1997–98 New York Rangers season

1997–98 New York Rangers
Division	5th Atlantic
Conference	11th Eastern
1997–98 record	25–39–18
Goals for	197
Goals against	231
Team information
General Manager	Neil Smith
Coach	Colin Campbell John Muckler
Captain	Brian Leetch
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Team leaders
Goals	Wayne Gretzky/Alexei Kovalev/Pat LaFontaine/Brian Leetch (23)
Assists	Wayne Gretzky (67)
Points	Wayne Gretzky (90)
Penalties in minutes	Darren Langdon (197)
Wins	Mike Richter (21)
Goals against average	Dan Cloutier (2.50)
<1996–97	1998–99>

The 1997–98 New York Rangers season was the 72nd season for the team in the National Hockey League. The Rangers posted a 25–39–18 record in the regular season and finished in fifth place in the Atlantic Division.^[1] New York missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 1992–93 season.^[2]

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Atlantic Division

No.		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	New Jersey Devils	82	48	23	11	225	166	107
2	Philadelphia Flyers	82	42	29	11	242	193	95
3	Washington Capitals	82	40	30	12	219	202	92
4	New York Islanders	82	30	41	11	212	225	71
5	New York Rangers	82	25	39	18	197	231	68
6	Florida Panthers	82	24	43	15	203	256	63
7	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	17	55	10	151	269	44

Schedule and Results

1997-98 Game Log
October: 3-6-5 (Home: 2-3-3; Road: 1-3-2) Game October Opponent Score Record 1 3 New York Islanders 2 - 2 OT 0-0-1 2 5 Los Angeles Kings 2 - 2 OT 0-0-2 3 8 @ Edmonton Oilers 3 - 3 OT 0-0-3 4 9 @ Calgary Flames 1 - 1 OT 0-0-4 5 11 @ Vancouver Canucks 6 - 3 1-0-4 6 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 1 - 0 1-1-4 7 15 @ Ottawa Senators 5 - 1 1-2-4 8 18 @ St. Louis Blues 5 - 3 1-3-4 9 20 Carolina Hurricanes 4 - 2 2-3-4 10 22 Chicago Blackhawks 1 - 0 2-4-4 11 24 Tampa Bay Lightning 4 - 3 3-4-4 12 26 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 3 - 3 OT 3-4-5 13 28 Dallas Stars 3 - 2 3-5-5 14 30 @ New York Islanders 5 - 3 3-6-5
November: 5-5-4 (Home: 2-2-2; Road: 3-3-2) Game November Opponent Score Record 15 3 Edmonton Oilers 2 - 2 OT 3-6-6 16 5 @ Colorado Avalanche 4 - 2 4-6-6 17 7 @ Dallas Stars 2 - 2 OT 4-6-7 18 12 New Jersey Devils 3 - 2 4-7-7 19 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 3 - 1 5-7-7 20 16 Colorado Avalanche 4 - 1 6-7-7 21 18 @ Florida Panthers 3 - 1 7-7-7 22 19 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 6 - 3 7-8-7 23 21 @ Carolina Hurricanes 4 - 3 8-8-7 24 22 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 4 - 3 OT 8-9-7 25 25 Vancouver Canucks 4 - 2 8-10-7 26 26 @ New York Islanders 4 - 1 8-11-7 27 28 @ Buffalo Sabres 3 - 3 OT 8-11-8 28 30 Florida Panthers 1 - 1 OT 8-11-9
December: 4-7-3 (Home: 3-4-1; Road: 1-3-2) Game December Opponent Score Record 29 2 Washington Capitals 3 - 2 OT 8-12-9 30 5 Philadelphia Flyers 4 - 4 OT 8-12-10 31 6 @ Montreal Canadiens 3 - 3 OT 8-12-11 32 8 Phoenix Coyotes 3 - 1 9-12-11 33 10 Calgary Flames 4 - 1 9-13-11 34 12 Florida Panthers 4 - 3 9-14-11 35 16 @ New Jersey Devils 4 - 3 9-15-11 36 17 @ Florida Panthers 4 - 2 10-15-11 37 20 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 2 - 2 OT 10-15-12 38 21 Buffalo Sabres 2 - 0 10-16-12 39 23 Tampa Bay Lightning 4 - 1 11-16-12 40 26 @ Buffalo Sabres 3 - 0 11-17-12 41 28 Boston Bruins 4 - 3 12-17-12 42 31 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 2 - 0 12-18-12
January: 4-4-3 (Home: 3-2-2; Road: 1-2-1) Game January Opponent Score Record 43 3 @ Washington Capitals 3 - 2 13-18-12 44 6 Carolina Hurricanes 4 - 2 14-18-12 45 8 Washington Capitals 5 - 3 14-19-12 46 12 Toronto Maple Leafs 3 - 2 15-19-12 47 14 @ New Jersey Devils 4 - 1 15-20-12 48 20 St. Louis Blues 3 - 1 16-20-12 49 22 Philadelphia Flyers 4 - 3 16-21-12 50 24 New Jersey Devils 3 - 3 OT 16-21-13 51 26 Washington Capitals 2 - 2 OT 16-21-14 52 29 @ Ottawa Senators 2 - 2 OT 16-21-15 53 31 @ Boston Bruins 4 - 2 16-22-15
February: 2-3-1 (Home: 0-1-0; Road: 2-2-1) Game February Opponent Score Record 54 2 @ San Jose Sharks 3 - 2 17-22-15 55 4 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 3 - 2 17-23-15 56 5 @ Los Angeles Kings 3 - 1 17-24-15 57 7 @ Phoenix Coyotes 1 - 1 OT 17-24-16 58 26 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 5 - 2 18-24-16 59 28 Philadelphia Flyers 3 - 1 18-25-16
March: 4-9-2 (Home: 3-4-1; Road: 1-5-1) Game March Opponent Score Record 60 2 Buffalo Sabres 1 - 0 18-26-16 61 4 @ Florida Panthers 4 - 3 19-26-16 62 7 @ New Jersey Devils 6 - 3 19-27-16 63 9 New Jersey Devils 2 - 2 OT 19-27-17 64 11 San Jose Sharks 5 - 3 20-27-17 65 12 @ Montreal Canadiens 4 - 1 20-28-17 66 14 @ Boston Bruins 5 - 1 20-29-17 67 16 Ottawa Senators 5 - 4 21-29-17 68 18 Montreal Canadiens 2 - 1 OT 22-29-17 69 21 Detroit Red Wings 4 - 3 22-30-17 70 22 @ Philadelphia Flyers 5 - 4 OT 22-31-17 71 25 Ottawa Senators 3 - 2 OT 22-32-17 72 26 @ Carolina Hurricanes 4 - 1 22-33-17 73 28 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 2 - 2 OT 22-33-18 74 30 Tampa Bay Lightning 3 - 1 22-34-18
April: 3-5-0 (Home: 1-2-0; Road: 2-3-0) Game April Opponent Score Record 75 1 Boston Bruins 4 - 2 22-35-18 76 4 @ New York Islanders 3 - 0 22-36-18 77 5 @ Chicago Blackhawks 2 - 1 OT 23-36-18 78 7 Montreal Canadiens 3 - 2 23-37-18 79 11 @ Detroit Red Wings 5 - 2 23-38-18 80 14 @ Washington Capitals 3 - 1 23-39-18 81 15 New York Islanders 4 - 2 24-39-18 82 18 @ Philadelphia Flyers 2 - 1 25-39-18

