# 1998–99 Colorado Avalanche season

The 1998–99 Colorado Avalanche season was the Avalanche's fourth season and last season at McNichols Sports Arena. They would move to the Pepsi Center during the off-season.

## Regular season

* April 3, 1999: In a victory over the Edmonton Oilers, Patrick Roy passed Glenn Hall with his 408th victory.

### Season standings

Northwest Division :
| R | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 44 | 28 | 10 | 239 | 205 | 1619 | 98 |
| 2 | 8 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 33 | 37 | 12 | 230 | 226 | 1373 | 78 |
| 3 | 9 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 30 | 40 | 12 | 211 | 234 | 1389 | 72 |
| 4 | 13 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 23 | 47 | 12 | 192 | 258 | 1764 | 58 |
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Dallas Stars | PAC | 82 | 51 | 19 | 12 | 236 | 168 | 114 |
| 2 | y – Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 44 | 28 | 10 | 239 | 205 | 98 |
| 3 | y – Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 43 | 32 | 7 | 245 | 202 | 93 |
| 4 | Phoenix Coyotes | PAC | 82 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 205 | 197 | 90 |
| 5 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 37 | 32 | 13 | 237 | 209 | 87 |
| 6 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 35 | 34 | 13 | 215 | 206 | 83 |
| 7 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 31 | 33 | 18 | 196 | 191 | 80 |
| 8 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 33 | 37 | 12 | 230 | 226 | 78 |
| 9 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 30 | 40 | 12 | 211 | 234 | 72 |
| 10 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 202 | 248 | 70 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 32 | 45 | 5 | 189 | 222 | 69 |
| 12 | Nashville Predators | CEN | 82 | 28 | 47 | 7 | 190 | 261 | 63 |
| 13 | Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 23 | 47 | 12 | 192 | 258 | 58 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific, NW – Northwest
bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1998–99 regular season :
October: 2–6–1 (home: 2–4–0; road: 0–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 10, 19983–4Ottawa Senators (1998–99)0–1–0Recap
2LOctober 12, 19980–3Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)0–2–0Recap
3LOctober 14, 19980–3Boston Bruins (1998–99)0–3–0Recap
4LOctober 15, 19982–5@ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)0–4–0Recap
5TOctober 18, 19985–5 OT@ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)0–4–1Recap
6WOctober 24, 19986–4Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)1–4–1Recap
7LOctober 26, 19981–5Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)1–5–1Recap
8WOctober 29, 19984–2San Jose Sharks (1998–99)2–5–1Recap
9LOctober 31, 19982–3@ Nashville Predators (1998–99)2–6–1Recap :
November: 6–5–1 (home: 2–2–0; road: 4–3–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
10WNovember 2, 19983–2@ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99)3–6–1Recap
11LNovember 4, 19980–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)3–7–1Recap
12WNovember 6, 19985–2@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)4–7–1Recap
13LNovember 8, 19981–3@ Calgary Flames (1998–99)4–8–1Recap
14TNovember 10, 19981–1 OT@ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)4–8–2Recap
15WNovember 13, 19988–1Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)5–8–2Recap
16WNovember 15, 19982–1@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)6–8–2Recap
17WNovember 17, 19985–2New York Islanders (1998–99)7–8–2Recap
18LNovember 19, 19980–5Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)7–9–2Recap
19WNovember 21, 19983–2@ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)8–9–2Recap
20LNovember 25, 19980–3@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)8–10–2Recap
21LNovember 28, 19982–3New Jersey Devils (1998–99)8–11–2Recap :
December: 8–6–1 (home: 2–3–1; road: 6–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
22WDecember 2, 19984–2Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)9–11–2Recap
23WDecember 4, 19982–0St. Louis Blues (1998–99)10–11–2Recap
24WDecember 5, 19983–1@ St. Louis Blues (1998–99)11–11–2Recap
25WDecember 8, 19982–1@ New York Islanders (1998–99)12–11–2Recap
26WDecember 9, 19982–1@ New York Rangers (1998–99)13–11–2Recap
27LDecember 12, 19983–5@ New Jersey Devils (1998–99)13–12–2Recap
28TDecember 14, 19980–0 OTSt. Louis Blues (1998–99)13–12–3Recap
29LDecember 17, 19981–2@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)13–13–3Recap
30LDecember 19, 19981–2@ San Jose Sharks (1998–99)13–14–3Recap
31WDecember 21, 19984–2@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)14–14–3Recap
32LDecember 22, 19980–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)14–15–3Recap
33LDecember 26, 19982–4Dallas Stars (1998–99)14–16–3Recap
34WDecember 27, 19982–1@ Calgary Flames (1998–99)15–16–3Recap
35WDecember 29, 19984–2@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)16–16–3Recap
36LDecember 31, 19983–6New York Rangers (1998–99)16–17–3Recap :
January: 9–2–1 (home: 6–0–1; road: 3–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
37LJanuary 2, 19992–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)16–18–3Recap
38WJanuary 4, 19994–3Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)17–18–3Recap
39TJanuary 6, 19992–2 OTFlorida Panthers (1998–99)17–18–4Recap
40LJanuary 9, 19992–3@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)17–19–4Recap
41WJanuary 10, 19993–2 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)18–19–4Recap
42WJanuary 12, 19994–1Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)19–19–4Recap
43WJanuary 16, 19992–0St. Louis Blues (1998–99)20–19–4Recap
44WJanuary 19, 19995–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)21–19–4Recap
