1997–98 Dallas Stars season

The 1997–98 Dallas Stars season was the fifth National Hockey League season in Dallas, Texas (and 31st overall). The most notable aspect of the season was winning the Presidents' Trophy.

1997–98 Dallas Stars
Presidents' Trophy winners
Central Division champions
Division	1st Central
Conference	1st Western
1997–98 record	49–22–11
Home record	26–8–7
Road record	23–14–4
Goals for	242
Goals against	167
Team information
General manager	Bob Gainey
Coach	Ken Hitchcock
Captain	Derian Hatcher
Arena	Reunion Arena
Average attendance	16,489[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Michigan K-Wings Dayton Bombers
Team leaders
Goals	Joe Nieuwendyk (39)
Assists	Sergei Zubov (47)
Points	Joe Nieuwendyk (69)
Penalty minutes	Pat Verbeek (170)
Plus/minus	Mike Modano (+25)
Wins	Ed Belfour (37)
Goals against average	Ed Belfour (1.88)
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

Offseason

Regular season

The Stars tied the Edmonton Oilers for most power-play goals scored, with 77, and had the best power-play percentage in the league, at 20.00%.^[2]

Final standings

Central Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Dallas Stars	82	49	22	11	242	167	109
2	3	Detroit Red Wings	82	44	23	15	250	196	103
3	4	St. Louis Blues	82	45	29	8	256	204	98
4	6	Phoenix Coyotes	82	35	35	12	224	227	82
5	9	Chicago Blackhawks	82	30	39	13	192	199	73
6	10	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	30	43	9	194	237	69

Western Conference^[3]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Dallas Stars	CEN	82	49	22	11	242	167	109
2	x – Colorado Avalanche	PAC	82	39	26	17	231	205	95
3	Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	44	23	15	250	196	103
4	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	45	29	8	256	204	98
5	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	38	33	11	227	225	87
6	Phoenix Coyotes	CEN	82	35	35	12	224	227	82
7	Edmonton Oilers	PAC	82	35	37	10	215	224	80
8	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	34	38	10	210	216	78
9	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	30	39	13	192	199	73
10	Toronto Maple Leafs	CEN	82	30	43	9	194	237	69
11	Calgary Flames	PAC	82	26	41	15	217	252	67
12	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	26	43	13	205	261	65
13	Vancouver Canucks	PAC	82	25	43	14	224	273	64

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won Division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Schedule and results

