1997-98 NHL season

The 1997-98 NHL season was the 81st regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-six teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Washington Capitals in four games.
==League Business==
This was the first season for the Carolina Hurricanes, who were previously known as the Hartford Whalers. The Hurricanes played their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum.
This was the first season for Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who as of the 2006-07 season is the longest-tenured NHL coach.
The controversial "FoxTrax" puck system was last used this season as well. In August 1998, the NHL signed a five-year, $600 million rights agreement with ABC Sports/ESPN. FOX elected not to use the system in the subsequent "lame duck" season.
This was the last season the Toronto Maple Leafs were in the Western Conference.
==Regular season==
===Highlights===
Jari Kurri reached 600 goals in his career, finishing with 601.
The Vancouver Canucks and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim opened the season with a two game series in Tokyo, Japan; this was the 1st time the NHL played games outside of North America.
===Final standings===
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
 Eastern Conference
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Team	W 	L 	T 	GF 	GA	Pts
Pittsburgh Penguins	40 	24	18	228	188	98	
Boston Bruins 	39 	30	13	221	194	91	
Buffalo Sabres 	36 	29	17	211	187	89	
Montreal Canadiens 	37 	32	13	235	208	87	
Ottawa Senators 	34 	33	15	193	200	83	
Carolina Hurricanes	33 	41	8 	200	219	74	
 Western Conference
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Team	W 	L 	T 	GF 	GA 	Pts
Dallas Stars 	49 	22	11	242	167	109	
Detroit Red Wings 	44 	23	15	250	196	103	
St. Louis Blues 	45 	29	8 	256	204	98 	
Phoenix Coyotes 	35 	35	12	224	227	82 	
Chicago Blackhawks 	30 	39	13	192	199	73 	
Toronto Maple Leafs	30 	43	9 	194	237	69 	
===Scoring leaders===
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	PTS
Jaromir Jagr 	Pittsburgh 	77	35	67	102
Peter Forsberg	Colorado 	72	25	66	91
Pavel Bure 	Vancouver 	82	51	39	90
Wayne Gretzky 	NY Rangers 	82	23	67	90
John LeClair 	Philadelphia	82	51	36	87
Zigmund Palffy	NY Islanders	82	45	42	87
Ron Francis 	Pittsburgh 	81	25	62	87
Teemu Selanne 	Anaheim 	73	52	34	86
Jason Allison 	Boston 	81	33	50	83
Jozef Stumpel 	Los Angeles 	77	21	58	79
==Stanley Cup playoffs==
===Playoff bracket===
===Conference quarterfinals===
====Eastern Conference====
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Ottawa vs. New Jersey 	Ottawa vs. New Jersey 	Ottawa vs. New Jersey 	Ottawa vs. New Jersey
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 22 	Ottawa 2 	1 New Jersey 	OT 	
April 24 	Ottawa 1 	3 New Jersey 	 	
April 26 	New Jersey 1 	2 Ottawa 	OT 	
April 28 	New Jersey 3 	4 Ottawa 	 	
April 30 	Ottawa 1 	3 New Jersey 	 	
May 2 	New Jersey 1 	3 Ottawa 	 	
Ottawa wins series 4–2	Ottawa wins series 4–2	Ottawa wins series 4–2	Ottawa wins series 4–2	
====Western Conference====
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	San Jose vs. Dallas 	San Jose vs. Dallas 	San Jose vs. Dallas 	San Jose vs. Dallas
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 23 	San Jose 1 	4 Dallas 	 	
April 24 	San Jose 2 	5 Dallas 	 	
April 26 	Dallas 1 	4 San Jose 	 	
April 28 	Dallas 0 	1 San Jose 	OT 	
April 30 	San Jose 2 	3 Dallas 	 	
May 2 	Dallas 3 	2 San Jose 	OT 	
Dallas wins series 4–2	Dallas wins series 4–2	Dallas wins series 4–2	Dallas wins series 4–2	
===Conference semifinals===
 Eastern Conference
{| cellpadding="3" border="1" 	Ottawa vs. Washington 	Ottawa vs. Washington 	Ottawa vs. Washington 	Ottawa vs. Washington
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
May 7 	Ottawa 2 	4 Washington 	 	
May 9 	Ottawa 1 	6 Washington 	 	
May 11 	Washington 3 	4 Ottawa 	 	
May 13 	Washington 2 	0 Ottawa 	 	
May 15 	Ottawa 0 	3 Washington 	 	
Washington win series 4–1	Washington win series 4–1	Washington win series 4–1	Washington win series 4–1	
 Western Conference
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Edmonton vs. Dallas 	Edmonton vs. Dallas 	Edmonton vs. Dallas 	Edmonton vs. Dallas
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
May 7 	Edmonton 1 	3 Dallas 	 	
May 9 	Edmonton 2 	0 Dallas 	 	
May 11 	Dallas 1 	0 Edmonton 	OT 	
May 13 	Dallas 3 	1 Edmonton 	 	
May 16 	Edmonton 1 	2 Dallas 	 	
Dallas wins series 4–1	Dallas wins series 4–1	Dallas wins series 4–1	Dallas wins series 4–1	
===Conference finals===
{| cellpadding="3" border="1" 	Buffalo vs. Washington 	Buffalo vs. Washington 	Buffalo vs. Washington 	Buffalo vs. Washington
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
May 23 	Buffalo 2 	0 Washington 	 	
May 25 	Buffalo 2 	3 Washington 	OT 	
May 28 	Washington 4 	3 Buffalo 	OT 	
May 30 	Washington 2 	0 Buffalo 	 	
June 2 	Buffalo 2 	1 Washington 	 	
June 4 	Washington 3 	2 Buffalo 	OT 	
Washington wins series 4–2and Prince of Wales Trophy	Washington wins series 4–2and Prince of Wales Trophy	Washington wins series 4–2and Prince of Wales Trophy	Washington wins series 4–2and Prince of Wales Trophy	
===Stanley Cup final===
The 1998 Stanley Cup Finals were played in the 105th year of the Stanley Cup. The series was played between the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings and the Eastern Conference champion Washington Capitals. The Red Wings were led by Captain Steve Yzerman, Coach Scotty Bowman, and Goalie Chris Osgood. The Capitals were led by Captain Dale Hunter, Coach Ron Wilson, and Goalie Olaf Kolzig.
