1997–98 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1997–98 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 31st in the National Hockey League (NHL). It was their first season under Head Coach Kevin Constantine and first after the initial retirement of Mario Lemieux.

1997–98 Pittsburgh Penguins
Northeast Division champions
Division	1st Northeast
Conference	2nd Eastern
1997–98 record	40–24–18
Home record	21–10–10
Road record	19–14–8
Goals for	228
Goals against	188
Team information
General manager	Craig Patrick
Coach	Kevin Constantine
Captain	Ron Francis
Alternate captains	Kevin Hatcher Jaromir Jagr
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Average attendance	15,070
Minor league affiliate(s)	Syracuse Crunch Johnstown Chiefs
Team leaders
Goals	Jaromir Jagr (35)
Assists	Jaromir Jagr (67)
Points	Jaromir Jagr (102)
Penalty minutes	Chris Tamer (181)
Plus/minus	Jaromir Jagr (+17)
Wins	Tom Barrasso (31)
Goals against average	Peter Skudra (1.83)
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

Offseason

Following the 1996–97 season which saw their Hall of Fame star Mario Lemieux retire, the Penguins attempted to continue keeping their recent success. Over the previous nine seasons, no NHL team had been more successful than Pittsburgh in terms of regular season points, although the team had not won a Stanley Cup since 1992 (part of the reason why Head Coach Eddie Johnston was asked to resign down following the 1996–97 season). Former San Jose Sharks Head Coach Kevin Constantine was hired as Johnston's successor, promising to replace his predecessor's free-form style of play with a more disciplined approach. Additionally, Ron Francis was named captain in Lemieux's absence, and the team acquired center Martin Straka via free agency to add offense. The team also acquired the rights to defensive-defenseman Jiri Slegr, who had spent the 1996–97 season playing for Sodertalje SK in Sweden.

Regular season

The Penguins tied the Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers and New York Islanders for most short-handed goals allowed, with 16.^[1]

Final standings

Northeast Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	40	24	18	228	188	98
2	5	Boston Bruins	82	39	30	13	221	194	91
3	6	Buffalo Sabres	82	36	29	17	211	187	89
4	7	Montreal Canadiens	82	37	32	13	235	208	87
5	8	Ottawa Senators	82	34	33	15	193	200	83
6	9	Carolina Hurricanes	82	33	41	8	200	219	74

Eastern Conference^[2]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	48	23	11	225	166	107
2	Pittsburgh Penguins	NE	82	40	24	18	228	188	98
3	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	42	29	11	242	193	95
4	Washington Capitals	ATL	82	40	30	12	219	202	92
5	Boston Bruins	NE	82	39	30	13	221	194	91
6	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	36	29	17	211	187	89
7	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	37	32	13	235	208	87
8	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	34	33	15	193	200	83
9	Carolina Hurricanes	NE	82	33	41	8	200	219	74
10	New York Islanders	ATL	82	30	41	11	212	225	71
11	New York Rangers	ATL	82	25	39	18	197	231	68
12	Florida Panthers	ATL	82	24	43	15	203	256	63
13	Tampa Bay Lightning	ATL	82	17	55	10	151	269	44