Regular season

1997–98 regular season[4]
October: 9–4–1 (home: 4–2–0; road: 5–2–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 October 1, 1997 2–2 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 0–0–1 T 2 October 4, 1997 1–2 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 0–1–1 L 3 October 7, 1997 4–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 1–1–1 W 4 October 8, 1997 1–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 1–2–1 L 5 October 10, 1997 7–0 Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 2–2–1 W 6 October 14, 1997 5–4 OT Calgary Flames (1997–98) 3–2–1 W 7 October 16, 1997 4–0 Florida Panthers (1997–98) 4–2–1 W 8 October 18, 1997 5–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 5–2–1 W 9 October 19, 1997 1–3 @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 5–3–1 L 10 October 21, 1997 1–5 Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 5–4–1 L 11 October 24, 1997 2–0 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 6–4–1 W 12 October 25, 1997 3–1 Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 7–4–1 W 13 October 28, 1997 3–2 @ New York Rangers (1997–98) 8–4–1 W 14 October 29, 1997 4–3 @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 9–4–1 W
November: 9–3–3 (home: 4–1–2; road: 5–2–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 15 November 2, 1997 3–3 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 9–4–2 T 16 November 3, 1997 4–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 9–5–2 L 17 November 5, 1997 5–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 10–5–2 W 18 November 7, 1997 2–2 OT New York Rangers (1997–98) 10–5–3 T 19 November 10, 1997 1–7 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 10–6–3 L 20 November 12, 1997 3–3 OT Boston Bruins (1997–98) 10–6–4 T 21 November 15, 1997 5–1 @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 11–6–4 W 22 November 16, 1997 4–0 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 12–6–4 W 23 November 19, 1997 3–2 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 13–6–4 W 24 November 21, 1997 2–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 13–7–4 L 25 November 22, 1997 2–0 @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 14–7–4 W 26 November 24, 1997 5–0 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 15–7–4 W 27 November 26, 1997 4–1 Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 16–7–4 W 28 November 27, 1997 4–1 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 17–7–4 W 29 November 29, 1997 5–2 Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 18–7–4 W
December: 7–2–3 (home: 4–1–2; road: 3–1–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 30 December 3, 1997 4–1 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 19–7–4 W 31 December 5, 1997 4–1 Calgary Flames (1997–98) 20–7–4 W 32 December 8, 1997 0–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 20–8–4 L 33 December 10, 1997 3–0 Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 21–8–4 W 34 December 12, 1997 0–1 San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 21–9–4 L 35 December 15, 1997 8–4 Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 22–9–4 W 36 December 18, 1997 2–1 @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 23–9–4 W 37 December 20, 1997 2–1 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 24–9–4 W 38 December 23, 1997 3–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 25–9–4 W 39 December 27, 1997 3–3 OT Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 25–9–5 T 40 December 29, 1997 2–2 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 25–9–6 T 41 December 31, 1997 2–2 OT Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 25–9–7 T
January: 8–4–1 (home: 3–1–1; road: 5–3–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 42 January 2, 1998 2–1 New York Islanders (1997–98) 26–9–7 W 43 January 3, 1998 6–1 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 27–9–7 W 44 January 5, 1998 4–3 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 28–9–7 W 45 January 7, 1998 0–2 Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 28–10–7 L 46 January 9, 1998 3–3 OT Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 28–10–8 T 47 January 11, 1998 1–2 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 28–11–8 L 48 January 12, 1998 3–1 @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 29–11–8 W 49 January 14, 1998 2–1 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 30–11–8 W 50 January 21, 1998 3–2 Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 31–11–8 W 51 January 24, 1998 3–2 @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 32–11–8 W 52 January 26, 1998 5–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 33–11–8 W 53 January 29, 1998 2–3 @ Florida Panthers (1997–98) 33–12–8 L 54 January 31, 1998 3–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 33–13–8 L
February: 5–0–0 (home: 3–0–0; road: 2–0–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 55 February 2, 1998 5–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 34–13–8 W 56 February 4, 1998 1–0 Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 35–13–8 W 57 February 7, 1998 3–1 Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 36–13–8 W 58 February 25, 1998 4–1 @ New York Islanders (1997–98) 37–13–8 W 59 February 28, 1998 4–0 Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 38–13–8 W
March: 5–5–3 (home: 3–3–2; road: 2–2–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 60 March 1, 1998 2–2 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 38–13–9 T 61 March 4, 1998 1–3 Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 38–14–9 L 62 March 7, 1998 1–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 38–15–9 L 63 March 8, 1998 1–1 OT Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 38–15–10 T 64 March 12, 1998 4–5 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 38–16–10 L 65 March 13, 1998 6–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 39–16–10 W 66 March 17, 1998 4–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 40–16–10 W 67 March 18, 1998 3–1 @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 41–16–10 W 68 March 20, 1998 6–1 Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 42–16–10 W 69 March 22, 1998 0–0 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 42–16–11 T 70 March 26, 1998 0–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 42–17–11 L 71 March 28, 1998 1–4 San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 42–18–11 L 72 March 29, 1998 3–1 New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 43–18–11 W