{| cellpadding="3" border="1" 	Washington vs. Detroit 	Washington vs. Detroit 	Washington vs. Detroit 	Washington vs. Detroit
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
June 9 	Washington 1 	2 Detroit 	 	
June 11 	Washington 4 	5 Detroit 	OT 	
June 13 	Detroit 2 	1 Washington 	 	
June 16 	Detroit 4 	1 Washington 	 	
Detroit wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup 	Detroit wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup 	Detroit wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup 	Detroit wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup 	
Steve Yzerman (Detroit)wins Conn Smythe Trophy	Steve Yzerman (Detroit)wins Conn Smythe Trophy	Steve Yzerman (Detroit)wins Conn Smythe Trophy	Steve Yzerman (Detroit)wins Conn Smythe Trophy	
===Scoring leaders===
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts
Steve Yzerman 	Detroit 	22	6 	18	24
Sergei Fedorov 	Detroit 	22	10	10	20
Tomas Holmstrom 	Detroit 	22	7 	12	19
Nicklas Lidstrom 	Detroit 	22	6 	13	19
Joe Juneau 	Washington	21	7 	10	17
Adam Oates 	Washington	21	6 	11	17
Martin Lapointe 	Detroit 	21	9 	6 	15
Larry Murphy 	Detroit 	22	3 	12	15
Vyacheslav Kozlov	Detroit 	22	6 	8 	14
Mike Modano 	Dallas 	17	4 	10	14
==NHL Awards==
The NHL Awards took place in Toronto, Ontario
Presidents' Trophy: 	Dallas Stars
Prince of Wales Trophy: 	Washington Capitals
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: 	Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: 	Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Jamie McLennan, St. Louis Blues
Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Sergei Samsonov, Boston Bruins
Frank J. Selke Trophy: 	Jere Lehtinen, Dallas Stars
Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres
Conn Smythe Trophy: 	Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings
Jack Adams Award: 	Pat Burns, Boston Bruins
James Norris Memorial Trophy: 	Rob Blake, Los Angeles Kings
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: 	Kelly Chase, St. Louis Blues
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Ron Francis, Pittsburgh Penguins
Lester B. Pearson Award: 	Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres
Lester Patrick Trophy: 	Peter Karmanos, Max McNab, Neal Broten, John Mayasich
NHL Plus/Minus Award: 	Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues
Vezina Trophy: 	Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres
William M. Jennings Trophy: 	Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
===All-Star teams===
First Team 	  Position  	Second Team
Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres 	G 	Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings	D 	Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues
Rob Blake, Los Angeles Kings 	D 	Scott Niedermayer, New Jersey Devils
Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche 	C 	Wayne Gretzky, New York Rangers
Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins 	RW 	Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Mighty Ducks
John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers 	LW 	Keith Tkachuk, Phoenix Coyotes
==Debuts==
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1997-98 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
*Joe Thornton, Boston Bruins
*Sergei Samsonov, Boston Bruins
*Derek Morris, Calgary Flames
*Olli Jokinen, Los Angeles Kings
*Brendan Morrison, New Jersey Devils
*Sheldon Souray, New Jersey Devils
*Zdeno Chara, New York Islanders
*Marc Savard, New York Rangers
*Chris Phillips, Ottawa Senators
*Marian Hossa, Ottawa Senators
*Daniel Briere, Phoenix Coyotes
*Marco Sturm, San Jose Sharks
*Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks
*Pavel Kubina, Tampa Bay Lightning
*Danny Markov, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Mattias Ohlund, Vancouver Canucks
==Last games==
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1997-98 (listed with their last team):
*Brent Sutter, Chicago Blackhawks
*Jari Kurri, Colorado Avalanche
*Slava Fetisov, Detroit Red Wings
*Kevin Lowe, Edmonton Oilers
*Andy Moog, Montreal Canadiens
*Bruce Driver, New York Rangers
*Pat LaFontaine, New York Rangers
*Joel Otto, Philadelphia Flyers
*Michel Petit, Phoenix Coyotes
*Mike Gartner, Phoenix Coyotes
*Al Iafrate, San Jose Sharks
*Kelly Hrudey, San Jose Sharks
*Jeff Brown, Washington Capitals
==Hat tricks==
==See also==
* List of Stanley Cup champions
* 1997 NHL Entry Draft
* 48th National Hockey League All-Star Game
* National Hockey League All-Star Game
* NHL All-Rookie Team
==References==
*Hockey Database
*http://nhl.com/