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

Regular season

1997–98 regular season[3]
October: 7–5–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 6–3–1), 16 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 1 October 1 Los Angeles Kings 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–0–1 1 T 2 October 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–3 Carolina Hurricanes 1–0–1 3 W 3 October 4 Florida Panthers 5–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1–1 3 L 4 October 8 Montreal Canadiens 3–0 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–2–1 3 L 5 October 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers 1–3–1 3 L 6 October 11 Carolina Hurricanes 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3–1 5 W 7 October 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–0 New York Rangers 3–3–1 7 W 8 October 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1 Montreal Canadiens 3–3–2 8 T 9 October 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 Tampa Bay Lightning 4–3–2 10 W 10 October 19 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 Florida Panthers 5–3–2 12 W 11 October 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–2 San Jose Sharks 6–3–2 14 W 12 October 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Edmonton Oilers 6–4–2 14 L 13 October 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 OT Vancouver Canucks 7–4–2 16 W 14 October 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 Calgary Flames 7–5–2 16 L
November: 7–4–3 (home: 5–2–2; road: 2–2–1), 17 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 15 November 1 Vancouver Canucks 6–7 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 8–5–2 18 W 16 November 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 Chicago Blackhawks 8–6–2 18 L 17 November 5 Dallas Stars 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 8–7–2 18 L 18 November 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1 Detroit Red Wings 8–7–3 19 T 19 November 8 Buffalo Sabres 2–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 8–7–4 20 T 20 November 12 Washington Capitals 4–1 Pittsburgh Penguins 8–8–4 20 L 21 November 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 New York Rangers 8–9–4 20 L 22 November 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–0 Toronto Maple Leafs 9–9–4 22 W 23 November 19 Boston Bruins 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 9–9–5 23 T 24 November 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–0 Ottawa Senators 10–9–5 25 W 25 November 22 New York Rangers 3–4 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 11–9–5 27 W 26 November 24 Buffalo Sabres 1–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 12–9–5 29 W 27 November 26 Carolina Hurricanes 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 13–9–5 31 W 28 November 29 Montreal Canadiens 3–6 Pittsburgh Penguins 14–9–5 33 W
December: 7–3–3 (home: 3–2–1; road: 4–1–2), 17 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 29 December 1 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–0 Montreal Canadiens 15–9–5 35 W 30 December 4 New Jersey Devils 4–0 Pittsburgh Penguins 15–10–5 35 L 31 December 6 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 16–10–5 37 W 32 December 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–1 Los Angeles Kings 17–10–5 39 W 33 December 10 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–0 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 18–10–5 41 W 34 December 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–2 Phoenix Coyotes 18–10–6 42 T 35 December 16 Tampa Bay Lightning 1–1 Pittsburgh Penguins 18–10–7 43 T 36 December 19 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Colorado Avalanche 18–10–8 44 T 37 December 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 St. Louis Blues 18–11–8 44 L 38 December 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 Washington Capitals 19–11–8 46 W 39 December 27 Montreal Canadiens 1–0 Pittsburgh Penguins 19–12–8 46 L 40 December 29 New York Islanders 1–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 20–12–8 48 W 41 December 31 Carolina Hurricanes 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 21–12–8 50 W
January: 8–3–2 (home: 4–1–1; road: 4–2–1), 18 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 42 January 3 Colorado Avalanche 5–4 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 21–13–8 50 L 43 January 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 New York Islanders 22–13–8 52 W 44 January 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 New Jersey Devils 22–14–8 52 L 45 January 10 New Jersey Devils 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 23–14–8 54 W 46 January 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 Carolina Hurricanes 24–14–8 56 W 47 January 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–5 Boston Bruins 24–15–8 56 L 48 January 20 Ottawa Senators 0–0 Pittsburgh Penguins 24–15–9 57 T 49 January 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 New Jersey Devils 25–15–9 59 W 50 January 24 Boston Bruins 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 26–15–9 61 W 51 January 26 St. Louis Blues 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 27–15–9 63 W 52 January 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–2 Washington Capitals 27–15–10 64 T 53 January 29 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 Boston Bruins 28–15–10 66 W 54 January 31 Detroit Red Wings 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 29–15–10 68 W
February: 1–2–3 (home: 0–1–1; road: 1–1–2), 5 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 55 February 2 New York Islanders 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 29–16–10 68 L 56 February 4 Washington Capitals 2–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 29–16–11 69 T 57 February 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–2 Buffalo Sabres 29–16–12 70 T 58 February 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–2 Ottawa Senators 29–16–13 71 T 59 February 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–2 Montreal Canadiens 30–16–13 73 W 60 February 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–6 Boston Bruins 30–17–13 73 L
March: 6–3–4 (home: 6–0–3; road: 0–3–1), 16 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 61 March 2 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 31–17–13 75 W 62 March 5 Chicago Blackhawks 2–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 31–17–14 76 T 63 March 7 Philadelphia Flyers 4–6 Pittsburgh Penguins 32–17–14 78 W 64 March 8 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 OT Philadelphia Flyers 32–18–14 78 L 65 March 11 Calgary Flames 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 33–18–14 80 W 66 March 14 Buffalo Sabres 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 34–18–14 82 W 67 March 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–3 Buffalo Sabres 34–19–14 82 L 68 March 18 Edmonton Oilers 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 35–19–14 84 W 69 March 21 Philadelphia Flyers 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 36–19–14 86 W 70 March 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–0 Dallas Stars 36–19–15 87 T 71 March 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 New York Islanders 36–20–15 87 L 72 March 28 New York Rangers 2–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 36–20–16 88 T 73 March 29 Ottawa Senators 1–1 Pittsburgh Penguins 36–20–17 89 T
April: 4–4–1 (home: 2–2–1; road: 2–2–0), 9 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 74 April 1 San Jose Sharks 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 36–21–17 89 L 75 April 4 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 Tampa Bay Lightning 37–21–17 91 W 76 April 5 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 Florida Panthers 37–22–17 91 L 77 April 7 Phoenix Coyotes 2–1 Pittsburgh Penguins 37–23–17 91 L 78 April 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 Ottawa Senators 37–24–17 91 L 79 April 11 Florida Panthers 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 37–24–18 92 T 80 April 15 Tampa Bay Lightning 1–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 38–24–18 94 W 81 April 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 Carolina Hurricanes 39–24–18 96 W 82 April 18 Boston Bruins 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 40–24–18 98 W
Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1998 Stanley Cup playoffs[3]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (7) Montreal Canadiens – Canadiens win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series Recap 1 April 23 Montreal Canadiens 3–2 (OT) Pittsburgh Penguins 0–1 L 2 April 25 Montreal Canadiens 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1 W 3 April 27 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 Montreal Canadiens 1–2 L 4 April 29 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–3 Montreal Canadiens 2–2 W 5 May 1 Montreal Canadiens 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 L 6 May 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–3 Montreal Canadiens 2–4 L
Legend: W Win L Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular season[4] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Jaromir Jagr 77 35 67 102 17 64 Ron Francis 81 25 62 87 12 20 Stu Barnes 78 30 35 65 15 30 Kevin Hatcher 74 19 29 48 -3 66 Martin Straka 75 19 23 42 -1 28 Rob Brown 82 15 25 40 -1 59 Fredrik Olausson 76 6 27 33 13 42 Aleksey Morozov 76 13 13 26 -4 8 Eddie Olczyk 56 11 11 22 -9 35 Robert Lang† 51 9 13 22 6 14 Alex Hicks 58 7 13 20 4 54 Brad Werenka 71 3 15 18 15 46 Jiri Slegr 73 5 12 17 10 109 Andreas Johansson 50 5 10 15 4 20 Darius Kasparaitis 81 4 8 12 3 127 Robert Dome 30 5 2 7 -1 12 Tyler Wright 82 3 4 7 -3 112 Peter Ferraro‡ 29 3 4 7 -2 12 Chris Ferraro 46 3 4 7 -2 43 Ian Moran 37 1 6 7 0 19 Chris Tamer 79 0 7 7 4 181 Neil Wilkinson 34 2 4 6 0 24 Garry Valk 39 2 1 3 -3 33 Tuomas Gronman 22 1 2 3 3 25 Greg Johnson‡ 5 1 0 1 0 2 Sean Pronger† 5 1 0 1 -1 2 Sven Butenschon 8 0 0 0 -1 6 Total 228 397 625 — 1,193

