1998 Stanley Cup Final

The 1998 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1997–98 season, and the culmination of the 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Western Conference champion and defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings and the Eastern Conference champion Washington Capitals. It was the 105th year of the Stanley Cup being contested. The series was the Capitals' first Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history. The Red Wings swept the Capitals to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, capturing their ninth Stanley Cup in team history. This also marked the fourth consecutive, and most recent Stanley Cup Final as of 2025 to end in a sweep.

1998 Stanley Cup Final
1 2 3 4 Total Detroit Red Wings 2 5* 2 4 4 Washington Capitals 1 4* 1 1 0
* indicates periods of overtime
Location(s)	Detroit: Joe Louis Arena (1, 2) Washington: MCI Center (3, 4)
Coaches	Detroit: Scotty Bowman Washington: Ron Wilson
Captains	Detroit: Steve Yzerman Washington: Dale Hunter
National anthems	Detroit: Karen Newman Washington: Robert "Bob" McDonald
Referees	Bill McCreary (1, 4) Don Koharski (2) Terry Gregson (3)
Dates	June 9–16, 1998
MVP	Steve Yzerman (Red Wings)
Series-winning goal	Martin Lapointe (2:26, second, G4)
Hall of Famers	Red Wings: Sergei Fedorov (2015) Viacheslav Fetisov (2001) Igor Larionov (2008) Nicklas Lidstrom (2015) Larry Murphy (2004) Brendan Shanahan (2013) Steve Yzerman (2009) Capitals: Phil Housley (2015) Adam Oates (2012) Coaches: Scotty Bowman (1991) Officials: Bill McCreary (2014)
Networks	Canada: (English): CBC (French): SRC United States: (English): Fox (1), ESPN (2–4)
Announcers	(CBC) Bob Cole and Harry Neale (SRC) Claude Quenneville and Gilles Tremblay (Fox) Mike Emrick and John Davidson (ESPN) Gary Thorne and Bill Clement
← 1997 Stanley Cup Final 1999 →

The Red Wings became the fourth team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup in back-to-back sweeps, joining the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, and New York Islanders.^[1]

Detroit coach Scotty Bowman won his eighth Stanley Cup in that capacity (having previously done so with the Montreal Canadiens in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979, the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992, and the Wings the previous year), tying him with former Canadiens coach Toe Blake for the record of most Cups won by a coach (which he would break when he helped the Red Wings win the 2002 Cup).

Motivation to win a second straight title

Just six days after sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1997 Finals, Red Wings defenceman Vladimir Konstantinov and masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov sustained serious brain injuries when the limousine in which they were riding crashed. Viacheslav Fetisov was also in the limousine but was not seriously injured. The Red Wings subsequently dedicated their 1997–98 season to the two injured members and wore a patch on their jerseys bearing the players' initials. When the Red Wings were presented with the Stanley Cup, they wheeled Konstantinov onto the ice and placed the Cup in his lap. They also took him for a victory lap around the rink.

Paths to the Finals

Further information: 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs

See also: 1997–98 Detroit Red Wings season and 1997–98 Washington Capitals season

Detroit Red Wings

Detroit advanced to the Finals by defeating the Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, and Dallas Stars in six games each.

Washington Capitals

Washington defeated the Boston Bruins 4–2, the Ottawa Senators 4–1, and the Buffalo Sabres 4–2.

Game summaries

In this series, Capitals head coach Ron Wilson became the first person to head coach in both an Olympics and a Stanley Cup Final in the same year, having coached team USA at the Nagano Olympics. Peter Laviolette would join him in this feat in 2006 while with the Carolina Hurricanes during their championship season, having coached the American ice hockey team during the Torino Olympics.

Game 1

June 9

Washington Capitals

1–2

Detroit Red Wings

Joe Louis Arena

At home, Detroit took an early lead in the first period and scored two goals within two minutes and 14 seconds of each other. The Red Wings were able to hold off a Washington assault and take the first game of the series with a score of 2–1.

