The 1997–98 Boston Bruins season was the team's 74th season. The season involved drafting Joe Thornton first overall.
Regular season The Bruins allowed the fewest shorthanded goals (3) and were the most disciplined team during the regular season, being short-handed only 285 times.
Final standings
Schedule and results
Regular season
|1||October 2, 1997||6–5 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) ||1–0–0 ||
|2||October 4, 1997||1–4 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) ||1–1–0 ||
|3||October 7, 1997||2–3 || align="left"| @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) ||1–2–0 ||
|4||October 8, 1997||3–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) ||2–2–0 ||
|5||October 11, 1997||2–5 || align="left"| @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) ||2–3–0 ||
|6||October 13, 1997||3–0 || align="left"| @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) ||3–3–0 ||
|7||October 15, 1997||5–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) ||4–3–0 ||
|8||October 17, 1997||2–0 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) ||5–3–0 ||
|9||October 18, 1997||3–0 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) ||6–3–0 ||
|10||October 21, 1997||2–1 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) ||7–3–0 ||
|11||October 23, 1997||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) ||7–3–1 ||
|12||October 25, 1997||4–5 || align="left"| Florida Panthers (1997–98) ||7–4–1 ||
|13||October 30, 1997||0–3 || align="left"| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) ||7–5–1 ||
|14||November 1, 1997||3–1 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) ||8–5–1 ||
|15||November 2, 1997||3–1 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) ||9–5–1 ||
|16||November 6, 1997||2–0 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1997–98) ||10–5–1 ||
|17||November 8, 1997||0–2 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) ||10–6–1 ||
|18||November 12, 1997||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) ||10–6–2 ||
|19||November 13, 1997||2–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) ||10–7–2 ||
|20||November 15, 1997||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Ottawa Senators (1997–98) ||10–7–3 ||
|21||November 17, 1997||4–2 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) ||11–7–3 ||
|22||November 19, 1997||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) ||11–7–4 ||
|23||November 20, 1997||0–5 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) ||11–8–4 ||
|24||November 22, 1997||0–2 || align="left"| Dallas Stars (1997–98) ||11–9–4 ||
|25||November 26, 1997||5–10 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (1997–98) ||11–10–4 ||
|26||November 28, 1997||2–5 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) ||11–11–4 ||
|27||November 29, 1997||1–1 OT|| align="left"| Washington Capitals (1997–98) ||11–11–5 ||
|28||December 1, 1997||1–3 || align="left"| @ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) ||11–12–5 ||
|29||December 3, 1997||3–0 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) ||12–12–5 ||
|30||December 6, 1997||4–1 || align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) ||13–12–5 ||
|31||December 11, 1997||2–1 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) ||14–12–5 ||
|32||December 13, 1997||4–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) ||15–12–5 ||
|33||December 15, 1997||6–2 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (1997–98) ||16–12–5 ||
|34||December 17, 1997||0–2 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) ||16–13–5 ||
|35||December 18, 1997||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) ||16–13–6 ||
|36||December 20, 1997||3–4 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1997–98) ||16–14–6 ||
|37||December 22, 1997||2–4 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) ||16–15–6 ||
|38||December 27, 1997||3–1 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) ||17–15–6 ||
