The 1997–98 NHL season was the 81st regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Washington Capitals in four games.
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 two games in Tokyo, Japan; this was the first 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
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Stanley Cup playoffs
Playoff bracket
Conference quarterfinals
Eastern Conference
| 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 |
|
| Montreal vs. Pittsburgh |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 23 |
Montreal 3 |
2 Pittsburgh |
OT |
| April 25 |
Montreal 1 |
4 Pittsburgh |
| April 27 |
Pittsburgh 1 |
3 Montreal |
| April 29 |
Pittsburgh 6 |
3 Montreal |
| May 1 |
Montreal 5 |
2 Pittsburgh |
| May 3 |
Pittsburgh 0 |
3 Montreal |
| Montreal wins series 4–2 |
|
| Buffalo vs. Philadelphia |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 22 |
Buffalo 3 |
2 Philadelphia |
| April 24 |
Buffalo 2 |
3 Philadelphia |
| April 27 |
Philadelphia 1 |
6 Buffalo |
| April 29 |
Philadelphia 1 |
4 Buffalo |
| May 1 |
Buffalo 3 |
2 Philadelphia |
OT |
| Buffalo wins series 4–1 |
|
| Boston vs. Washington |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 22 |
Boston 1 |
3 Washington |
| April 24 |
Boston 4 |
3 Washington |
2OT |
| April 26 |
Washington 3 |
2 Boston |
2OT |
| April 28 |
Washington 3 |
0 Boston |
| May 1 |
Boston 4 |
0 Washington |
| May 3 |
Washington 3 |
2 Boston |
OT |
| Washington wins series 4–2 |
|
Western Conference
| 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 |
|
| Edmonton vs. Colorado |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 22 |
Edmonton 3 |
2 Colorado |
| April 24 |
Edmonton 2 |
5 Colorado |
| April 26 |
Colorado 5 |
4 Edmonton |
OT |
| April 28 |
Colorado 3 |
1 Edmonton |
| April 30 |
Edmonton 3 |
1 Colorado |
| May 2 |
Colorado 0 |
2 Edmonton |
| May 4 |
Edmonton 4 |
0 Colorado |
| Edmonton wins series 4–3 |
|
| Phoenix vs. Detroit |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 22 |
Phoenix 3 |
6 Detroit |
| April 24 |
Phoenix 7 |
4 Detroit |
| April 26 |
Detroit 2 |
3 Phoenix |
| April 28 |
Detroit 4 |
2 Phoenix |
| April 30 |
Phoenix 1 |
3 Detroit |
| May 3 |
Detroit 5 |
2 Phoenix |
| Detroit wins series 4–2 |
|
| Los Angeles vs. St. Louis |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 23 |
Los Angeles 3 |
8 St. Louis |
| April 25 |
Los Angeles 1 |
3 St. Louis |
| April 27 |
St. Louis 4 |
3 Los Angeles |
| April 29 |
St. Louis 2 |
1 Los Angeles |
| St. Louis wins series 4–0 |
|
Conference semifinals
Eastern Conference
| 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 |
|
| Montreal vs. Buffalo |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| May 8 |
Montreal 2 |
3 Buffalo |
OT |
| May 10 |
Montreal 3 |
6 Buffalo |
| May 12 |
Buffalo 5 |
4 Montreal |
2OT |
| May 14 |
Buffalo 3 |
1 Montreal |
| Buffalo wins series 4–0 |
|
Western Conference
| 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 |
|
| St. Louis vs. Detroit |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| May 8 |
St. Louis 4 |
2 Detroit |
| May 10 |
St. Louis 1 |
6 Detroit |
| May 12 |
Detroit 3 |
2 St. Louis |
2OT |
| May 14 |
Detroit 5 |
2 St. Louis |
| May 17 |
St. Louis 3 |
1 Detroit |
| May 19 |
Detroit 6 |
1 St. Louis |
| Detroit wins series 4–2 |
|
Conference finals
Eastern Conference
| 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 4–2
and Prince of Wales Trophy |
|
|
Stanley Cup final
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 |
First games
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1997–98 (listed with their first team, stars(*) mark start 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