Playoffs

The Rangers failed to qualify for the 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs, missing the playoffs for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 1994.^[3]

Player stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Gretzky, WayneWayne Gretzky 82 23 67 90 -11 28 LaFontaine, PatPat LaFontaine 67 23 39 62 -16 36 Kovalev, AlexeiAlexei Kovalev 73 23 30 53 -22 44 Leetch, BrianBrian Leetch 76 17 33 50 -36 32 Sundstrom, NiklasNiklas Sundstrom 70 19 28 47 0 24 Stevens, KevinKevin Stevens 80 14 27 41 -7 130 Graves, AdamAdam Graves 72 23 12 35 -30 41 Sweeney, TimTim Sweeney 56 11 18 29 7 26 Driver, BruceBruce Driver 75 5 15 20 -3 46 Keane, MikeMike Keane‡ 70 8 10 18 -12 47 Samuelsson, UlfUlf Samuelsson 73 3 9 12 1 122 Skrudland, BrianBrian Skrudland‡ 59 5 6 11 -4 39 Eastwood, MikeMike Eastwood‡ 48 5 5 10 -2 16 Karpovtsev, AlexanderAlexander Karpovtsev 47 3 7 10 -1 38 Berg, BillBill Berg 67 1 9 10 -15 55 Finley, JeffJeff Finley 63 1 6 7 -3 55 Langdon, DarrenDarren Langdon 70 3 3 6 0 197 Savard, MarcMarc Savard 28 1 5 6 -4 4 Stock, P.J.P.J. Stock 38 2 3 5 4 114 Beukeboom, JeffJeff Beukeboom 63 0 5 5 -25 195 Vorobiev, VladimirVladimir Vorobiev 15 2 2 4 -10 6 Lindbom, JohanJohan Lindbom 38 1 3 4 4 28 Lidster, DougDoug Lidster 36 0 4 4 2 24 Cairns, EricEric Cairns 39 0 3 3 -3 92 Goneau, DanielDaniel Goneau 11 2 0 2 -4 4 Smith, GeoffGeoff Smith 15 1 1 2 -4 6 VandenBussche, RyanRyan VandenBussche‡ 16 1 0 1 -2 38 Galanov, MaximMaxim Galanov 6 0 1 1 1 2 Blouin, SylvainSylvain Blouin 1 0 0 0 0 5 Ferraro, PeterPeter Ferraro† 1 0 0 0 -2 2 Smyth, BradBrad Smyth† 1 0 0 0 0 0 Sundin, RonnieRonnie Sundin 1 0 0 0 0 0 York, HarryHarry York† 2 0 0 0 -1 0 Sevigny, PierrePierre Sevigny 3 0 0 0 0 2 Errey, BobBob Errey† 12 0 0 0 -5 7

