1997-98
OFFSEASON
Paul Coffey announces his retirement after 1287 games and 1462 points for the Edmonton Oilers. A 7-time first team all-star, Coffey won 3 Stanley Cups and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1983. He also won the Norris Trophy twice and is third all-time in defenseman scoring behind Brad Park and Bobby Orr. (Also trails Ray Bourque but Bourque spent half of his career at forward.
Forward Dirk Graham retired after 17 NHL seasons. He played 1 year in Vancouver, 6 in Buffalo and the remainder with Hartford. Graham appeared in 1298 career regular season games, scoring 388 goals and 994 points. He had two great playoff runs, with Buffalo when he had 30 points in 1984, and with Hartord when he earned 27 playoff points in 1990 but his team lost in the finals on both occasions.
Thomas Steen, after 1131 games with Winnipeg and Dallas, and Joel Otto, who played 909 games and won a Stanley Cup in Calgary, have also retired.
The Hartford Whalers have moved to North Carolina and will become the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Edmonton Oilers dealt Jari Kurri to Philadelphia for 29 year old defenseman Brian Glynn. The 37 year old Kurri has 645 goals and 1590 career points in 1257 games but scored just 16 goals and 48 points in 78 games last year. Kurri is presently tied with Alex Delvecchio for 14th al-time in goals and is 12th in career points. Glynn has played 446 games with Calgary, Florida and the Flyers.
The Jon Casey era in Pittsburgh is over as the Pens dealt the 35 year old netminder to Buffalo. Casey played 730 games for Pittsburgh, going 426-211-73 while winning 2 Vezina Trophy's and being a 3-time first team all-star. He led the Pens to the Cup finals twice but lost on both occasions. In return the Pens get 19 year old rookie center Francois Methot. Casey is expected to challenge 37 year old Andy Moog for the starting job in Buffalo. The Penguins are relying on 31 year old Craig Billinton in net. Billington played 47 games last season and was 20-18-7 with a 2.85 GAA. Casey made 38 starts a year ago, going 28-8-1 with a 2.32 GAA for the Pens.
REGULAR SEASON
The Colorado Avalanche's hopes for a Stanley Cup took a huge blow when Joe Sakic broke his elbow in March, ending his season. Without Sakic the Avalanche limped down the stretch, winning just 2 of their final 12 games. The Avalanche finished with 101 points, still good enough to win the Pacific Division but they conceeded home ice advantage in the Western Conference to the Detroit Red Wings as the defending Cup champions finished first overall with 119 points. Wings captain Steve Yzerman (60-62-122) was held pointless in Detroit's season ending 3-2 loss to the Avalanche and as a result he missed out on winning his first Art Ross Trophy by a single point.
The Art Ross went to Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux (40-83-123) for the 7th time in his career. Lemieux's Penguins dealt with injuries of their own including playing without Jaromir Jagr for much of December and as a result the Penguins finished second to Buffalo in the Northeast Division. The Montreal Canadiens fell from winning the division a year ago to missing the playoffs altogether as Patrick Roy (28-32-14, 2.77, .899) had a terrible year, at least by his standards, a season after winning the Vezina Trophy and taking the Habs to the Cups finals.
The big regular season race was in the Atlantic Division as the season finished with just 3 points seperating first place Philadelphia from the third place New York Islanders. The New Jersey Devils were sandwiched in between the Flyers and Isles. The Devils had the best goaltending tandem in the league with Sean Burke (29-8-5, 1.77, .919) refusing to surrender the top job to 25 year old Martin Brodeur (24-10-5, 2.13, .913).