|39||December 28, 1997||3–4 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1997–98) ||17–16–6 ||
|40||December 31, 1997||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) ||17–16–7 ||
|41||January 1, 1998||0–0 OT|| align="left"| Ottawa Senators (1997–98) ||17–16–8 ||
|42||January 3, 1998||3–0 || align="left"| San Jose Sharks (1997–98) ||18–16–8 ||
|43||January 7, 1998||2–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) ||19–16–8 ||
|44||January 8, 1998||5–2 || align="left"| Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) ||20–16–8 ||
|45||January 12, 1998||1–1 OT|| align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1997–98) ||20–16–9 ||
|46||January 14, 1998||5–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) ||21–16–9 ||
|47||January 21, 1998||2–4 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) ||21–17–9 ||
|48||January 24, 1998||2–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) ||21–18–9 ||
|49||January 25, 1998||1–4 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) ||21–19–9 ||
|50||January 27, 1998||6–1 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (1997–98) ||22–19–9 ||
|51||January 29, 1998||2–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) ||22–20–9 ||
|52||January 31, 1998||4–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1997–98) ||23–20–9 ||
|53||February 1, 1998||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1997–98) ||23–20–10 ||
|54||February 4, 1998||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) ||23–20–11 ||
|55||February 5, 1998||1–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1997–98) ||23–21–11 ||
|56||February 7, 1998||1–3 || align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) ||23–22–11 ||
|57||February 26, 1998||1–1 OT|| align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) ||23–22–12 ||
|58||February 28, 1998||6–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) ||24–22–12 ||
|59||March 1, 1998||5–4 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1997–98) ||25–22–12 ||
|60||March 3, 1998||3–0 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) ||26–22–12 ||
|61||March 5, 1998||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) ||26–22–13 ||
|62||March 7, 1998||1–2 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) ||26–23–13 ||
|63||March 10, 1998||6–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) ||27–23–13 ||
|64||March 12, 1998||2–5 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1997–98) ||27–24–13 ||
|65||March 14, 1998||5–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1997–98) ||28–24–13 ||
|66||March 16, 1998||4–3 OT|| align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) ||29–24–13 ||
|67||March 19, 1998||4–0 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) ||30–24–13 ||
|68||March 21, 1998||2–1 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) ||31–24–13 ||
|69||March 22, 1998||0–1 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) ||31–25–13 ||
|70||March 26, 1998||4–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) ||32–25–13 ||
|71||March 28, 1998||2–3 OT|| align="left"| Florida Panthers (1997–98) ||32–26–13 ||
|72||March 30, 1998||4–1 || align="left"| Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) ||33–26–13 ||
|73||April 1, 1998||4–2 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1997–98) ||34–26–13 ||
|74||April 3, 1998||4–5 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) ||34–27–13 ||
|75||April 6, 1998||0–3 || align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) ||34–28–13 ||
|76||April 7, 1998||4–2 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) ||35–28–13 ||
|77||April 9, 1998||4–1 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1997–98) ||36–28–13 ||
|78||April 11, 1998||2–3 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1997–98) ||36–29–13 ||
|79||April 13, 1998||3–2 || align="left"| @ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) ||37–29–13 ||