Playoffs[5] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Jaromir Jagr 6 4 5 9 5 2 Stu Barnes 6 3 3 6 2 2 Ron Francis 6 1 5 6 5 2 Jiri Slegr 6 0 4 4 3 2 Fredrik Olausson 6 0 3 3 0 2 Robert Lang 6 0 3 3 -4 2 Eddie Olczyk 6 2 0 2 -3 4 Martin Straka 6 2 0 2 -3 2 Rob Brown 6 1 0 1 -4 4 Kevin Hatcher 6 1 0 1 1 12 Brad Werenka 6 1 0 1 -3 8 Chris Tamer 6 0 1 1 -1 4 Tyler Wright 6 0 1 1 0 4 Aleksey Morozov 6 0 1 1 -3 2 Ian Moran 6 0 0 0 -1 2 Sean Pronger 5 0 0 0 -1 4 Andreas Johansson 1 0 0 0 0 0 Darius Kasparaitis 5 0 0 0 -2 8 Tuomas Gronman 1 0 0 0 0 0 Alex Hicks 6 0 0 0 -5 2 Total 15 26 41 — 68

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[6]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Tom Barrasso	63	61	3542:07	31	14	13	122	2.07	1556	0.922	7	0	2	14
Peter Skudra	17	12	851:23	6	4	3	26	1.83	341	0.924	0	0	1	2
Ken Wregget	15	9	611:26	3	6	2	28	2.75	293	0.904	0	0	0	6
Total		82	5004:56	40	24	18	176	2.11	2190	0.920	7	0	3	22

Playoffs^[7]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Tom Barrasso	6	6	376:19	2	4	0	17	2.71	171	0.901	0	0	0	2
Total		6	376:19	2	4	0	17	2.71	171	0.901	0	0	0	2