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SA = Shots against; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; G= Goals; A= Assists; PIM= Penalties in Minutes

Regular season
Player GP Min W L T GA GAA SA Sv% SO Richter, MikeMike Richter 72 4143 21 31 15 184 2.66 2072 .903 0 Cloutier, DanDan Cloutier 12 551 4 5 1 23 2.50 271 .907 0 Muzzatti, JasonJason Muzzatti‡ 6 313 0 3 2 17 3.26 173 .891 0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
^‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.

^[4]

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the Civic Arena.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	19	Stefan Cherneski	RW	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
2	46	Wes Jarvis	D	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
3	73	Burke Henry	D	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
4	93	Tomi Kallarsson	D	Finland	HPK Junior (Finland)
5	126	Jason McLean	G	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
5	134	Johan Lindbom	RW	Sweden	HV71 Jonkoping (SEL)
6	136	Mike York	C	United States	Michigan State University (NCAA)
6	154	Shawn Degagne	G	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
7	175	Johan Holmqvist	G	Sweden	Brynas IF (SEL)
7	182	Mike Mottau	D	United States	Boston College (NCAA)
8	210	Andrew Proskurnicki	LW	Canada	Sarnia Sting (OHL)
9	236	Richard Miller	D	United States	Providence College (NCAA)

See also

• 1997–98 NHL season

References

New York Rangers seasons 1920s 1920–21 · 1921–22 · 1922–23 · 1923–24 · 1924–25 · 1925–26 · 1926–27 · 1927–28 · 1928–29 · 1929–30 1930s 1930–31 · 1931–32 · 1932–33 · 1933–34 · 1934–35 · 1935–36 · 1936–37 · 1937–38 · 1938–39 · 1939–40 1940s 1940–41 · 1941–42 · 1942–43 · 1943–44 · 1944–45 · 1945–46 · 1946–47 · 1947–48 · 1948–49 · 1949–50 1950s 1950–51 · 1951–52 · 1952–53 · 1953–54 · 1954–55 · 1955–56 · 1956–57 · 1957–58 · 1958–59 · 1959–60 1960s 1960–61 · 1961–62 · 1962–63 · 1963–64 · 1964–65 · 1965–66 · 1966–67 · 1967–68 · 1968–69 · 1969–70 1970s 1970–71 · 1971–72 · 1972–73 · 1973–74 · 1974–75 · 1975–76 · 1976–77 · 1977–78 · 1978–79 · 1979–80 1980s 1980–81 · 1981–82 · 1982–83 · 1983–84 · 1984–85 · 1985–86 · 1986–87 · 1987–88 · 1988–89 · 1989–90 1990s 1990–91 · 1991–92 · 1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–00 2000s 2000–01 · 2001–02 · 2002–03 · 2003–04 · 2004–05 · 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10 2010s 2010–11 · 2011–12 Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

1997–98 NHL season by team Northeast Division Boston • Buffalo • Carolina • Montreal • Ottawa • Pittsburgh Atlantic Division Florida • New Jersey • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Philadelphia • Tampa Bay • Washington Central Division Chicago • Dallas • Detroit • Phoenix • St. Louis • Toronto Pacific Division Anaheim • Calgary • Colorado • Edmonton • L.A.• San Jose • Vancouver See also 1997 NHL Entry Draft • Stanley Cup Playoffs • Stanley Cup Finals