1997–98 Washington Capitals season

1997–98 Washington Capitals
Division	3rd Atlantic
Conference	4th Eastern
1997–98 record	40–30–12
Home record	23–12–6
Road record	17–18–6
Goals for	219
Goals against	202
Team information
General manager	George McPhee
Coach	Ron Wilson
Captain	Dale Hunter
Team leaders
Goals	Peter Bondra (52)
Assists	Adam Oates (58)
Points	Peter Bondra (78)

The 1997–98 Washington Capitals season saw the team reach the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in club history. Peter Bondra's 52 goals led the team, veterans Dale Hunter, Joe Juneau, and Adam Oates returned to old form, and Olaf Kolzig had a solid .920 save percentage as the Caps got past the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, and Buffalo Sabres (the latter on a dramatic overtime win in game six on a goal by Joe Juneau) en route to the team's first (and to date, only) Stanley Cup Finals appearance. The Capitals won six overtime games, three in each of their series against the Bruins and Sabres. However, the team was no match for the defending champs, the Detroit Red Wings, who won in a four-game sweep.

Offseason

NHL Draft

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1	9	Nick Boynton (D)	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHL)

Regular season

• Adam Oates, Phil Housley, and Dale Hunter, all scored their 1,000th career point, the only time in NHL history that one team had 3 different players reach that same milestone in a single season.

Season standings

Atlantic Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
New Jersey Devils	82	48	23	11	225	166	107
Philadelphia Flyers	82	42	29	11	242	193	95
Washington Capitals	82	40	30	12	219	202	92
New York Islanders	82	30	41	11	212	225	71
New York Rangers	82	25	39	18	197	231	68
Florida Panthers	82	24	43	15	203	256	63
Tampa Bay Lightning	82	17	55	10	151	269	44

Game log

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 1, 1997	4–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	1–0–0
2	W	October 3, 1997	6–2	Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	2–0–0
3	W	October 4, 1997	4–1	New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	3–0–0
4	W	October 8, 1997	6–3	@ New York Islanders (1997–98)	4–0–0
5	L	October 9, 1997	2–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	4–1–0
6	W	October 11, 1997	3–1	New York Islanders (1997–98)	5–1–0
7	W	October 15, 1997	2–0	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	6–1–0
8	W	October 18, 1997	3–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	7–1–0
9	L	October 22, 1997	3–4	@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)	7–2–0
10	T	October 23, 1997	3–3 OT	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	7–2–1
11	L	October 25, 1997	2–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)	7–3–1
12	L	October 29, 1997	3–4	Dallas Stars (1997–98)	7–4–1
13	T	October 31, 1997	2–2 OT	Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	7–4–2
14	L	November 1, 1997	1–3	@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	7–5–2
15	W	November 4, 1997	2–1	Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	8–5–2
16	L	November 6, 1997	0–2	@ Boston Bruins (1997–98)	8–6–2
17	W	November 8, 1997	2–1	Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	9–6–2
18	L	November 9, 1997	2–3	@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)	9–7–2
19	W	November 12, 1997	4–1	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	10–7–2
20	W	November 13, 1997	3–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	11–7–2
21	W	November 15, 1997	3–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	12–7–2
22	T	November 18, 1997	6–6 OT	Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)	12–7–3
23	L	November 22, 1997	2–5	San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	12–8–3
24	W	November 23, 1997	5–2	@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)	13–8–3
25	L	November 26, 1997	5–6	Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	13–9–3
26	L	November 27, 1997	1–3	@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	13–10–3
27	T	November 29, 1997	1–1 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1997–98)	13–10–4
28	W	December 2, 1997	3–2 OT	@ New York Rangers (1997–98)	14–10–4
29	W	December 5, 1997	3–2 OT	Florida Panthers (1997–98)	15–10–4
30	L	December 7, 1997	4–5	@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)	15–11–4
31	T	December 10, 1997	3–3 OT	@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	15–11–5
32	L	December 12, 1997	4–6	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	15–12–5
33	T	December 13, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	15–12–6
34	T	December 16, 1997	2–2 OT	New York Islanders (1997–98)	15–12–7
35	L	December 18, 1997	0–4	Florida Panthers (1997–98)	15–13–7
36	W	December 20, 1997	2–1	@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	16–13–7
37	T	December 23, 1997	1–1 OT	New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	16–13–8
38	L	December 26, 1997	1–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	16–14–8
39	L	December 27, 1997	0–3	Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	16–15–8
40	W	December 29, 1997	4–2	St. Louis Blues (1997–98)	17–15–8
41	W	January 1, 1998	3–2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	18–15–8
42	L	January 3, 1998	2–3	New York Rangers (1997–98)	18–16–8
43	W	January 6, 1998	5–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	19–16–8
44	W	January 8, 1998	5–3	@ New York Rangers (1997–98)	20–16–8
45	W	January 9, 1998	4–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	21–16–8
46	L	January 11, 1998	0–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	21–17–8
47	W	January 13, 1998	4–0	Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	22–17–8
48	W	January 15, 1998	3–2	Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	23–17–8
49	W	January 21, 1998	3–2 OT	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)	24–17–8
50	W	January 25, 1998	4–1	Boston Bruins (1997–98)	25–17–8
51	T	January 26, 1998	2–2 OT	@ New York Rangers (1997–98)	25–17–9
52	T	January 28, 1998	2–2 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	25–17–10
53	W	January 31, 1998	3–2 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	26–17–10
54	L	February 1, 1998	2–4	Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	26–18–10
55	T	February 4, 1998	2–2 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	26–18–11
56	L	February 7, 1998	3–4	Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)	26–19–11
57	L	February 25, 1998	3–4	Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)	26–20–11
58	L	February 28, 1998	2–5	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)	26–21–11
59	L	March 1, 1998	0–3	Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	26–22–11
60	L	March 3, 1998	0–3	Boston Bruins (1997–98)	26–23–11
61	L	March 5, 1998	2–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	26–24–11
62	W	March 7, 1998	6–3	Florida Panthers (1997–98)	27–24–11
63	W	March 9, 1998	5–2	Calgary Flames (1997–98)	28–24–11
64	W	March 12, 1998	2–1	@ New York Islanders (1997–98)	29–24–11
65	L	March 14, 1998	0–4	@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	29–25–11
66	W	March 16, 1998	2–1	Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	30–25–11
67	W	March 18, 1998	1–0	Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	31–25–11
68	W	March 20, 1998	2–0	New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	32–25–11
69	L	March 21, 1998	2–3	@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	32–26–11
70	L	March 25, 1998	2–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	32–27–11
71	L	March 26, 1998	2–3	@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)	32–28–11
72	W	March 28, 1998	3–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	33–28–11
73	W	March 31, 1998	5–2	New York Islanders (1997–98)	34–28–11
74	W	April 2, 1998	4–1	Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)	35–28–11
75	W	April 4, 1998	3–2	Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	36–28–11
76	T	April 6, 1998	2–2 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	36–28–12
77	L	April 8, 1998	1–2 OT	@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)	36–29–12
78	L	April 11, 1998	3–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	36–30–12
79	W	April 13, 1998	2–0	@ New York Islanders (1997–98)	37–30–12
80	W	April 14, 1998	3–1	New York Rangers (1997–98)	38–30–12
81	W	April 18, 1998	4–3	@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	39–30–12
82	W	April 19, 1998	2–1	Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	40–30–12