Scoring summary
Period	Team	Goal	Assist(s)	Time	Score
1st	DET	Joe Kocur (4)	Doug Brown (1), Tomas Holmstrom (9)	14:04	1–0 DET
	DET	Nicklas Lidstrom (6)	Steve Yzerman (17), Tomas Holmstrom (10)	16:18	2–0 DET
2nd	WSH	Richard Zednik (7)	Andrei Nikolishin (12), Peter Bondra (5)	15:57	2–1 DET
3rd	None
Penalty summary
Period	Team	Player	Penalty	Time	PIM
1st	DET	Martin Lapointe	Tripping	04:21	2:00
	WSH	Mark Tinordi	Interference	17:22	2:00
2nd	DET	Bench (served by Vyacheslav Kozlov)	Too many men on the ice	05:48	2:00
	DET	Steve Yzerman	Slashing	08:51	2:00
	WSH	Chris Simon	Roughing	18:06	2:00
3rd	WSH	Andrei Nikolishin	Interference	00:38	2:00
	DET	Joe Kocur	Roughing	04:19	2:00

Game 2

June 11

Washington Capitals

4–5

OT

Detroit Red Wings

Joe Louis Arena

It looked as if the Capitals were to tie the series with a 4–2 lead in the third period, but after a Detroit goal to make it 4–3, Capitals forward Esa Tikkanen had a scoring opportunity midway through the third period that would have likely put Detroit away before the venue changed back to Washington's MCI Center, and also would have changed the entire dynamic of the series, but he missed the open net shot. Detroit then rallied late in the third period to tie the game and send it into overtime. Kris Draper scored with four minutes left in the first overtime to give the Red Wings a 5–4 victory and a 2–0 lead in the series.

Scoring summary
Period	Team	Goal	Assist(s)	Time	Score
1st	DET	Steve Yzerman (5)	Tomas Holmstrom (11), Nicklas Lidstrom (13)	07:49	1–0 DET
2nd	WSH	Peter Bondra (7)	Andrei Nikolishin (13), Jeff Brown (1)	01:51	1–1
	WSH	Chris Simon (1)	Jeff Brown (2), Dale Hunter (4)	06:11	2–1 WSH
	WSH	Adam Oates (6)	Joe Juneau (8), Calle Johansson (8)	11:03	3–1 WSH
3rd	DET	Steve Yzerman (6) – sh	Viacheslav Fetisov (1), Darren McCarty (7)	06:37	3–2 WSH
	WSH	Joe Juneau (7) – pp	Sergei Gonchar (4), Brian Bellows (7)	07:05	4–2 WSH
	DET	Martin Lapointe (8)	Igor Larionov (9), Viacheslav Fetisov (2)	08:08	4–3 WSH
	DET	Doug Brown (2)	Unassisted	15:46	4–4
OT	DET	Kris Draper (1)	Martin Lapointe (6), Brendan Shanahan (4)	15:24	5–4 DET
Penalty summary
Period	Team	Player	Penalty	Time	PIM
1st	WSH	Joe Reekie	Holding – Obstruction	13:05	2:00
	WSH	Peter Bondra	Hooking – Obstruction	15:22	2:00
2nd	DET	Kirk Maltby	High-sticking	03:09	2:00
	WSH	Richard Zednik	Hooking – Obstruction	07:12	2:00
	DET	Chris Osgood	Unsportsmanlike conduct	14:11	2:00
	WSH	Chris Simon	Roughing	14:11	2:00
	DET	Kirk Maltby	Slashing	16:20	2:00
3rd	DET	Nicklas Lidstrom	Interference	06:23	2:00
	WSH	Richard Zednik	Cross checking	10:18	2:00
	DET	Martin Lapointe	Interference	11:40	2:00
OT	DET	Joe Kocur	Roughing	05:24	2:00
	WSH	Esa Tikkanen	Roughing	05:24	2:00

Game 3

June 13

Detroit Red Wings

2–1

Washington Capitals

MCI Center

Detroit scored in the first 35 seconds to take an early lead which held up until the third period. The Capitals tied the game midway through the third period, but Sergei Fedorov scored to give the Wings a three games to none lead in the series.