April: 6–4–0 (home: 5–0–0; road: 1–4–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 73 April 1, 1998 1–3 @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 43–19–11 L 74 April 3, 1998 1–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 43–20–11 L 75 April 4, 1998 3–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 43–21–11 L 76 April 6, 1998 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 44–21–11 W 77 April 8, 1998 2–1 OT Washington Capitals (1997–98) 45–21–11 W 78 April 11, 1998 5–1 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 46–21–11 W 79 April 12, 1998 4–3 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 47–21–11 W 80 April 15, 1998 3–1 Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 48–21–11 W 81 April 16, 1998 2–3 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 48–22–11 L 82 April 18, 1998 3–1 Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 49–22–11 W
Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1998 Stanley Cup playoffs[4]
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) San Jose Sharks – Stars win 4–2 Game Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 April 22, 1998 4–1 San Jose Sharks Stars lead 1–0 W 2 April 24, 1998 5–2 San Jose Sharks Stars lead 2–0 W 3 April 26, 1998 1–4 @ San Jose Sharks Stars lead 2–1 L 4 April 28, 1998 0–1 OT @ San Jose Sharks Series tied 2–2 L 5 April 30, 1998 3–2 San Jose Sharks Stars lead 3–2 W 6 May 2, 1998 3–2 OT @ San Jose Sharks Stars win 4–2 W
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (7) Edmonton Oilers – Stars win 4–1 Game Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 May 7, 1998 3–1 Edmonton Oilers Stars lead 1–0 W 2 May 9, 1998 0–2 Edmonton Oilers Series tied 1–1 L 3 May 11, 1998 1–0 OT @ Edmonton Oilers Stars lead 2–1 W 4 May 13, 1998 3–1 @ Edmonton Oilers Stars lead 3–1 W 5 May 16, 1998 2–1 Edmonton Oilers Stars win 4–1 W
Western Conference Finals vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings – Red Wings win 4–2 Game Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 May 24, 1998 0–2 Detroit Red Wings Red Wings lead 1–0 L 2 May 26, 1998 3–1 Detroit Red Wings Series tied 1–1 W 3 May 29, 1998 3–5 @ Detroit Red Wings Red Wings lead 2–1 L 4 May 31, 1998 2–3 @ Detroit Red Wings Red Wings lead 3–1 L 5 June 3, 1998 3–2 OT Detroit Red Wings Red Wings lead 3–2 W 6 June 5, 1998 0–2 @ Detroit Red Wings Red Wings win 4–2 L
Legend: W Win L 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 Stars only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Stars only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
25	Joe Nieuwendyk	C	73	39	30	69	16	30	1	1	0	1	1	0
9	Mike Modano	C	52	21	38	59	25	32	17	4	10	14	4	12
16	Pat Verbeek	RW	82	31	26	57	15	170	17	3	2	5	−3	26
56	Sergei Zubov	D	73	10	47	57	16	16	17	4	5	9	3	2
15	Jamie Langenbrunner	RW	81	23	29	52	9	61	16	1	4	5	−5	14
5	Darryl Sydor	D	79	11	35	46	17	51	17	0	5	5	5	14
26	Jere Lehtinen	RW	72	23	19	42	19	20	12	3	5	8	0	2
23	Greg Adams	LW	49	14	18	32	11	20	12	2	2	4	4	0
2	Derian Hatcher	D	70	6	25	31	9	132	17	3	3	6	−1	39
21	Guy Carbonneau	C	77	7	17	24	3	40	16	3	1	4	0	6
27	Shawn Chambers	D	57	2	22	24	11	26	14	0	3	3	5	20
33	Benoit Hogue	C	53	6	16	22	7	35	17	4	2	6	0	16
10	Todd Harvey‡	C	59	9	10	19	5	104	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Grant Marshall	RW	72	9	10	19	−2	96	17	0	2	2	0	47
14	Dave Reid	LW	65	6	12	18	−15	14	5	0	3	3	−2	2
24	Richard Matvichuk	D	74	3	15	18	7	63	16	1	1	2	2	14
12	Bob Errey‡	LW	59	2	9	11	7	46	—	—	—	—	—	—
41	Tony Hrkac‡	C	13	5	3	8	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	Bob Bassen	C	58	3	4	7	−4	57	17	1	0	1	−3	12
3	Craig Ludwig	D	80	0	7	7	21	131	17	0	1	1	0	22
46	Jamie Wright	LW	21	4	2	6	8	2	5	0	0	0	3	0
12	Mike Keane†	RW	13	2	3	5	0	5	17	4	4	8	7	0
11	Juha Lind	C	39	2	3	5	4	6	15	2	2	4	4	8
6	Dan Keczmer	D	17	1	2	3	5	26	2	0	0	0	0	2
10	Brian Skrudland†	C	13	2	0	2	−2	10	17	0	1	1	0	16
22	Craig Muni†	D	40	1	1	2	0	25	5	0	0	0	−2	4
37	Brad Lukowich	D	4	0	1	1	−2	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
18	Chris Tancill	C	2	0	1	1	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
20	Ed Belfour	G	61	0	0	0		18	17	0	0	0		18
38	Jason Botterill	LW	4	0	0	0	−1	19	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	Petr Buzek	D	2	0	0	0	1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
17	Patrick Cote	LW	3	0	0	0	−1	15	—	—	—	—	—	—
39	Peter Douris	RW	1	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Manny Fernandez	G	2	0	0	0		0	1	0	0	0		0
4	Sergey Gusev	D	9	0	0	0	−5	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
39	Mike Kennedy†	C	2	0	0	0	1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
36	Jeff Mitchell	RW	7	0	0	0	0	7	—	—	—	—	—	—
41	Jarrod Skalde†‡	C	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1	Roman Turek	G	23	0	0	0		2	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season										Playoffs
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
20	Ed Belfour	61	37	12	10	1335	112	1.88	.916	9	3581	17	10	7	399	31	1.79	.922	1	1039
1	Roman Turek	23	11	10	1	496	49	2.22	.901	1	1324	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Manny Fernandez	2	1	0	0	35	2	1.74	.943	0	69	1	0	0	0	0	0.00		0	2

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Frank J. Selke Trophy	Jere Lehtinen	[5]
	Lester Patrick Trophy	Neal Broten	[6]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Ed Belfour	[7]
		Ken Hitchcock (coach)
		Jere Lehtinen
		Mike Modano
		Darryl Sydor
		Sergei Zubov
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Roman Turek (February)	[8]
Team	Star of the Game Award	Mike Modano	[9]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Sergei Gusev	October 1, 1997	[10]
	Juha Lind
	Jeff Mitchell	November 12, 1997
	Jamie Wright	November 16, 1997
	Brad Lukowich	March 4, 1998
	Petr Buzek	March 12, 1998
	Jason Botterill	March 13, 1998

Draft picks

Dallas's draft picks at the 1997 NHL entry draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[11]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	25	Brenden Morrow	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
2	52	Roman Lyashenko	Russia	Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia)
3	77	Steve Gainey	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
4	105	Marcus Kristoffersson	Sweden	Mora IK (Sweden)
5	132	Teemu Elomo	Finland	TPS (Finland)
6	160	Alexei Timkin	Ukraine	Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia)
7	189	Jeff McKercher	Canada	Barrie Colts (OHL)
8	216	Alexei Komarov	Russia	Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia)
9	242	Brett McLean	Canada	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)