn Chambers | D | 57 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 11 | 26 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 20 |
| 33 | Benoit Hogue | C | 53 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 7 | 35 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 16 |
| 10 | Todd Harvey‡ | C | 59 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 5 | 104 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Grant Marshall | RW | 72 | 9 | 10 | 19 | −2 | 96 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 47 |
| 14 | Dave Reid | LW | 65 | 6 | 12 | 18 | −15 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| 24 | Richard Matvichuk | D | 74 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 7 | 63 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 12 | Bob Errey‡ | LW | 59 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 41 | Tony Hrkac‡ | C | 13 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Bob Bassen | C | 58 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −4 | 57 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 12 |
| 3 | Craig Ludwig | D | 80 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 131 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 |
| 46 | Jamie Wright | LW | 21 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | Mike Keane† | RW | 13 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| 11 | Juha Lind | C | 39 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 6 | Dan Keczmer | D | 17 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Brian Skrudland† | C | 13 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 16 |
| 22 | Craig Muni† | D | 40 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 |
| 37 | Brad Lukowich | D | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | Chris Tancill | C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Ed Belfour | G | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 18 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 18 |
| 38 | Jason Botterill | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Petr Buzek | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Patrick Cote | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Peter Douris | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Manny Fernandez | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 4 | Sergey Gusev | D | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Mike Kennedy† | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Jeff Mitchell | RW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 41 | Jarrod Skalde†‡ | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Roman Turek | G | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### 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 |
| 20 | Ed Belfour | 61 | 37 | 12 | 10 | 1335 | 112 | 1.88 | .916 | 9 | 3581 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 399 | 31 | 1.79 | .922 | 1 | 1039 |
| 1 | Roman Turek | 23 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 496 | 49 | 2.22 | .901 | 1 | 1324 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Manny Fernandez | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 2 | 1.74 | .943 | 0 | 69 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | | 0 | 2 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Frank J. Selke Trophy | Jere Lehtinen |
| League (annual) | Lester Patrick Trophy | Neal Broten |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Ed Belfour |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Ken Hitchcock (coach) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Jere Lehtinen |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Mike Modano |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Darryl Sydor |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Sergei Zubov |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Roman Turek (February) |
| Team | Star of the Game Award | Mike Modano |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Sergei Gusev | October 1, 1997 |
| First game | Juha Lind | October 1, 1997 |
| First game | Jeff Mitchell | November 12, 1997 |
| First game | Jamie Wright | November 16, 1997 |
| First game | Brad Lukowich | March 4, 1998 |
| First game | Petr Buzek | March 12, 1998 |
| First game | Jason Botterill | March 13, 1998 |

## Draft picks

Dallas'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 | 25 | Brenden Morrow | Canada | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) |
| 2 | 52 | Roman Lyashenko | Russia | Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia) |
| 3 | 77 | Steve Gainey | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 4 | 105 | Marcus Kristoffersson | Sweden | Mora IK (Sweden) |
| 5 | 132 | Teemu Elomo | Finland | TPS (Finland) |
| 6 | 160 | Alexei Timkin | Ukraine | Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia) |
| 7 | 189 | Jeff McKercher | Canada | Barrie Colts (OHL) |
| 8 | 216 | Alexei Komarov | Russia | Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia) |
| 9 | 242 | Brett McLean | Canada | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) |