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 marked the fourth consecutive, and most recent, Stanley Cup Final to end in a sweep.
The Red Wings became the fourth franchise to win the Stanley Cup in back-to-back sweeps, joining the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, and New York Islanders, and remain the most recent team to accomplish this feat.
Detroit coach Scotty Bowman won his eighth Stanley Cup in that capacity (having previously done so with the Montreal Canadiens in , , , , and , the Pittsburgh Penguins in , 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
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 while with the Carolina Hurricanes during their championship season, having coached the American ice hockey team during the Torino Olympics.
Game one
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 summaryPeriodTeamGoalAssist(s)TimeScore1st DET Joe Kocur (4) Doug Brown (1) and Tomas Holmstrom (9) 14:04 1–0 DET DET Nicklas Lidstrom (6) Steve Yzerman (17) and Tomas Holmstrom (10) 16:18 2–0 DET2nd WSH Richard Zednik (7) Andrei Nikolishin (12) and Peter Bondra (5) 15:57 2–1 DET3rdNonePenalty summaryPeriodTeamPlayerPenaltyTimePIM1st DET Martin Lapointe Tripping 04:21 2:00 WSH Mark Tinordi Interference 17:22 2:002nd 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 2:003rd WSH Andrei Nikolishin Interference 00:38 2:00 DET Joe Kocur Roughing 04:19 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total WSH 6 4 7 17 DET 10 9 12 31
Game two
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 summaryPeriodTeamGoalAssist(s)TimeScore1st DET Steve Yzerman (5) Tomas Holmstrom (11) and Nicklas Lidstrom (13) 07:49 1–0 DET2nd WSH Peter Bondra (7) Andrei Nikolishin (13) and Jeff Brown (1) 01:51 1–1 WSH Chris Simon (1) Jeff Brown (2) and Dale Hunter (4) 06:11 2–1 WSH WSH Adam Oates (6) Joe Juneau (8) and Calle Johansson (8) 11:03 3–1 WSH3rd DET Steve Yzerman (6) – sh Viacheslav Fetisov (1) and Darren McCarty (7) 06:37 3–2 WSH WSH Joe Juneau (7) – pp Sergei Gonchar (4) and Brian Bellows (7) 07:05 4–2 WSH DET Martin Lapointe (8) Igor Larionov (9) and Viacheslav Fetisov (2) 08:08 4–3 WSH DET Doug Brown (2) Unassisted 15:46 4–4OT DET Kris Draper (1) Martin Lapointe (6) and Brendan Shanahan (4) 15:24 5–4 DETPenalty summaryPeriodTeamPlayerPenaltyTimePIM1st WSH Joe Reekie Holding – Obstruction 13:05 2:00 WSH Peter Bondra Hooking – Obstruction 15:22 2:002nd 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 2:003rd DET Nicklas Lidstrom Interference 06:23 2:00 WSH Richard Zednik Cross checking 10:18 2:00 DET Martin Lapointe Interference 11:40 2:00OT DET Joe Kocur Roughing 05:24 2:00 WSH Esa Tikkanen Roughing 05:24 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT Total WSH 8 15 7 3 33 DET 14 14 20 12 60
Game three
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 summaryPeriodTeamGoalAssist(s)TimeScore1st DET Tomas Holmstrom (7) Steve Yzerman (18) and Darren McCarty (8) 00:35 1–0 DET2ndNone3rd WSH Brian Bellows (5) – pp Adam Oates (10) and Joe Juneau (9) 10:35 1–1 DET Sergei Fedorov (10) Doug Brown (2) and Viacheslav Fetisov (3) 15:09 2–1 DETPenalty summaryPeriodTeamPlayerPenaltyTimePIM1st 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 2:002nd 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 2:003rd WSH Sergei Gonchar Roughing 05:50 2:00 DET Darren McCarty Tripping 09:22 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 13 11 10 34 1 12 5 18
Game four
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 summaryPeriodTeamGoalAssist(s)TimeScore1st DET Doug Brown (3) – pp Sergei Fedorov (9) and Larry Murphy (12) 10:30 1–0 DET2nd DET Martin Lapointe (9) Igor Larionov (10) and Bob Rouse (3) 02:26 2–0 DET WSH Brian Bellows (6) Adam Oates (11) and Joe Juneau (10) 07:49 2–1 DET DET Larry Murphy (3) – pp Tomas Holmstrom (12) and Sergei Fedorov (10) 11:46 3–1 DET3rd DET Doug Brown (4) – pp Vyacheslav Kozlov (8) and Anders Eriksson (5) 01:32 4–1 DETPenalty summaryPeriodTeamPlayerPenaltyTimePIM1st DET Anders Eriksson Interference 07:17 2:00 WSH Peter Bondra Interference 09:12 2:00 WSH Calle Johansson Roughing 11:01 2:002nd 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 2:003rd DET Viacheslav Fetisov Roughing 13:08 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 14 12 12 38 6 14 11 31
Team rosters Bolded years under Finals appearance indicates year won Stanley Cup.
Detroit Red Wings
#NatPlayerPositionHandAcquiredPlace of birthFinals appearance 30 G L 1991Peace River, Alberta third 31 G L Winnipeg, Manitoba second 2 D L Moscow, Soviet Union third 3 D R Surrey, British Columbia third 5 – A D L 1989Krylbo, Sweden third 15 D R Moscow, Soviet Union first 16 D R 1989Murmansk, Soviet Union third 27 D R Windsor, Ontario second 34 D L Newmarket, Ontario third 44 D L 1993Bollnäs, Sweden first 55 D R Scarborough, Ontario fourth 8 C L Voskresensk, Soviet Union second 11 LW R 1994Sherbrooke, Quebec second 13 LW L 1990Voskresensk, Soviet Union third 14 – A LW R Etobicoke, Ontario second 17 RW R Southborough, Massachusetts third 18 RW R Guelph, Ontario second 19 – C C R 1983Burnaby, British Columbia third 20 RW R 1991Ville St. Pierre, Quebec third 22 RW R 1991Toronto, Ontario first 25 RW R 1992Burnaby, British Columbia third 26 RW R Kelvington, Saskatchewan third 33 C L Toronto, Ontario third 41 C L Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan second 91 C L 1989Pskov, Soviet Union third 96 LW L 1994Piteå, Sweden second
Washington Capitals
#NatPlayerPositionHandAcquiredPlace of birthFinals appearance 30 G L Brandon, Manitoba third 37 G L 1989Johannesburg, South Africa first 2 D R 1990Indianapolis, Indiana first 6 – A D L Gothenburg, Sweden first 19 D L 1993Humboldt, Saskatchewan first 24 D L Red Deer, Alberta second 28 D R Ottawa, Ontario second 29 D L Victoria, British Columbia first 55 D L 1992Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union first 96 D L Saint Paul, Minnesota first 9 LW L Chicago Heights, Illinois first 10 LW L Lansing, Michigan first 11 LW L Helsinki, Finland sixth 12 RW L 1990Bakovtsi, Soviet Union first 13 C L Vorkuta, Soviet Union first 17 LW L Wawa, Ontario second 20 C L 1984Kladno, Czechoslovakia first 21 C L Swift Current, Saskatchewan first 22 LW L 1991Salt Lake City, Utah first 23 RW R St. Catharines, Ontario third 27 LW L Calahoo, Alberta first 32 – C C L Petrolia, Ontario first 36 C/RW L Sussex, New Brunswick first 44 RW L 1994Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia first 77 – A C R Weston, Ontario first 90 C L 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
Engraving notes Detroit successfully requested an exemption to engrave the names of two players who did not automatically qualify. #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. 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.
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