1997–98 Colorado Avalanche season

1997–98 Colorado Avalanche
1997–98 Colorado Avalanche
Pacific Division champions
Division	1st Pacific
Conference	2nd Western
1997–98 record	39–26–17
Home record	21–10–10
Road record	18–16–7
Goals for	231
Goals against	205
Team information
General manager	Pierre Lacroix
Coach	Marc Crawford
Captain	Joe Sakic
Alternate captains	Claude Lemieux; Adam Foote
Arena	McNichols Sports Arena
Average attendance	16,061
Minor league affiliate(s)	Hershey Bears
Team leaders
Goals	Joe Sakic (27)
Assists	Peter Forsberg (66)
Points	Peter Forsberg (91)
Penalty minutes	Jeff Odgers (213)
Plus/minus	Uwe Krupp (+21)
Wins	Patrick Roy (31)
Goals against average	Craig Billington (2.32)
	← 1996–97 1998–99 →

The 1997–98 Colorado Avalanche season was the Avalanche's third season.

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division
No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Colorado Avalanche	82	39	26	17	231	205	95
2	5	Los Angeles Kings	82	38	33	11	227	225	87
3	7	Edmonton Oilers	82	35	37	10	215	224	80
4	8	San Jose Sharks	82	34	38	10	210	216	78
5	11	Calgary Flames	82	26	41	15	217	252	67
6	12	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	82	26	43	13	205	261	65
7	13	Vancouver Canucks	82	25	43	14	224	273	64

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference^[1]
R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Dallas Stars	CEN	82	49	22	11	242	167	109
2	x – Colorado Avalanche	PAC	82	39	26	17	231	205	95
3	Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	44	23	15	250	196	103
4	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	45	29	8	256	204	98
5	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	38	33	11	227	225	87
6	Phoenix Coyotes	CEN	82	35	35	12	224	227	82
7	Edmonton Oilers	PAC	82	35	37	10	215	224	80
8	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	34	38	10	210	216	78

9	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	30	39	13	192	199	73
10	Toronto Maple Leafs	CEN	82	30	43	9	194	237	69
11	Calgary Flames	PAC	82	26	41	15	217	252	67
12	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	26	43	13	205	261	65
13	Vancouver Canucks	PAC	82	25	43	14	224	273	64

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won Division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Schedule and results

Regular season

1997–98 regular season^[2]

October: 7–2–5 (home: 4–0–3; road: 3–2–2)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
1	T	October 1, 1997	2–2 OT	Dallas Stars (1997–98)	0–0–1	Recap
2	W	October 3, 1997	4–1	@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)	1–0–1	Recap
3	W	October 5, 1997	3–0	@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	2–0–1	Recap
4	W	October 7, 1997	3–2	Boston Bruins (1997–98)	3–0–1	Recap
5	W	October 9, 1997	3–2	San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	4–0–1	Recap
6	T	October 11, 1997	3–3 OT	Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	4–0–2	Recap
7	W	October 15, 1997	6–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	5–0–2	Recap
8	L	October 17, 1997	5–6 OT	@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)	5–1–2	Recap
9	T	October 19, 1997	4–4 OT	@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	5–1–3	Recap
10	W	October 22, 1997	4–3	Washington Capitals (1997–98)	6–1–3	Recap
11	T	October 24, 1997	3–3 OT	Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	6–1–4	Recap
12	L	October 25, 1997	1–3	@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)	6–2–4	Recap
13	W	October 28, 1997	3–2	Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	7–2–4	Recap
14	T	October 30, 1997	2–2 OT	@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)	7–2–5	Recap

November: 6–4–3 (home: 2–2–1; road: 4–2–2)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
15	T	November 1, 1997	3–3 OT	Calgary Flames (1997–98)	7–2–6	Recap
16	L	November 5, 1997	2–4	New York Rangers (1997–98)	7–3–6	Recap
17	W	November 8, 1997	4–1	St. Louis Blues (1997–98)	8–3–6	Recap
18	W	November 11, 1997	2–0	@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	9–3–6	Recap
19	W	November 13, 1997	2–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	10–3–6	Recap
20	L	November 14, 1997	1–4	@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	10–4–6	Recap
21	L	November 16, 1997	1–4	@ New York Rangers (1997–98)	10–5–6	Recap
22	T	November 18, 1997	6–6 OT	@ Washington Capitals (1997–98)	10–5–7	Recap
23	W	November 21, 1997	3–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	11–5–7	Recap
24	L	November 23, 1997	1–2 OT	Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	11–6–7	Recap
25	T	November 26, 1997	3–3 OT	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)	11–6–8	Recap
26	W	November 28, 1997	3–2	@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)	12–6–8	Recap
27	W	November 29, 1997	3–2	@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	13–6–8	Recap