Scoring summary
Period	Team	Goal	Assist(s)	Time	Score
1st	DET	Tomas Holmstrom (7)	Steve Yzerman (18), Darren McCarty (8)	00:35	1–0 DET
2nd	None
3rd	WSH	Brian Bellows (5) – pp	Adam Oates (10), Joe Juneau (9)	10:35	1–1
	DET	Sergei Fedorov (10)	Doug Brown (2), Viacheslav Fetisov (3)	15:09	2–1 DET
Penalty summary
Period	Team	Player	Penalty	Time	PIM
1st	WSH	Chris Simon	Slashing	02:48	2:00
	WSH	Dale Hunter	Charging	08:10	2:00
	WSH	Phil Housley	Elbowing	12:29	2:00
	DET	Tomas Holmstrom	Goaltender interference	13:11	2:00
	DET	Martin Lapointe	Interference	17:01	2:00
2nd	WSH	Todd Krygier	Roughing	02:05	2:00
	DET	Anders Eriksson	Holding – Obstruction	07:29	2:00
	DET	Igor Larionov	Tripping – Obstruction	10:17	2:00
	DET	Kris Draper	Roughing	15:23	2:00
	WSH	Sergei Gonchar	Roughing	15:23	2:00
3rd	WSH	Sergei Gonchar	Roughing	05:50	2:00
	DET	Darren McCarty	Tripping	09:22	2:00

Game 4

June 16

Detroit Red Wings

4–1

Washington Capitals

MCI Center

In game four, Detroit was dominant throughout to win the game by a score of 4–1 and sweep the series. Steve Yzerman was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. When the Cup was awarded, Vladimir Konstantinov was brought onto the ice in his wheelchair and joined the celebration with his team.

Scoring summary
Period	Team	Goal	Assist(s)	Time	Score
1st	DET	Doug Brown (3) – pp	Sergei Fedorov (9), Larry Murphy (12)	10:30	1–0 DET
2nd	DET	Martin Lapointe (9)	Igor Larionov (10), Bob Rouse (3)	02:26	2–0 DET
	WSH	Brian Bellows (6)	Adam Oates (11), Joe Juneau (10)	07:49	2–1 DET
	DET	Larry Murphy (3) – pp	Tomas Holmstrom (12), Sergei Fedorov (10)	11:46	3–1 DET
3rd	DET	Doug Brown (4) – pp	Vyacheslav Kozlov (8), Anders Eriksson (5)	01:32	4–1 DET
Penalty summary
Period	Team	Player	Penalty	Time	PIM
1st	DET	Anders Eriksson	Interference	07:17	2:00
	WSH	Peter Bondra	Interference	09:12	2:00
	WSH	Calle Johansson	Roughing	11:01	2:00
2nd	DET	Kris Draper	Roughing	09:13	2:00
	WSH	Mark Tinordi	Roughing	09:13	2:00
	WSH	Esa Tikkanen	Goaltender interference	11:02	2:00
	DET	Igor Larionov	Hooking	12:41	2:00
	DET	Bob Rouse	High-sticking	16:07	2:00
	WSH	Mark Tinordi	Slashing	19:53	2:00
3rd	DET	Viacheslav Fetisov	Roughing	13:08	2:00

Team rosters

Bolded years under Finals appearance indicates year won Stanley Cup.