|80||April 15, 1998||6–2 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) ||38–29–13 ||
|81||April 18, 1998||2–5 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) ||38–30–13 ||
|82||April 19, 1998||2–1 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) ||39–30–13 ||
Legend:
Playoffs
| 1 || April 22, 1998 || 1–3 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals || 15,117 || Capitals lead 1–0 ||
| 2 || April 24, 1998 || 4–3 2OT || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals || 19,740 || Series tied 1–1 ||
| 3 || April 26, 1998 || 2–3 2OT || align="left"| Washington Capitals || 15,520 || Capitals lead 2–1 ||
| 4 || April 28, 1998 || 0–3 || align="left"| Washington Capitals || 17,131 || Capitals lead 3–1 ||
| 5 || May 1, 1998 || 4–0 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals || 19,740 || Capitals lead 3–2 ||
| 6 || May 3, 1998 || 2–3 OT || align="left"| Washington Capitals || 15,163 || Capitals lead 4–2 ||
Legend:
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 Bruins only. = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only. Player Regular season Playoffs 41 C 81 33 50 83 33 60 6 2 6 8 0 4 12 RW 82 29 37 66 25 42 6 2 2 4 1 2 77 D 82 13 35 48 2 80 6 1 4 5 −2 2 14 LW 81 22 25 47 9 8 6 2 5 7 1 0 23 RW 61 26 20 46 8 54 6 0 0 0 −4 6 33 RW 78 16 27 43 7 31 6 1 1 2 −3 0 21 LW 79 16 23 39 6 54 5 0 0 0 −3 2 26 C 79 20 11 31 −16 57 6 0 0 0 −2 10 19 RW 79 10 17 27 −13 82 6 1 0 1 −3 8 11 LW 82 8 19 27 −14 38 6 1 0 1 −3 0 18 D 66 5 20 25 13 56 6 1 0 1 −3 4 44 D 82 3 20 23 3 67 6 0 1 1 −1 6 42 C 77 5 13 18 −1 34 6 0 1 1 0 2 32 D 59 1 15 16 12 24 20 D 50 2 8 10 4 36 6 2 1 3 0 0 36 D 22 2 7 9 −2 6 6 0 0 0 −3 2 6 C 55 3 4 7 −6 19 6 0 0 0 0 9 25 D 68 2 4 6 4 47 6 0 0 0 −1 4 27 RW 28 1 5 6 3 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 34 G 65 0 3 3 2 6 0 0 0 0 17 C 13 2 0 2 −3 2 37 D 23 1 1 2 −9 6 29 D 40 1 0 1 −12 86 22 LW 82 0 1 1 −14 199 6 0 0 0 0 14 10 RW 9 0 1 1 1 4 30 G 10 0 0 0 0 28 D 2 0 0 0 −4 0 45 C 3 0 0 0 1 2 60 RW 6 0 0 0 −1 0 39 C 1 0 0 0 0 2 16 C 4 0 0 0 −2 0 43 RW 2 0 0 0 0 0 35 G 14 0 0 0 0
Goaltending Player Regular season Playoffs 34 Byron Dafoe 65 30 25 9 1602 138 2.24 .914 6 3693 6 2 4 159 14 1.99 .912 1 422 35 Robbie Tallas 14 6 3 3 326 24 1.83 .926 1 788 — — — — — — — — — 30 Jim Carey 10 3 2 1 225 24 2.90 .893 2 496 — — — — — — — — —
Awards and records
Awards TypeAward/honorRecipientRef League(annual) Calder Memorial Trophy Sergei Samsonov Jack Adams Award Pat Burns NHL All-Rookie Team Sergei Samsonov (Forward) League(in-season) NHL All-Star Game selection Ray Bourque NHL Rookie of the Month Sergei Samsonov (January) Team Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy Jason Allison Boston Bruins 2014–15 Guide & Record Book, p.239 Seventh Player Award Jason Allison Three Stars Awards Byron Dafoe (1st)Boston Bruins 2014–15 Guide & Record Book, p. 239–40 Jason Allison (2nd) Ray Bourque (3rd)
Milestones MilestonePlayerDateRef First game P. J. Axelsson October 2, 1997 Shawn Bates Sergei Samsonov Joe Thornton October 8, 1997 Hal Gill October 17, 1997 Kirk Nielsen November 1, 1997 Cameron Mann December 18, 1997 Joel Prpic April 9, 1998 1,000th game played David Ellett March 1, 1998
Draft picks Boston's picks at the 1997 NHL entry draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League) 1 1 Joe Thornton Center Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)18Sergei SamsonovLeft wingDetroit Vipers (IHL)227Ben ClymerRight wingUniversity of Wisconsin (WCHA)354Mattias KarlinCenterModo Hockey (Sweden)363Lee GorenRight wingUniversity of North Dakota (WCHA)481Karol BartanusRight wingDrummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)6135Denis TimofeyevDefenseCSKA Moscow (Russia)7162Joel TrottierRight wingOttawa 67's (OHL)7180Jim BaxterDefenseOshawa Generals (OHL)8191Antti LaaksonenLeft wingUniversity of Denver (WCHA)9218Eric Van AckerDefenseChicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)9246Jay HendersonLeft wingEdmonton Ice (WHL)
Notes
References