December: 8–2–4 (home: 5–0–3; road: 3–2–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
28	W	December 2, 1997	4–2	Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	14–6–8	Recap
29	W	December 4, 1997	2–1	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	15–6–8	Recap
30	W	December 6, 1997	6–4	Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	16–6–8	Recap
31	L	December 8, 1997	2–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	16–7–8	Recap
32	T	December 10, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	16–7–9	Recap
33	L	December 12, 1997	1–3	@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)	16–8–9	Recap
34	W	December 13, 1997	5–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	17–8–9	Recap
35	W	December 15, 1997	3–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	18–8–9	Recap
36	T	December 17, 1997	2–2 OT	Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	18–8–10	Recap
37	T	December 19, 1997	3–3 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	18–8–11	Recap
38	W	December 23, 1997	5–1	Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	19–8–11	Recap
39	W	December 27, 1997	5–1	@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	20–8–11	Recap
40	T	December 29, 1997	1–1 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	20–8–12	Recap
41	W	December 31, 1997	3–1	New York Islanders (1997–98)	21–8–12	Recap

January: 5–5–4 (home: 3–3–3; road: 2–2–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
42	T	January 2, 1998	2–2 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	21–8–13	Recap
43	W	January 3, 1998	5–4 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	22–8–13	Recap
44	L	January 6, 1998	1–3	Calgary Flames (1997–98)	22–9–13	Recap
45	T	January 8, 1998	4–4 OT	Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	22–9–14	Recap
46	T	January 10, 1998	3–3 OT	Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	22–9–15	Recap
47	W	January 12, 1998	3–1	Florida Panthers (1997–98)	23–9–15	Recap
48	W	January 14, 1998	2–0	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	24–9–15	Recap
49	T	January 15, 1998	2–2 OT	San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	24–9–16	Recap
50	L	January 21, 1998	2–3	@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)	24–10–16	Recap
51	L	January 22, 1998	3–4	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	24–11–16	Recap
52	L	January 24, 1998	2–3	Dallas Stars (1997–98)	24–12–16	Recap
53	W	January 26, 1998	2–1 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	25–12–16	Recap
54	W	January 28, 1998	6–1	Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	26–12–16	Recap
55	L	January 31, 1998	2–5	@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	26–13–16	Recap

February: 5–1–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 2–0–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
56	W	February 2, 1998	2–1	@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	27–13–16	Recap
57	W	February 5, 1998	4–2	Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	28–13–16	Recap
58	W	February 7, 1998	3–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	29–13–16	Recap
59	W	February 25, 1998	4–2	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	30–13–16	Recap
60	W	February 26, 1998	3–0	Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	31–13–16	Recap
61	L	February 28, 1998	0–4	Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	31–14–16	Recap

March: 6–7–0 (home: 2–3–0; road: 4–4–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
62	L	March 2, 1998	4–5 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	31–15–16	Recap
63	W	March 4, 1998	5–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	32–15–16	Recap
64	L	March 5, 1998	2–4	@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	32–16–16	Recap
65	W	March 7, 1998	4–2	@ New York Islanders (1997–98)	33–16–16	Recap
66	L	March 9, 1998	1–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)	33–17–16	Recap
67	W	March 11, 1998	3–2	St. Louis Blues (1997–98)	34–17–16	Recap
68	L	March 14, 1998	2–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	34–18–16	Recap
69	L	March 15, 1998	3–5	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	34–19–16	Recap
70	W	March 19, 1998	4–3	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	35–19–16	Recap
71	W	March 21, 1998	2–0	@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	36–19–16	Recap
72	L	March 26, 1998	0–2	New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	36–20–16	Recap
73	W	March 28, 1998	5–3	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	37–20–16	Recap
74	L	March 30, 1998	1–4	@ Boston Bruins (1997–98)	37–21–16	Recap

April: 2–5–1 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–4–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
75	L	April 1, 1998	0–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	37–22–16	Recap
76	L	April 2, 1998	1–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	37–23–16	Recap
77	L	April 4, 1998	1–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)	37–24–16	Recap
78	L	April 6, 1998	1–3	Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	37–25–16	Recap
79	L	April 11, 1998	3–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	37–26–16	Recap
80	T	April 13, 1998	2–2 OT	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	37–26–17	Recap
81	W	April 16, 1998	4–1	San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	38–26–17	Recap
82	W	April 18, 1998	4–3	Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	39–26–17	Recap

Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1998 Stanley Cup playoffs^[2]

Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (7) Edmonton Oilers – Oilers win 4–3

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Series	Recap
1	L	April 22, 1998	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	Oilers lead 1–0	Recap
2	W	April 24, 1998	5–2	Edmonton Oilers	Series tied 1–1	Recap
3	W	April 26, 1998	5–4 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers	Avalanche lead 2–1	Recap
4	W	April 28, 1998	3–1	@ Edmonton Oilers	Avalanche lead 3–1	Recap
5	L	April 30, 1998	1–3	Edmonton Oilers	Avalanche lead 3–2	Recap
6	L	May 2, 1998	0–2	@ Edmonton Oilers	Series tied 3–3	Recap
7	L	May 4, 1998	0–4	Edmonton Oilers	Oilers win 4–3	Recap