45WJanuary 21, 19994–2Calgary Flames (1998–99)22–19–4Recap
46WJanuary 27, 19994–3@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)23–19–4Recap
47WJanuary 28, 19996–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)24–19–4Recap
48WJanuary 30, 19995–0San Jose Sharks (1998–99)25–19–4Recap :
February: 5–3–4 (home: 1–3–2; road: 4–0–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
49WFebruary 2, 19993–2@ Boston Bruins (1998–99)26–19–4Recap
50WFebruary 3, 19995–3@ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)27–19–4Recap
51WFebruary 5, 19993–1@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)28–19–4Recap
52WFebruary 7, 19993–0@ Dallas Stars (1998–99)29–19–4Recap
53LFebruary 9, 19991–2Calgary Flames (1998–99)29–20–4Recap
54LFebruary 13, 19991–4Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)29–21–4Recap
55TFebruary 14, 19994–4 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1998–99)29–21–5Recap
56TFebruary 19, 19994–4 OT@ Nashville Predators (1998–99)29–21–6Recap
57TFebruary 21, 19991–1 OT@ Dallas Stars (1998–99)29–21–7Recap
58TFebruary 23, 19994–4 OTVancouver Canucks (1998–99)29–21–8Recap
59LFebruary 25, 19992–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)29–22–8Recap
60WFebruary 27, 19993–1Nashville Predators (1998–99)30–22–8Recap :
March: 9–4–2 (home: 4–2–2; road: 5–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
61LMarch 1, 19993–4Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)30–23–8Recap
62WMarch 3, 19997–5@ Florida Panthers (1998–99)31–23–8Recap
63LMarch 4, 19991–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)31–24–8Recap
64WMarch 7, 19993–1@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)32–24–8Recap
65WMarch 9, 19993–2 OT@ Washington Capitals (1998–99)33–24–8Recap
66WMarch 11, 19995–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)34–24–8Recap
67LMarch 14, 19991–3Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)34–25–8Recap
68WMarch 18, 19993–2Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99)35–25–8Recap
69TMarch 20, 19995–5 OTChicago Blackhawks (1998–99)35–25–9Recap
70LMarch 21, 19993–4@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)35–26–9Recap
71WMarch 24, 19995–2Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)36–26–9Recap
72WMarch 26, 19993–1Washington Capitals (1998–99)37–26–9Recap
73WMarch 28, 19997–2Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)38–26–9Recap
74TMarch 30, 19993–3 OTCalgary Flames (1998–99)38–26–10Recap
75WMarch 31, 19993–2@ San Jose Sharks (1998–99)39–26–10Recap :
April: 5–2–0 (home: 4–0–0; road: 1–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
76WApril 3, 19995–2Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)40–26–10Recap
77WApril 5, 19994–1Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)41–26–10Recap
78WApril 7, 19994–1Nashville Predators (1998–99)42–26–10Recap
79WApril 11, 19994–2@ St. Louis Blues (1998–99)43–26–10Recap
80LApril 15, 19991–5@ Calgary Flames (1998–99)43–27–10Recap
81LApril 16, 19991–5@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)43–28–10Recap
82WApril 18, 19992–1Dallas Stars (1998–99)44–28–10Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1999 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (7) San Jose Sharks – Avalanche win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WApril 24, 19993–1San Jose SharksAvalanche lead 1–0Recap
2WApril 26, 19992–1 OTSan Jose SharksAvalanche lead 2–0Recap
3LApril 28, 19992–4@ San Jose SharksAvalanche lead 2–1Recap
4LApril 30, 19993–7@ San Jose SharksSeries tied 2–2Recap
5WMay 1, 19996–2San Jose SharksAvalanche lead 3–2Recap
6WMay 3, 19993–2 OT@ San Jose SharksAvalanche win 4–2Recap :
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings – Avalanche win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LMay 7, 19992–3 OTDetroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 1–0Recap
2LMay 9, 19990–4Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 2–0Recap
3WMay 11, 19995–3@ Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 2–1Recap
4WMay 13, 19996–2@ Detroit Red WingsSeries tied 2–2Recap
5WMay 16, 19993–0Detroit Red WingsAvalanche lead 3–2Recap
6WMay 18, 19995–2@ Detroit Red WingsAvalanche win 4–2Recap :
Western Conference Finals vs. (1) Dallas Stars – Stars win 4–3
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WMay 22, 19992–1@ Dallas StarsAvalanche lead 1–0Recap
2LMay 24, 19992–4@ Dallas StarsSeries tied 1–1Recap
3LMay 26, 19990–3Dallas StarsStars lead 2–1Recap
4WMay 28, 19993–2 OTDallas StarsSeries tied 2–2Recap
5WMay 30, 19997–5@ Dallas StarsAvalanche lead 3–2Recap
6LJune 1, 19991–4Dallas StarsSeries tied 3–3Recap
7LJune 4, 19991–4@ Dallas StarsStars win 4–3Recap :
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 | 78 | 30 | 67 | 97 | 27 | 108 | 19 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 7 | 31 |
| 19 | Joe Sakic | C | 73 | 41 | 55 | 96 | 23 | 29 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 19 | −2 | 8 |
| 22 | Claude Lemieux | RW | 82 | 27 | 24 | 51 | 0 | 102 | 19 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 26 |
| 18 | Adam Deadmarsh | RW | 66 | 22 | 27 | 49 | −2 | 99 | 19 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 20 |
| 23 | Milan Hejduk | RW | 82 | 14 | 34 | 48 | 8 | 26 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 4 |
| 37 | Chris Drury | C | 79 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 9 | 62 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 4 |
| 13 | Valeri Kamensky | LW | 65 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 1 | 28 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| 8 | Sandis Ozolinsh | D | 39 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 10 | 22 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −5 | 22 |
