1997–98 Montreal Canadiens season

1997–98 Montreal Canadiens
Division	4th Northeast
Conference	7th Eastern
1997–98 record	37–32–13
Home record	15–17–9
Road record	22–15–4
Goals for	235
Goals against	208
Team information
General manager	Rejean Houle
Coach	Alain Vigneault
Captain	Vincent Damphousse
Arena	Molson Centre
Average attendance	20,771
Minor league affiliate(s)	Fredericton Canadiens New Orleans Brass
Team leaders
Goals	Mark Recchi (32)
Assists	Saku Koivu (43)
Points	Mark Recchi (74)
Penalty minutes	Scott Thornton (158)
Plus/minus	Dave Manson (+22)
Wins	Jocelyn Thibault (19)
Goals against average	Jocelyn Thibault (2.47)

The 1997–98 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 89th season of play. The Canadiens made the playoffs and advanced to the Conference Semifinals after winning 4 games to 2 in Conference Quarterfinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, their first playoff series win since the 1992–93 Stanley Cup title year. However, in the Conference semifinals, they were swept in four games by the Buffalo Sabres.

Regular season

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

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

Playoffs

1998 Stanley Cup playoffs
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (2) Pittsburgh Penguins – Canadiens win 4–2 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 L April 23, 1998 2–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins Penguins lead 1–0 Recap 2 W April 25, 1998 4–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins Series tied 1–1 Recap 3 W April 27, 1998 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Canadiens lead 2–1 Recap 4 L April 29, 1998 3–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Series tied 2–2 Recap 5 W May 1, 1998 5–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins Canadiens lead 3–2 Recap 6 W May 3, 1998 3–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Canadiens win 4–2 Recap
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. (6) Buffalo Sabres – Sabres win 4–0 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 L May 8, 1998 2–3 OT @ Buffalo Sabres Sabres lead 1–0 Recap 2 L May 10, 1998 3–6 @ Buffalo Sabres Sabres lead 2–0 Recap 3 L May 12, 1998 4–5 2OT Buffalo Sabres Sabres lead 3–0 Recap 4 L May 14, 1998 1–3 Buffalo Sabres Sabres win 4–0 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; 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 Canadiens only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
8	Mark Recchi	RW	82	32	42	74	11	51	10	4	8	12	2	6
25	Vincent Damphousse	C	76	18	41	59	14	58	10	3	6	9	−4	22
11	Saku Koivu	C	69	14	43	57	8	48	6	2	3	5	4	2
27	Shayne Corson	LW	62	21	34	55	2	108	10	3	6	9	3	26
26	Martin Rucinsky	LW	78	21	32	53	13	84	10	3	0	3	−2	4
38	Vladimir Malakhov	D	74	13	31	44	16	70	9	3	4	7	−3	10
49	Brian Savage	LW	64	26	17	43	11	36	9	0	2	2	−2	6
43	Patrice Brisebois	D	79	10	27	37	16	67	10	1	0	1	−5	0
22	Dave Manson	D	81	4	30	34	22	122	10	0	1	1	0	14
17	Benoit Brunet	LW	68	12	20	32	11	61	8	1	0	1	1	4
20	Valeri Bure‡	RW	50	7	22	29	−5	33	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	Marc Bureau	C	74	13	6	19	0	12	10	1	2	3	−1	6
5	Stephane Quintal	D	71	6	10	16	13	97	9	0	2	2	2	4
24	Scott Thornton	LW	67	6	9	15	0	158	9	0	2	2	0	10
71	Sebastien Bordeleau	C	53	6	8	14	5	36	5	0	0	0	−1	2
44	Jonas Hoglund†	LW	28	6	5	11	2	6	10	2	0	2	−1	0
37	Patrick Poulin†	C	34	4	6	10	−1	8	3	0	0	0	−1	0
23	Turner Stevenson	RW	63	4	6	10	−8	110	10	3	4	7	1	12
44	Stephane Richer‡	RW	14	5	4	9	1	5	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	Peter Popovic	D	69	2	6	8	−6	38	10	1	1	2	2	2
12	Darcy Tucker‡	RW	39	1	5	6	−6	57	—	—	—	—	—	—
3	Zarley Zalapski†	D	28	1	5	6	−1	22	6	0	1	1	−3	4
52	Craig Rivet	D	61	0	2	2	−3	93	5	0	0	0	−2	2
41	Jocelyn Thibault	G	47	0	2	2		0	2	0	1	1		0
29	Brett Clark	D	41	1	0	1	−3	20	—	—	—	—	—	—
15	Eric Houde	C	9	1	0	1	−3	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
3	David Wilkie‡	D	5	1	0	1	−1	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
55	Igor Ulanov†	D	4	0	1	1	−2	12	10	1	4	5	3	12
21	Jassen Cullimore‡	D	3	0	0	0	0	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
48	Francois Groleau	D	1	0	0	0	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
46	Matt Higgins	C	1	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
51	David Ling‡	RW	1	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Andy Moog	G	42	0	0	0		4	9	0	0	0		0
14	Terry Ryan	LW	4	0	0	0	0	31	—	—	—	—	—	—
21	Mick Vukota†	RW	22	0	0	0	−4	76	1	0	0	0	0	0
60	Jose Theodore	G	—	—	—	—	—	—	3	0	0	0		0

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
41	Jocelyn Thibault	47	19	15	8	1109	109	2.47	.902	2	2652	2	0	0	16	4	5.53	.750	0	43
35	Andy Moog	42	18	17	5	1024	97	2.49	.905	3	2337	9	4	5	204	24	3.04	.882	1	474
60	Jose Theodore	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3	0	1	35	1	0.50	.971	0	120

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honour	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Shayne Corson
		Saku Koivu
		Mark Recchi
Team	Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy	Patrice Brisebois
		Marc Bureau
	Molson Cup	Mark Recchi

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Brett Clark	October 4, 1997
	Matt Higgins	November 26, 1997

Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1997 NHL entry draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	11	Jason Ward	Canada	Erie Otters (OHL)
2	37	Gregor Baumgartner	Austria	Laval Titan College Francais (QMJHL)
3	65	Ilkka Mikkola	Finland	Karpat (Finland)
4	91	Daniel Tetrault	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
5	118	Konstantin Sidulov	Russia	Mechel Chelyabinsk (Russia)
5	122	Gennady Razin	Ukraine	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
6	145	Jonathan Desroches	Canada	Granby Predateurs (QMJHL)
7	172	Ben Guite	Canada	University of Maine (Hockey East)
8	197	Petr Kubos	Czech Republic	Petra Vsetin (Czech Republic)
8	202	Andrei Sidyakin	Russia	Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia)
9	228	Jarl-Espen Ygranes	Norway	Furuset (Norway)

See also

• 1997–98 NHL season

References

• "Montreal Canadiens 1997-98 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
• "1997-98 Montreal Canadiens Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 30, 2023.