MILESTONES
Joe Sakic of Colorado scored his 400th goal and 1200th point
Bernie Nicholls of Los Angeles scored his 600th goal
Luc Robitaille of Los Angeles scored his 600th goal and 750th assist
Dave Andreychuk of Buffalo scored his 500th goal
Theo Fleury of Calgary scored his 400th goal
Brendan Shanahan of New Jersey scored his 300th goal
Teemu Selanne of Phoenix scored his 300th goal
Pierre Turgeon of Buffalo scored his 300th goal
Dave Hannan of San Jose scored his 300th goal
Steve Thomas of Toronto scored his 300th goal
Owen Nolan of Colorado scored his 300th goal
Mike Modano of Dallas scored his 300th goal
Ron Francis of Carolina earned his 1000th assist
Larry Murphy of Los Angeles earned his 1000th assist
Mario Lemieux of Pittsburgh earned his 1000th assist
Phil Housley of Buffalo earned his 1000th assist
Joe Sakic of Colorado earned his 750th assist
Brett Hull of Calgary earned his 750th assist
1250 GAMES
Mark Messier Edmonton
Neal Broten Dallas
Mike Gartner Washington
Bernie Nicholls Los Angeles
Larry Murphy Los Angeles
Dave Hannan San Jose
Steve Larmer Chicago
Gaetan Duchense Washington
Ron Francis Carolina
1000 GAMES
Bob Errey Pittsburgh
Ray Ferraro Pittsburgh
Al MacInnis Calgary
Gary Roberts Calgary
Mike Vernon Calgary
Dave Gagner San Jose
Steve Smith Buffalo
Brett Hull Calgary
Luc Robitaille Los Angeles
Randy Cunneyworth Buffalo
New York Islanders winger Marty McInnis had a 5 goal game in the Isles 8-0 win over Toronto on October 4th. Brett Hull of Calgary scored 5 in the Flames 9-2 win over Edmonton in November.
Code:
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
ATLANTIC DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Philadelphia Flyers 82 53 19 10 116
New Jersey Devils 82 53 21 8 114
New York Islanders 82 50 19 13 113
New York Rangers 82 45 26 11 101
Washington Capitals 82 37 35 10 84
Florida Panthers 82 14 60 8 36
Tampa Bay Lightning 82 13 66 3 29
NORTHEAST DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Buffalo Sabres 82 43 28 11 97
Pittsburgh Penguins 82 38 31 13 89
Boston Bruins 82 38 32 12 88
Carolina Hurricanes 82 35 35 12 82
Montreal Canadiens 82 32 40 10 74
Ottawa Senators 82 27 50 5 59
CENTRAL DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Detroit Red Wings 82 54 19 9 117
Toronto Maple Leafs 82 45 25 12 102
Chicago Black Hawks 82 37 37 8 82
St Louis Blues 82 30 38 14 74
Dallas Stars 82 26 45 11 63
Phoenix Coyotes 82 18 57 7 43
PACIFIC DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Colorado Avalanche 82 46 27 9 101
Calgary Flames 82 43 29 10 96
Edmonton Oilers 82 37 36 9 83
Los Angeles Kings 82 35 37 10 80
Anaheim Mighty Ducks 82 33 38 11 77
Vancouver Canucks 82 31 47 4 66
San Jose Sharks 82 30 46 6 66
SCORING LEADERS TEAM GP G A PTS
Mario Lemieux PIT 82 40 83 123
Steve Yzerman DET 82 60 62 122
Sergei Federov DET 82 33 77 110
Pierre Turgeon BUF 82 37 69 106
Luc Robitaille LA 80 41 55 96
Jaromir Jagr PIT 70 48 47 95
Ray Bourque BOS 82 30 62 92
Phil Housley BUF 82 23 69 92
Vincent Damphousse TOR 79 30 61 91
Jeremy Roenick CHI 82 48 41 89
Brendan Morrison NJ 82 35 54 89
Peter Forsberg PHI 69 33 56 89
Theo Fleury CGY 80 26 62 88
Al MacInnis CGY 75 32 54 86
Joe Sakic COL 70 27 59 86
Mikael Renberg PHI 71 39 46 85
Alexi Yashin OTT 82 38 46 84
Trevor Linden VAN 82 37 47 84
Ron Francis CAR 75 34 50 84
Brian Leetch NYR 82 26 57 83
Doug Gilmour STL 79 25 58 83
GOALIE WIN LEADERS TM W-L-T GAA SAVE%
John Vanbiesbrouck NYR 41-24-13 2.42 .903
Jocelyn Thibault PHI 37-11-6 1.98 .917
Garth Snow NYI 36-9-8 1.88 .926
Ed Belfour ANA 32-34-11 2.60 .911
Dominik Hasek CHI 32-30-9 2.62 .908
Ron Tugnutt COL 30-17-7 2.13 .906
Sean Burke NJ 29-8-5 1.77 .919
Jeff Hackett DET 29-7-2 2.16 .908
Grant Fuhr EDM 28-24-9 2.60 .911
Felix Potvin TOR 28-8-11 2.13 .919
Patrick Roy MON 28-32-14 2.77 .899
Andy Moog BUF 27-12-7 2.05 .925
PLAYOFFS
The opening round of the playoffs featured two regional rivalries that went the distance. Calgary and Edmonton staged a 7 game slugfest that saw the Flames get 4 goals from Brett Hull in an 8-6 victory in Game Seven. Meanwhile the battle of New York went to the Islanders who rallied from a 3 games to one deficit to beat the Rangers. Buffalo, after an early exit last season, had a grueling 7 game series win over Boston in the opening round.