| 14 | Theoren Fleury† | RW | 15 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 8 | 18 | 18 | 5 | 12 | 17 | −2 | 20 |
| 20 | Rene Corbet‡ | LW | 53 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 3 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 52 | Adam Foote | D | 64 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 20 | 92 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 24 |
| 2 | Sylvain Lefebvre | D | 76 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 48 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 12 |
| 12 | Shean Donovan | RW | 68 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 4 | 37 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Aaron Miller | D | 76 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 3 | 42 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| 26 | Stephane Yelle | C | 72 | 8 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 40 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 6 |
| 5 | Alexei Gusarov | D | 54 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 25 | Shjon Podein† | LW | 41 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −3 | 24 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 12 |
| 29 | Eric Messier | LW | 31 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 32 | Dale Hunter† | C | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 38 |
| 36 | Jeff Odgers | RW | 75 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −3 | 259 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| 11 | Keith Jones‡ | RW | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −6 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | Greg de Vries† | D | 67 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −3 | 60 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 22 |
| 24 | Jon Klemm | D | 39 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 31 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 4 | Cam Russell† | D | 35 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −5 | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Christian Matte | RW | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Patrick Roy | G | 61 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 28 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 4 |
| 16 | Warren Rychel | LW | 28 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 63 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 14 |
| 15 | Ted Crowley‡ | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 44 | Serge Aubin† | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Wade Belak‡ | D | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Craig Billington | G | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 32 | Jeff Buchanan | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Marc Denis | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Chris Dingman† | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Mike Gaul† | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Eric Lacroix‡ | LW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Scott Parker | RW | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 43 | Dan Smith | D | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 59 | Brian White | D | 2 | 0 | 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 |
| 33 | Patrick Roy | 61 | 32 | 19 | 8 | 1673 | 139 | 2.29 | .917 | 5 | 3648 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 650 | 52 | 2.66 | .920 | 1 | 1173 |
| 1 | Craig Billington | 21 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 492 | 52 | 2.87 | .894 | 0 | 1086 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6.67 | .833 | 0 | 9 |
| 30 | Marc Denis | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 110 | 9 | 2.49 | .918 | 0 | 217 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Calder Memorial Trophy | Chris Drury |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Chris Drury (Forward) |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Milan Hejduk (Forward) |
| League (annual) | NHL First All-Star Team | Peter Forsberg (Center) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Peter Forsberg |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Month | Patrick Roy (January) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Joe Sakic (January 26) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Peter Forsberg (March 8) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Patrick Roy (March 29) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Chris Drury | October 10, 1998 |
| First game | Milan Hejduk | October 10, 1998 |
| First game | Dan Smith | October 12, 1998 |
| First game | Jeff Buchanan | November 6, 1998 |
| First game | Brian White | November 21, 1998 |
| First game | Scott Parker | November 28, 1998 |
| First game | Michael Gaul | December 19, 1998 |
| First game | Serge Aubin | December 31, 1998 |
| 600th assist | Joe Sakic | April 3, 1999 |

## Draft picks

Colorado's draft picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft held at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 12 | Alex Tanguay | Canada | Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) |
| 1 | 17 | Martin Skoula | Czech Republic | Barrie Colts (OHL) |
| 1 | 19 | Robyn Regehr | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 1 | 20 | Scott Parker | United States | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) |
| 2 | 28 | Ramzi Abid | Canada | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 38 | Philippe Sauve | United States | Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 53 | Steve Moore | Canada | Harvard University (ECAC) |
| 3 | 79 | Yevgeni Lazarev | Russia | Kitchener Dutchmen (MWJHL) |
| 5 | 141 | K. C. Timmons | Canada | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
| 6 | 167 | Alex Riazantsev | Russia | Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL) |