Detroit Red Wings

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
30		Chris Osgood	G	L	1991	Peace River, Alberta	third (1995, 1997)
31		Kevin Hodson	G	L	1993–94	Winnipeg, Manitoba	second (1997)
2		Viacheslav Fetisov	D	L	1994–95	Moscow, Soviet Union	third (1995, 1997)
3		Bob Rouse	D	R	1994–95	Surrey, British Columbia	third (1995, 1997)
5		Nicklas Lidstrom – A	D	L	1989	Krylbo, Sweden	third (1995, 1997)
15		Dmitri Mironov	D	R	1997–98	Moscow, Soviet Union	first (did not play)
16		Vladimir Konstantinov	D	R	1989	Murmansk, Soviet Union	third (1995, 1997) (did not play)
27		Aaron Ward	D	R	1993–94	Windsor, Ontario	second (1997) (did not play)
34		Jamie Macoun	D	L	1997–98	Newmarket, Ontario	third (1986, 1989)
44		Anders Eriksson	D	L	1993	Bollnäs, Sweden	first
55		Larry Murphy	D	R	1996–97	Scarborough, Ontario	fourth (1991, 1992, 1997)
8		Igor Larionov	C	L	1995–96	Voskresensk, Soviet Union	second (1997)
11		Mathieu Dandenault	LW	R	1994	Sherbrooke, Quebec	second (1997) (did not play)
13		Vyacheslav Kozlov	LW	L	1990	Voskresensk, Soviet Union	third (1995, 1997)
14		Brendan Shanahan – A	LW	R	1996–97	Etobicoke, Ontario	second (1997)
17		Doug Brown	RW	R	1994–95	Southborough, Massachusetts	third (1995, 1997)
18		Kirk Maltby	RW	R	1995–96	Guelph, Ontario	second (1997)
19		Steve Yzerman – C	C	R	1983	Burnaby, British Columbia	third (1995, 1997)
20		Martin Lapointe	RW	R	1991	Ville St. Pierre, Quebec	third (1995, 1997)
22		Mike Knuble	RW	R	1991	Toronto, Ontario	first (did not play)
25		Darren McCarty	RW	R	1992	Burnaby, British Columbia	third (1995, 1997)
26		Joe Kocur	RW	R	1996–97	Kelvington, Saskatchewan	third (1994, 1997)
33		Kris Draper	C	L	1993–94	Toronto, Ontario	third (1995, 1997)
41		Brent Gilchrist	C	L	1997–98	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan	second (1989) (did not play)
91		Sergei Fedorov	C	L	1989	Pskov, Soviet Union	third (1995, 1997)
96		Tomas Holmstrom	LW	L	1994	Piteå, Sweden	second (1997)

Washington Capitals

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
30		Bill Ranford	G	L	1996–97	Brandon, Manitoba	third (1988, 1990) (did not play)
37		Olaf Kolzig	G	L	1989	Johannesburg, South Africa	first
2		Ken Klee	D	R	1990	Indianapolis, Indiana	first
6		Calle Johansson – A	D	L	1988–89	Gothenburg, Sweden	first
19		Brendan Witt	D	L	1993	Humboldt, Saskatchewan	first (did not play)
24		Mark Tinordi	D	L	1994–95	Red Deer, Alberta	second (1991)
28		Jeff Brown	D	R	1997–98	Ottawa, Ontario	second (1994)
29		Joe Reekie	D	L	1993–94	Victoria, British Columbia	first
55		Sergei Gonchar	D	L	1992	Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union	first
96		Phil Housley	D	L	1996–97	Saint Paul, Minnesota	first
9		Todd Krygier	LW	L	1995–96	Chicago Heights, Illinois	first
10		Kelly Miller	LW	L	1986–87	Lansing, Michigan	first
11		Esa Tikkanen	LW	L	1997–98	Helsinki, Finland	sixth (1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994)
12		Peter Bondra	RW	L	1990	Bakovtsi, Soviet Union	first
13		Andrei Nikolishin	C	L	1996–97	Vorkuta, Soviet Union	first
17		Chris Simon	LW	L	1996–97	Wawa, Ontario	second (1996)
20		Michal Pivonka	C	L	1984	Kladno, Czechoslovakia	first (did not play)
21		Jeff Toms	C	L	1997–98	Swift Current, Saskatchewan	first
22		Steve Konowalchuk	LW	L	1991	Salt Lake City, Utah	first (did not play)
23		Brian Bellows	RW	R	1997–98	St. Catharines, Ontario	third (1991, 1993)
27		Craig Berube	LW	L	1993–94	Calahoo, Alberta	first
32		Dale Hunter – C	C	L	1987–88	Petrolia, Ontario	first
36		Mike Eagles	C/RW	L	1993–94	Sussex, New Brunswick	first
44		Richard Zednik	RW	L	1994	Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia	first
77		Adam Oates – A	C	R	1996–97	Weston, Ontario	first
90		Joe Juneau	C	L	1993–94	Pont-Rouge, Quebec	first

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1998 Stanley Cup was presented to Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman following the Red Wings 4–1 win over the Capitals in game four

The following Red Wings players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup

