1997–98 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1997-98 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 31st in the National Hockey League. It was their first season under head coach Kevin Constantine and first after the first retirement of Mario Lemieux.
==Offseason==
==Regular season==
===Final standings===
===Game log===
No.	R	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	T	October 1, 1997 	3–3 OT	Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 	0–0–1
2 	W	October 3, 1997 	4–3 	@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 	1–0–1
3 	L	October 4, 1997 	3–5 	Florida Panthers (1997–98) 	1–1–1
4 	L	October 8, 1997 	0–3 	Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 	1–2–1
5 	L	October 9, 1997 	1–3 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 	1–3–1
6 	W	October 11, 1997 	4–1 	Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 	2–3–1
7 	W	October 14, 1997 	1–0 	@ New York Rangers (1997–98) 	3–3–1
8 	T	October 15, 1997 	1–1 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 	3–3–2
9 	W	October 17, 1997 	4–1 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 	4–3–2
10 	W	October 19, 1997 	4–1 	@ Florida Panthers (1997–98) 	5–3–2
11 	W	October 22, 1997 	5–2 	@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 	6–3–2
12 	L	October 24, 1997 	3–4 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 	6–4–2
13 	W	October 25, 1997 	3–2 OT	@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 	7–4–2
14 	L	October 28, 1997 	3–6 	@ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 	7–5–2
15 	W	November 1, 1997 	7–6 OT	Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 	8–5–2
16 	L	November 2, 1997 	1–3 	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 	8–6–2
17 	L	November 5, 1997 	2–5 	Dallas Stars (1997–98) 	8–7–2
18 	T	November 7, 1997 	1–1 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 	8–7–3
19 	T	November 8, 1997 	2–2 OT	Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 	8–7–4
20 	L	November 12, 1997	1–4 	Washington Capitals (1997–98) 	8–8–4
21 	L	November 14, 1997	1–3 	@ New York Rangers (1997–98) 	8–9–4
22 	W	November 15, 1997	5–0 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 	9–9–4
23 	T	November 19, 1997	3–3 OT	Boston Bruins (1997–98) 	9–9–5
24 	W	November 20, 1997	2–0 	@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 	10–9–5
25 	W	November 22, 1997	4–3 OT	New York Rangers (1997–98) 	11–9–5
26 	W	November 24, 1997	5–1 	Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 	12–9–5
27 	W	November 26, 1997	3–2 	Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 	13–9–5
28 	W	November 29, 1997	6–3 	Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 	14–9–5
29 	W	December 1, 1997 	1–0 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 	15–9–5
30 	L	December 4, 1997 	0–4 	New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 	15–10–5
31 	W	December 6, 1997 	5–2 	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 	16–10–5
32 	W	December 9, 1997 	2–1 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 	17–10–5
33 	W	December 10, 1997	3–0 	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	18–10–5
34 	T	December 12, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 	18–10–6
35 	T	December 16, 1997	1–1 OT	Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 	18–10–7
36 	T	December 19, 1997	3–3 OT	@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 	18–10–8
37 	L	December 20, 1997	1–4 	@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 	18–11–8
38 	W	December 26, 1997	4–1 	@ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 	19–11–8
39 	L	December 27, 1997	0–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 	19–12–8
40 	W	December 29, 1997	5–1 	New York Islanders (1997–98) 	20–12–8
41 	W	December 31, 1997	3–2 	Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 	21–12–8
42 	L	January 3, 1998 	4–5 OT	Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 	21–13–8
43 	W	January 6, 1998 	4–2 	@ New York Islanders (1997–98) 	22–13–8
44 	L	January 7, 1998 	1–3 	@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 	22–14–8
45 	W	January 10, 1998 	4–1 	New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 	23–14–8
46 	W	January 12, 1998 	4–1 	@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 	24–14–8
47 	L	January 14, 1998 	2–5 	@ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 	24–15–8
48 	T	January 20, 1998 	0–0 OT	Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 	24–15–9
49 	W	January 22, 1998 	3–2 	@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 	25–15–9
50 	W	January 24, 1998 	4–2 	Boston Bruins (1997–98) 	26–15–9
51 	W	January 26, 1998 	4–2 	St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 	27–15–9
52 	T	January 28, 1998 	2–2 OT	@ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 	27–15–10
53 	W	January 29, 1998 	4–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 	28–15–10
54 	W	January 31, 1998 	4–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 	29–15–10
55 	L	February 2, 1998 	2–4 	New York Islanders (1997–98) 	29–16–10
56 	T	February 4, 1998 	2–2 OT	Washington Capitals (1997–98) 	29–16–11
57 	T	February 6, 1998 	2–2 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 	29–16–12
58 	T	February 7, 1998 	2–2 OT	@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 	29–16–13
59 	W	February 25, 1998	6–2 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 	30–16–13
60 	L	February 28, 1998	2–6 	@ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 	30–17–13
61 	W	March 2, 1998 	3–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 	31–17–13
62 	T	March 5, 1998 	2–2 OT	Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 	31–17–14
63 	W	March 7, 1998 	6–4 	Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 	32–17–14
64 	L	March 8, 1998 	3–4 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 	32–18–14
65 	W	March 11, 1998 	4–1 	Calgary Flames (1997–98) 	33–18–14
66 	W	March 14, 1998 	2–1 	Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 	34–18–14
67 	L	March 15, 1998 	0–3 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 	34–19–14