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Art Ross Trophy	Jaromir Jagr	[8]
	Lady Byng Memorial Trophy	Ron Francis	[9]
	NHL First All-Star Team	Jaromir Jagr (Right wing)	[10]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Jaromir Jagr[a]	[12]
Team	A. T. Caggiano Memorial Booster Club Award	Jaromir Jagr	[13]
	Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Good Guy Award	Ron Francis	[14]
	Bob Johnson Memorial Badger Bob Award	Ron Francis	[14]
	Leading Scorer Award	Jaromir Jagr
	Michel Briere Memorial Rookie of the Year Trophy	Peter Skudra	[15]
	Most Valuable Player Award	Ron Francis	[16]
		Jaromir Jagr
	Players' Player Award	Ron Francis	[15]
	The Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award	Chris Tamer	[13]
		Tyler Wright

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Robert Dome	October 1, 1997	[17]
	Alexei Morozov
	Sven Butenschon	October 19, 1997
	Peter Skudra	November 5, 1997
25th shutout	Tom Barrasso	November 15, 1997

Transactions

The Penguins have been involved in the following transactions during the 1997–98 season:^[18]

Trades

August 12, 1997	To Edmonton Oilers 1998 3rd round pick	To Pittsburgh Penguins Jiri Slegr
September 24, 1997	To Buffalo Sabres Jason Woolley	To Pittsburgh Penguins 1998 5th round pick
September 28, 1997	To Colorado Avalanche Francois Leroux	To Pittsburgh Penguins 1998 3rd round pick
October 27, 1997	To Chicago Blackhawks Greg Johnson	To Pittsburgh Penguins Tuomas Gronman
March 24, 1998	To Anaheim Ducks rights to Patrick Lalime	To Pittsburgh Penguins Sean Pronger
June 16, 1998	To Edmonton Oilers rights to Josef Beranek	To Pittsburgh Penguins Bobby Dollas Tony Hrkac
June 17, 1998	To Calgary Flames David Roche Ken Wregget	To Pittsburgh Penguins Todd Hlushko German Titov

Free agents

Player	Acquired from	Lost to	Date
Brad Werenka	Chicago Blackhawks		July 31, 1997
Jeff Christian		Phoenix Coyotes	August 4, 1997
Martin Straka	Florida Panthers		August 6, 1997
Robert Lang[19]	HC Sparta Praha		September 2, 1997
Peter Skudra[20]	Edmonton Oilers		September 25, 1997
Drake Berehowsky		Edmonton Oilers	September 30, 1997
Rob Brown[21]	Chicago Wolves		October 1, 1997

Waivers

Player	Acquired from	Lost to	Date
Robert Lang[22]		Boston Bruins	September 28, 1997
Peter Ferraro[23]	New York Rangers		October 1, 1997
Chris Ferraro[23]	New York Rangers		October 1, 1997
Robert Lang[24]	Boston Bruins		October 25, 1997
Peter Ferraro[25]		New York Rangers	January 14, 1998
Tony Hrkac		Nashville Predators	June 26, 1998

Retained

Player	Details	Date
Ian Moran	Resigned	August 1, 1997
Joe Dziedzic[26]	Resigned	September 10, 1997
Alexei Morozov[27]	Signed rookie contract	September 24, 1997
Jaromir Jagr[28]	Resigned	January 27, 1998
Peter Skudra	Resigned	June 17, 1998

Draft picks

Main article: 1997 NHL entry draft

The Penguins drafted the following players at the 1997 NHL entry draft at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh:^[29]

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	17	Robert Dome	Left wing	Slovakia	Las Vegas Thunder (IHL)
2	44	Brian Gaffaney	Defense	United States	North Iowa Huskies (USHL)
3	71	Josef Melichar	Defense	Czech Republic	HC Ceske Budejovice (Czech)
4	97	Alexandre Mathieu	Center	Canada	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
5	124	Harlan Pratt	Defense	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
6	152	Petr Havelka	Left wing	Czech Republic	Sparta Prague (Czech)
7	179	Mark Moore	Defense	Canada	Harvard University (ECACHL)
8	208	Andrew Ference	Defense	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
9	234	Eric Lind	Defense	United States	Avon Old Farms (USHS–CT)

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 American Hockey League (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

Notes

1. Jagr was voted to the starting lineup, earning more votes than any other player.^[11]