Playoffs

Eastern Conference Quarter-finals

Boston vs. Washington
Date	Away	Home
April 22	Boston 1	3 Washington
April 24	Boston 4	3 Washington	2OT
April 26	Washington 3	2 Boston	2OT
April 28	Washington 3	0 Boston
May 1	Boston 4	0 Washington
May 3	Washington 3	2 Boston	OT
Washington wins series 4–2

Eastern Conference Semi-finals

Ottawa vs. Washington
Date	Away	Home
May 7	Ottawa 2	4 Washington
May 9	Ottawa 1	6 Washington
May 11	Washington 3	4 Ottawa
May 13	Washington 2	0 Ottawa
May 15	Ottawa 0	3 Washington
Washington win series 4–1

Eastern Conference Finals

Buffalo vs. Washington
Date	Away	Home
May 23	Buffalo 2	0 Washington
May 25	Buffalo 2	3 Washington	OT
May 28	Washington 4	3 Buffalo	OT
May 30	Washington 2	0 Buffalo
June 2	Buffalo 2	1 Washington
June 4	Washington 3	2 Buffalo	OT
Washington wins series 4–2 and Prince of Wales Trophy

Stanley Cup Finals

Washington vs. Detroit
Date	Away	Home
June 9	Washington 1	2 Detroit
June 11	Washington 4	5 Detroit	OT
June 13	Detroit 2	1 Washington
June 16	Detroit 4	1 Washington
Detroit wins series 4–0 and Stanley Cup
Steve Yzerman (Detroit) wins Conn Smythe Trophy