Legend: Win Loss

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 Avalanche only.
‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
21	Peter Forsberg	C	72	25	66	91	6	94	7	6	5	11	3	12
13	Valeri Kamensky	LW	75	26	40	66	−2	60	7	2	3	5	1	18
19	Joe Sakic	C	64	27	36	63	0	50	6	2	3	5	0	6
22	Claude Lemieux	RW	78	26	27	53	−7	115	7	3	3	6	2	8
8	Sandis Ozolinsh	D	66	13	38	51	−12	65	7	0	7	7	−3	14
18	Adam Deadmarsh	RW	73	22	21	43	0	125	7	2	0	2	−1	4
28	Eric Lacroix	LW	82	16	15	31	0	84	7	0	0	0	−2	6
4	Uwe Krupp	D	78	9	22	31	21	38	7	0	1	1	2	4
20	Rene Corbet	LW	68	16	12	28	8	133	2	0	0	0	0	2
26	Stephane Yelle	C	81	7	15	22	−10	48	7	1	0	1	−3	12
17	Jari Kurri	RW	70	5	17	22	6	12	4	0	0	0	−1	0
52	Adam Foote	D	77	3	14	17	−3	124	7	0	0	0	−1	23
29	Eric Messier	LW	62	4	12	16	4	20	—	—	—	—	—	—
24	Jon Klemm	D	67	6	8	14	−3	30	4	0	0	0	1	0
5	Alexei Gusarov	D	72	4	10	14	9	42	7	0	1	1	1	6
16	Jeff Odgers†	RW	68	5	8	13	5	213	6	0	0	0	−1	25
12	Shean Donovan†	RW	47	5	7	12	3	48	—	—	—	—	—	—
11	Keith Jones	RW	23	3	7	10	−4	22	7	0	0	0	−1	13
2	Sylvain Lefebvre	D	81	0	10	10	2	48	7	0	0	0	−1	4
10	Josef Marha‡	C	11	2	5	7	0	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
3	Aaron Miller	D	55	2	2	4	0	51	7	0	0	0	0	8
9	Mike Ricci‡	C	6	0	4	4	0	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
14	Tom Fitzgerald†	RW	11	2	1	3	0	22	7	0	1	1	−2	20
27	Francois Leroux	D	50	1	2	3	−3	140	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Patrick Roy	G	65	0	3	3		39	7	0	1	1		0
6	Wade Belak	D	8	1	1	2	−3	27	—	—	—	—	—	—
15	Yves Sarault	LW	2	1	0	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
7	Pascal Trepanier	D	15	0	1	1	−2	18	—	—	—	—	—	—
1	Craig Billington	G	23	0	0	0		2	1	0	0	0		0
40	Brad Larsen	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
14	Christian Matte	RW	5	0	0	0	0	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
10	Warren Rychel†	LW	8	0	0	0	−1	23	6	0	0	0	−2	24

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season										Playoffs
No.	Player	GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
33	Patrick Roy	65	31	19	13	1825	153	2.39	.916	4	3835	7	3	4	191	18	2.51	.906	0	430
1	Craig Billington	23	8	7	4	588	45	2.32	.923	1	1162	1	0	0	0	0	0.00		0	1

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL First All-Star Team	Peter Forsberg (Center)	^[3]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Peter Forsberg^[a]	^[5]
		Valeri Kamensky
		Jari Kurri^[b]
		Sandis Ozolinsh^[a]
		Patrick Roy^[a]
		Joe Sakic
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Eric Messier (October)	^[7]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Pascal Trepanier	October 1, 1997	^[8]
First game	Brad Larsen	March 21, 1998	^[8]

Transactions

Draft picks

Colorado's draft picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[9]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	26	Kevin Grimes	Canada	Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
2	53	Graham Belak	Canada	Edmonton Ice (WHL)
3	55	Rick Berry	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
3	78	Ville Nieminen	Finland	Tappara (Finland)
4	87	Brad Larsen	Canada	Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
5	133	Aaron Miskovich	United States	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)
6	161	David Aebischer	Switzerland	HC Fribourg-Gotteron (Switzerland)
8	217	Doug Schmidt	United States	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
9	243	Kyle Kidney	United States	Salisbury School (USHS-CT)
9	245	Steve Lafleur	Canada	Belleville Bulls (OHL)

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Forsberg, Ozolinsh, and Roy were voted to the starting lineup.^[4]
^ Commissioner’s selection.^[6]

References

"Colorado Avalanche 1997-98 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
"1997-98 Colorado Avalanche Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 7, 2023.

^ "1997-1998 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
^ ^a ^b "1997-98 Colorado Avalanche Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
^ "Postseason All-Star Teams". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
^ "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ "1998 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ Harris, Beth (January 17, 1998). "All-Star game a fitting tribute to Kurri". New Bedford Standard-Times. Retrieved July 9, 2023. Not voted as a starter by the fans and not selected as a reserve by the league, he was one of four players chosen by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
^ "NHL Rookies of the Month". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
^ "1997-98 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
^ "1997 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.