1997–98 Detroit Red Wings

Players

  Centres

• 8 Igor Larionov
• 19 Steve Yzerman (Captain)
• 33 Kris Draper
• 41 Brent Gilchrist*
• 91 Sergei Fedorov

  Wingers

• 11 Mathieu Dandenault*
• 17 Doug Brown
• 14 Brendan Shanahan (A)
• 18 Kirk Maltby
• 20 Martin Lapointe
• 22 Mike Knuble*
• 25 Darren McCarty
• 26 Joe Kocur
• 13 Vyacheslav Kozlov
• 96 Tomas Holmstrom

  Defencemen

• 3 Bob Rouse
• 5 Nicklas Lidstrom (A)
• 2 Viacheslav Fetisov
• 15 Dmitri Mironov †
• 16 Vladimir Konstantinov †
• 27 Aaron Ward*
• 34 Jamie Macoun
• 44 Anders Eriksson
• 55 Larry Murphy

  Goaltenders

• 30 Chris Osgood
• 31 Kevin Hodson

• * Did not play or dress in the Final.
  
• † Exemption granted to engrave the name of a player who did not automatically qualify.^[a][A]

Coaching and administrative staff

• Mike Ilitch Sr. (Owner/President/Governor), Marian Ilitch (Owner/Secretary-Treasurer), Atanas Ilitch (Vice President/minority Owner)
• Christopher Ilitch (Vice President/minority owner), Denise Ilitch Lites, Ronald Ilitch (Minority Owners)
• Michael Ititch Jr., Lisa Ilitch Murray, Carole Ilitch Trepeck (Minority Owners)
• Jim Devellano (Sr. Vice President), Ken Holland (General Manager), Don Waddell (Assistant General Manager), William Scotty Bowman (Head Coach/Director of Player Personnel)
• Barry Smith (Associate Coach), Dave Lewis (Associate Coach), Jim Nill (Director of Player Development/Director of Amateur Scouting), Dan Belise (Pro Scout), Mark Howe (Pro Scout)
• Jim Bedard (Goaltending Consultant), Hakan Andersson (Director of European Scouting), Mark Leach (Scout), Joe McDonnell (Scout)
• Bruce Haralson (Scout), John Wharton (Athletic Trainer), Paul Boyer (Equipment Manager), Tim Abbott (Asst. Equipment Manager)
• Bob Huddleston (Massage Therapist), Sergei Mnatsakanov (Masseur), Wally Crossman (Dressing Room Assistant)

Engraving notes

• ^{^A} Detroit successfully requested an exemption to engrave the names of two players who did not automatically qualify.^[a]
  • #16 Vladimir Konstantinov (D) – career ended in a car accident. The Red Wings still recognized him as part of the team and got permission from the league to have his name engraved.
  • #15 Dmitri Mironov (D) – played 66 regular season games for Anaheim before joining Detroit. Played 11 regular season games and 7 playoff games (none in the Finals) for Detroit.
• Wally Crossman was the oldest person engraved on the Stanley Cup at age 87.
• Detroit wanted to include a record 55 names on the Stanley Cup in 1997–98. Following that request, the NHL decided to limit the number of names to 52 to make sure all names fit on the Cup. No player who officially qualifies may be left off to include more non-players.
• #34 Norm Maracle (G – 4 regular season games) and #21 Darryl Laplante (D – 2 regular season games) were on the roster during the Final, but left off the Stanley Cup engraving due to not qualifying.^[a] None played in the playoffs. Detroit did not request an exemption to engrave their names. All were included in the team picture.
• Art Mnatsusakanov, Johnny Remejes, and Mike Vella (Dressing Room Asst.); were left off the Stanley Cup engraving, but included in the team picture.

Broadcasting

In Canada, the series was televised on CBC. In the United States, Fox broadcast game one while ESPN televised games two through four. Had the series extended, games five and seven would have been broadcast on Fox, and ESPN would have aired game six.

See also

• 1997–98 NHL season
• List of Stanley Cup champions

Notes

1. Automatic qualification for a player's name to be engraved on the Stanley Cup: Playing in (for a goaltender, dressing for) at least one Stanley Cup Final game or at least half of regular season games for the Stanley Cup winning team.