68 	W	March 18, 1998 	4–2 	Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 	35–19–14
69 	W	March 21, 1998 	4–3 	Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 	36–19–14
70 	T	March 22, 1998 	0–0 OT	@ Dallas Stars (1997–98) 	36–19–15
71 	L	March 26, 1998 	3–4 	@ New York Islanders (1997–98) 	36–20–15
72 	T	March 28, 1998 	2–2 OT	New York Rangers (1997–98) 	36–20–16
73 	T	March 29, 1998 	1–1 OT	Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 	36–20–17
74 	L	April 1, 1998 	2–3 	San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 	36–21–17
75 	W	April 4, 1998 	4–1 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 	37–21–17
76 	L	April 5, 1998 	1–3 	@ Florida Panthers (1997–98) 	37–22–17
77 	L	April 7, 1998 	1–2 	Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 	37–23–17
78 	L	April 9, 1998 	1–4 	@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 	37–24–17
79 	T	April 11, 1998 	3–3 OT	Florida Panthers (1997–98) 	37–24–18
80 	W	April 15, 1998 	5–1 	Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 	38–24–18
81 	W	April 16, 1998 	4–1 	@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 	39–24–18
82 	W	April 18, 1998 	5–2 	Boston Bruins (1997–98) 	40–24–18
==Playoffs==
==Player stats==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	RW 	77	35	67	102	64 	17 	7 	0 	8
 	C 	81	25	62	87 	20 	12 	7 	0 	5
 	C 	78	30	35	65 	30 	15 	15 	1 	5
 	D 	74	19	29	48 	66 	-3 	13 	1 	3
 	C 	75	19	23	42 	28 	-1 	4 	3 	4
 	RW 	82	15	25	40 	59 	-1 	4 	0 	4
 	D 	76	6 	27	33 	42 	13 	2 	0 	1
 	RW 	76	13	13	26 	8 	-4 	2 	0 	3
 	C 	56	11	11	22 	35 	-9 	5 	1 	1
 	C 	51	9 	13	22 	14 	6 	1 	1 	2
 	LW 	58	7 	13	20 	54 	4 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	71	3 	15	18 	46 	15 	2 	0 	0
 	D 	73	5 	12	17 	109	10 	1 	1 	0
 	C 	50	5 	10	15 	20 	4 	0 	1 	0
 	D 	81	4 	8 	12 	127	3 	0 	2 	0
 	RW 	30	5 	2 	7 	12 	-1 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	46	3 	4 	7 	43 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	29	3 	4 	7 	12 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	82	3 	4 	7 	112	-3 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	37	1 	6 	7 	19 	0 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	79	0 	7 	7 	181	4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	34	2 	4 	6 	24 	0 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	39	2 	1 	3 	33 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	22	1 	2 	3 	25 	3 	1 	0 	1
 	G 	63	0 	2 	2 	14 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	1 	0 	1 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	1 	0 	1 	2 	-1 	0 	0 	1
 	G 	17	0 	1 	1 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	8 	0 	0 	0 	6 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	15	0 	0 	0 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	3542	63	31	14	13	122	2.07	7 	1556	1434	.922
 	851 	17	6 	4 	3 	26 	1.83	0 	341 	315 	.924
 	611 	15	3 	6 	2 	28 	2.75	0 	293 	265 	.904
Team: 	5004	82	40	24	18	176	2.11	7 	2190	2014	.920
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	RW 	6 	4	5	9 	2 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	6 	3	3	6 	2 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	6 	1	5	6 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	0	4	4 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	6 	0	3	3 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	0	3	3 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	6 	2	0	2 	4 	1 	1 	1
 	C 	6 	2	0	2 	2 	0 	1 	0
 	RW 	6 	1	0	1 	4 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	1	0	1 	12 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	1	0	1 	8 	0 	1 	0
 	RW 	6 	0	1	1 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	0	1	1 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	6 	0	1	1 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	6 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	6 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	0	0 	8 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	0	0	0 	4 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	376	6 	2	4	17	2.71	0 	171	154	.901
Team: 	376	6 	2	4	17	2.71	0 	171	154	.901
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
      MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage; 
==Awards and records==
==Transactions==
The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1997-98 season:
===Trades===
October 22, 1997	To Pittsburgh Penguins Tuomas Gronman	To Chicago Blackhawks Greg Johnson
October 25, 1997	To Pittsburgh Penguins Robert Lang 	To Boston Bruins Claimed off waivers
January 9, 1998 	To New York Rangers Peter Ferraro 	To Pittsburgh Penguins Claimed off waivers
March 24, 1998 	To Pittsburgh Penguins Sean Pronger 	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Rights to Patrick Lalime
==Roster==
==Draft picks==
The Penguins drafted the following players at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh:
Round	Pick	Player 	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1 	17 	Robert Dome (RW) 	 	Las Vegas Thunder (IHL)
2 	44 	Brian Gaffaney (C) 	 	North Iowa Huskies (USHL)
3 	71 	Josef Melichar (D) 	 	HC Ceske Budejovice (Czech Extraliga)
4 	97 	Alexandre Mathieu (C)	 	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
5 	124 	Harlan Pratt (D) 	 	Prince Albert Raiders (QMJHL)
6 	152 	Petr Havelka (LW) 	 	HC Sparta Praha (Czech Extraliga)
7 	179 	Mark Moore (D) 	 	Harvard University (NCAA)
8 	208 	Andrew Ference (D) 	 	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
9 	234 	Erik Lind (D) 	 	Avon Old Farms (US boarding school)
==Farm teams==
The Johnstown Chiefs of the East Coast Hockey League finished last overall in the Northern Conference with a record of 23-41-6.
The AHL's Syracuse Crunch finished in third place in the Empire State Division with a record of 35-32-11-2 record. They were eliminated by the Hamilton Bulldogs in the first round of the playoffs.
==See also==
*1997–98 NHL season
==References==
* 
==External links==
Pittsburgh Penguins season, 1997–98
Pittsburgh Penguins season, 1997–98
category:Pittsburgh Penguins seasons