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Bondra, PeterPeter Bondra	RW	76	52	26	78	44	14	11	5	13
Oates, AdamAdam Oates	C	82	18	58	76	36	6	3	2	3
Johansson, CalleCalle Johansson	D	73	15	20	35	30	-11	10	1	1
Konowalchuk, SteveSteve Konowalchuk	LW	80	10	24	34	80	9	2	0	2
Juneau, JoeJoe Juneau	C	56	9	22	31	26	-8	4	1	1
Housley, PhilPhil Housley	D	64	6	25	31	24	-10	4	1	0
Zednik, RichardRichard Zednik	RW	65	17	9	26	28	-2	2	0	2
Hunter, DaleDale Hunter	C	82	8	18	26	103	1	0	0	1
Brunette, AndrewAndrew Brunette	LW	28	11	12	23	12	2	4	0	2
Gonchar, SergeiSergei Gonchar	D	72	5	16	21	66	2	2	0	0
Tinordi, MarkMark Tinordi	D	47	8	9	17	39	9	0	1	0
Simon, ChrisChris Simon	LW	28	7	10	17	38	-1	4	0	1
Nikolishin, AndreiAndrei Nikolishin	C	38	6	10	16	14	1	1	0	1
Bulis, JanJan Bulis	C	48	5	11	16	18	-5	0	0	0
Cote, SylvainSylvain Cote	D	59	1	15	16	36	-5	0	0	0
Berube, CraigCraig Berube	LW	74	6	9	15	189	-3	0	0	0
Miller, KellyKelly Miller	LW	76	7	7	14	41	-2	0	3	3
Krygier, ToddTodd Krygier	LW	45	2	12	14	30	-3	0	0	1
Tikkanen, EsaEsa Tikkanen	LW	20	2	10	12	2	-4	1	0	2
Reekie, JoeJoe Reekie	D	68	2	8	10	70	15	0	0	1
Bellows, BrianBrian Bellows	LW	11	6	3	9	6	-3	5	0	2
Pivonka, MichalMichal Pivonka	C	33	3	6	9	20	5	0	0	1
Witt, BrendanBrendan Witt	D	64	1	7	8	112	-11	0	0	0
Toms, JeffJeff Toms	C	33	3	4	7	8	-11	0	0	1
Klee, KenKen Klee	D	51	4	2	6	46	-3	0	0	1
Brown, JeffJeff Brown	D	9	0	6	6	6	4	0	0	0
Svejkovsky, JaroslavJaroslav Svejkovsky	RW	17	4	1	5	10	-5	2	0	1
Eagles, MikeMike Eagles	C/LW	36	1	3	4	16	-2	0	0	0
Benda, JanJan Benda	C	9	0	3	3	6	1	0	0	0
Baumgartner, NolanNolan Baumgartner	D	4	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Gratton, BenoitBenoit Gratton	C	6	0	1	1	6	1	0	0	0
Kolzig, OlafOlaf Kolzig	G	64	0	1	1	12	0	0	0	0
Ranford, BillBill Ranford	G	22	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Church, BradBrad Church	LW	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Harlock, DavidDavid Harlock	D	6	0	0	0	4	2	0	0	0
Hay, DwayneDwayne Hay	LW	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Malgunas, StewartStewart Malgunas	D	8	0	0	0	12	1	0	0	0
Mulhern, RyanRyan Mulhern	C	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Peake, PatPat Peake	C	1	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Kolzig, OlafOlaf Kolzig	3788	64	33	18	10	139	2.20	5	1729	1590	.920
Ranford, BillBill Ranford	1183	22	7	12	2	55	2.79	0	555	500	.901
Team:	4971	82	40	30	12	194	2.34	5	2284	2090	.915

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Juneau, JoeJoe Juneau	C	21	7	10	17	8	1	1	4
Oates, AdamAdam Oates	C	21	6	11	17	8	1	1	1
Nikolishin, AndreiAndrei Nikolishin	C	21	1	13	14	12	1	0	0
Bellows, BrianBrian Bellows	LW	21	6	7	13	6	2	0	1
Bondra, PeterPeter Bondra	RW	17	7	5	12	12	3	0	2
Gonchar, SergeiSergei Gonchar	D	21	7	4	11	30	3	1	2
Zednik, RichardRichard Zednik	RW	17	7	3	10	16	2	0	0
Johansson, CalleCalle Johansson	D	21	2	8	10	16	0	0	0
Tikkanen, EsaEsa Tikkanen	LW	21	3	3	6	20	1	0	0
Housley, PhilPhil Housley	D	18	0	4	4	4	0	0	0
Hunter, DaleDale Hunter	C	21	0	4	4	30	0	0	0
Krygier, ToddTodd Krygier	LW	13	1	2	3	6	0	0	1
Reekie, JoeJoe Reekie	D	21	1	2	3	20	0	0	0
Tinordi, MarkMark Tinordi	D	21	1	2	3	42	0	0	0
Pivonka, MichalMichal Pivonka	C	13	0	3	3	0	0	0	0
Brown, JeffJeff Brown	D	2	0	2	2	0	0	0	0
Eagles, MikeMike Eagles	C/LW	12	0	2	2	2	0	0	0
Berube, CraigCraig Berube	LW	21	1	0	1	21	0	0	1
Klee, KenKen Klee	D	9	1	0	1	10	0	0	0
Simon, ChrisChris Simon	LW	18	1	0	1	26	0	0	0
Witt, BrendanBrendan Witt	D	16	1	0	1	14	0	0	0
Miller, KellyKelly Miller	LW	10	0	1	1	4	0	0	0
Kolzig, OlafOlaf Kolzig	G	21	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
Svejkovsky, JaroslavJaroslav Svejkovsky	RW	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Toms, JeffJeff Toms	C	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Kolzig, OlafOlaf Kolzig	1351	21	12	9	44	1.95	4	740	696	.941
Team:	1351	21	12	9	44	1.95	4	740	696	.941

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
      MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage;

See also

• 1997–98 NHL season

References

• Capitals on Hockey Database