In other first round series the Flyers beat Washington in 5 while the Devils knocked off Pittsburgh in six as Mario Lemieux sat out the final game with an injury. The other series in the West saw Detroit beat Anaheim in 5, Toronto topped Chicago in 5 and Colorado, even without the injured Joe Sakic, had little trouble with Los Angeles as the Avalanche won in 6.
The Avalanche ran into a hot goalie in the second round as Felix Potvin surrendered just 7 goals in 4 games while the Leafs scored 16 to sweep Colorado 4 straight. The playoff scoring stars through the first two rounds for Toronto were Cory Stillman and Robert Lang, both free agent pickups after being dumped by other teams, and each had 4 goals and 9 points through 9 playoff contests.
Toronto will face the defending Cup champion Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference finals after the Wings eliminated Calgary in 5 games.
In the East it will be Buffalo vs Philadelphia. Sabres defenseman Phil Housley was up to his usual playoff heroics as he helped the Sabres rally from a 3 games to two defici against New Jersey by getting 4 assists in a 5-2 win in Game Six and then assisting on both Buffalo goals in a 2-1 win in Game Seven. The Flyers beat the worn out New York Islanders in 5 games.
CONFERENCE FINALS
Detroit and Toronto have a long rivalry but it has been years since I can recall them meeting in a playoff series. This one was worth the wait as the series went the distance. The Wings took Games 1 and 2 at the Joe Louis Arena, winning 2-1 in overtime and 4-1 in Game Two before Toronto responded with 3 straight victories: 4-0 and 4-3 at home before a 4-1 win in Detroit. Game Six was a 5-2 Red Wings victory setting up the Game Seven showdown in the Motor City. Toronto led 2-1 midway through the second before Steve Yzerman set up 3 straight Detroit goals to give the Wings a lead they would not surrender, claiming the series with a 6-3 victory. Yzerman had 4 assists in the game to give him a playoff leading 22 points heading into the finals. Nik Lidstrom added 3 assists in the win while fellow defenseman Vlad Konstantinov scored twice.
In the Eastern Conference Finals the Philadelphia Flyers overpowered the Buffalo Sabres winning 4 straight games. Peter Forsberg led the Flyers offense with 8 assists in the 4 games.
STANLEY CUP FINALS
The Detroit Red Wings make their second straight appearance in the finals and look to win their second straight and 7th overall Stanley Cup. The Flyers have reached the finals 3 times but lost on each occasion, including 2 years ago to Colorado.
The series gets underway in Philadelphia with the visiting Red Wings winning the opener 4-1 thanks to a pair of goals from Steve Yzerman. Joe Murphy had a goal and 2 assists while Randy McKay also scored for the Wings. Dairius Zubrus got the only Philadelphia goal as Jeff Hackett made 29 saves in the Detroit cage.
Philadelphia's offense comes alive in Game Two as the Flyers claim a 7-5 victory. The game looked to be heading into overtime but Mikael Renberg scored his second goal of the game with 57 seconds remaining in regulation to make it 6-5 and Dmitri Tertyshny added an empty net goal to seal the victory. Peter Forsberg had 4 assists for the Flyers, who also got 2 goals from Vinny Prospal and singles from Jari Kurri and Mike Ricci. Yzerman, Martin Lapointe, Joe Murphy, Sergei Federov and Randy McKay were the Detroit goalscorers.
Detroit rebounds with a 5-3 victory on home ice in Game Three as Yzerman scores once and adds 2 assists. Keith Primeau, Adam Oates, Mike Sillinger and Vladimir Konstantinov also score for Detroit. Philadelphia, which led the game 3-1 at one point, got goals from Espen Knutson, Greg Johnson and Mikael Renberg.
The Flyers again even the series with a 3-1 victory in Game 4. Philadelphia outshot Detroit 50-20 and the game should have been a blowout but Chris Osgood was outstanding in the Detroit net. Peter Forsberg had 2 assists as Renberg, Darren Rumble and Dmitry Yushkevich scored for the Flyers. Yzerman got Detroit's only goal.
Late goals from Mike Ricci and Vinny Prospal lift Philadelphia to a 5-4 win in Game Five and a 3 games to two series lead. DJ Smith, Darren Rumble and Jari Kurri also score for the Flyers. Slava Kozlov with 2, Nik Lidstrom and Joe Murphy score for Detroit.
We get a seventh game as Steve Yzerman scores the winner in Game Six midway through the third period to lift Detroit to a 3-2 victory. Yzerman also assisted on Nicklas Lidstrom's goal while Keith Primeau had the other Detroit marker. Mike Ricci and Peter Forsberg replied for the Flyers.
Can't ask for much more from a Game Seven. Detroit strikes first as Sergei Federov gives the Wings a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. Yzerman and Anders Ericksson earn the assists on the goal. After a scoreless second period the Flyers finally tie the game with a power play goal just under 6 minutes into the third period. Veteran Jari Kurri, who came over from Edmonton in the off-season, gets the equalizer and it gives the Flyers momentum. Just over two minutes later Darren Rumble beats goaltender Jeff Hackett and it is 2-1 Philadelphia.
The Wings seem unable to solve Jocelyn Thibault in the Flyer net until Scott Mellanby takes a tripping penalty at 17:26. Just as the powerplay is about to end Slava Kozlov ties the game for Detroit sending the contest into overtime.
The Flyers are all over Detroit in the early minutes of the extra period, outshooting the Wings 6-1 until Anders Eriksson lifts a point shot at the Flyer net that somehow eludes Thibault giving the Wings their second straight Stanley Cup.
Steve Yzerman, with 10 goals and a playoff leading 32 points, is named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner for the second straight season and third time in his career. For the Flyers it is another year of playoff failure as they reach the finals for the fourth time, second in 3 years, and once again come away empty handed.
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PLAYOFF SCORING LEADERS GP G A PTS
Steve Yzerman DET 24 10 22 32
Peter Forsberg PHI 21 6 23 29
Keith Primeau DET 24 10 15 25
Mikael Renberg PHI 21 10 13 23
Sergei Federov DET 17 8 11 19
Pierre Turgeon BUF 18 6 13 19
Adam Oates DET 22 6 13 19
Vinny Prospal PHI 21 8 10 18
Nicklas Lidstrom DET 24 4 14 18
Phil Housley BUF 18 3 15 18
Darren Rumble PHI 21 7 10 17
Brett Hull CGY 12 10 6 16
Steve Thomas TOR 16 8 8 16
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Other award winners are:
HART TROPHY: Brian Leetch NY Rangers (82GP 26-57-83)
VEZINA TROPHY: John Vanbiesbrouck NY Rangers (41-24-13 2.42)
NORRIS TROPHY: Al MacInnis Calgary (75GP 32-54-86)
ART ROSS TROPHY: Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh (82GP 40-83-123)
CALDER TROPHY: Mark Parrish San Jose (81GP 25-27-52)
The game does not select the all-star team but I will start naming first and second team all-stars
Code:
POS FIRST TEAM SECOND TEAM
G Garth Snow NY Islanders Jocelyn Thibeault Philadelphia
D Brian Leetch NY Rangers Al MacInnis Calgary
D Phil Housley Buffalo Nic Lidstrom Detroit
C Steve Yzerman Detroit Mario Lemieux Pittsbugh
LW Luc Robitaille Los Angeles Marty McInnis NY Islanders
RW Sergei Federov Detroit Jaromir Jagr Pittsburgh