1997–98 Florida Panthers season

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1997–98 Florida Panthers
Division6th Atlantic
Conference12th Eastern
1997–98 record24–43–15
Home record11–24–6
Road record13–19–9
Goals for203
Goals against256
Team information
General managerBryan Murray
CoachDoug MacLean (Oct-Nov)
Bryan Murray (Nov-Apr)
CaptainScott Mellanby
ArenaMiami Arena
Average attendance14,703
Minor league affiliate(s)Beast of New Haven
Tallahassee Tiger Sharks
Port Huron Border Cats
Team leaders
GoalsRay Whitney (32)
AssistsRobert Svehla (34)
PointsRay Whitney (61)
Penalty minutesPaul Laus (263)
Plus/minusRay Whitney (+10)
WinsJohn Vanbiesbrouck (18)
Goals against averageJohn Vanbiesbrouck (2.87)

The 1997–98 Florida Panthers season was the Panthers' fifth season. After making the Stanley Cup playoffs in 1997, the Panthers failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Offseason[edit]

Regular season[edit]

The Panthers' penalty kill struggled during the regular season and they allowed the most power-play goals in the NHL (82) and had the lowest penalty-kill percentage (79.65%). They also tied the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins for the most short-handed goals allowed, with 16.[1]

On November 26, 1997, the Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins at home by a score of 10–5.[2] Veteran forward Ray Sheppard had a hat trick in the game. It was the first time in franchise history that the Panthers had scored 10 goals in a regular-season game.[3] It also came exactly one year after the last NHL team had scored 10 goals in a regular-season game, as the Edmonton Oilers had defeated their provincial rival Calgary Flames on the road by a score of 10–1 on November 26, 1996.[4]

Final standings[edit]

Atlantic Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 1 New Jersey Devils 82 48 23 11 225 166 107
2 3 Philadelphia Flyers 82 42 29 11 242 193 95
3 4 Washington Capitals 82 40 30 12 219 202 92
4 10 New York Islanders 82 30 41 11 212 225 71
5 11 New York Rangers 82 25 39 18 197 231 68
6 12 Florida Panthers 82 24 43 15 203 256 63
7 13 Tampa Bay Lightning 82 17 55 10 151 269 44
Eastern Conference[5]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 New Jersey Devils ATL 82 48 23 11 225 166 107
2 Pittsburgh Penguins NE 82 40 24 18 228 188 98
3 Philadelphia Flyers ATL 82 42 29 11 242 193 95
4 Washington Capitals ATL 82 40 30 12 219 202 92
5 Boston Bruins NE 82 39 30 13 221 194 91
6 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 36 29 17 211 187 89
7 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 37 32 13 235 208 87
8 Ottawa Senators NE 82 34 33 15 193 200 83
9 Carolina Hurricanes NE 82 33 41 8 200 219 74
10 New York Islanders ATL 82 30 41 11 212 225 71
11 New York Rangers ATL 82 25 39 18 197 231 68
12 Florida Panthers ATL 82 24 43 15 203 256 63
13 Tampa Bay Lightning ATL 82 17 55 10 151 269 44

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs


Schedule and results[edit]

1997–98 regular season[6]
October: 3–6–3 (home: 1–2–2; road: 2–4–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
1 L October 1, 1997 1–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 0–1–0 Recap
2 W October 4, 1997 5–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 1–1–0 Recap
3 L October 11, 1997 3–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 1–2–0 Recap
4 T October 13, 1997 2–2 OT New York Islanders (1997–98) 1–2–1 Recap
5 W October 15, 1997 2–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 2–2–1 Recap
6 L October 16, 1997 0–4 @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) 2–3–1 Recap
7 L October 19, 1997 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 2–4–1 Recap
8 L October 22, 1997 0–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 2–5–1 Recap
9 T October 23, 1997 2–2 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 2–5–2 Recap
10 W October 25, 1997 5–4 @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 3–5–2 Recap
11 T October 28, 1997 2–2 OT Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 3–5–3 Recap
12 L October 30, 1997 2–5 Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 3–6–3 Recap
November: 5–7–2 (home: 2–7–1; road: 3–0–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
13 L November 1, 1997 3–4 OT Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 3–7–3 Recap
14 L November 5, 1997 2–4 New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 3–8–3 Recap
15 W November 6, 1997 4–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 4–8–3 Recap
16 W November 9, 1997 3–2 Washington Capitals (1997–98) 5–8–3 Recap
17 T November 12, 1997 2–2 OT New York Islanders (1997–98) 5–8–4 Recap
18 L November 14, 1997 2–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 5–9–4 Recap
19 W November 15, 1997 1–0 @ New York Islanders (1997–98) 6–9–4 Recap
20 L November 18, 1997 1–3 New York Rangers (1997–98) 6–10–4 Recap
21 L November 20, 1997 1–2 Calgary Flames (1997–98) 6–11–4 Recap
22 W November 22, 1997 2–1 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 7–11–4 Recap
23 L November 23, 1997 2–5 Washington Capitals (1997–98) 7–12–4 Recap
24 W November 26, 1997 10–5 Boston Bruins (1997–98) 8–12–4 Recap
25 L November 28, 1997 2–3 Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 8–13–4 Recap
26 T November 30, 1997 1–1 OT @ New York Rangers (1997–98) 8–13–5 Recap
December: 6–7–1 (home: 1–4–1; road: 5–3–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
27 L December 1, 1997 2–3 Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 8–14–5 Recap
28 L December 5, 1997 2–3 OT @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 8–15–5 Recap
29 W December 7, 1997 5–4 Washington Capitals (1997–98) 9–15–5 Recap
30 W December 10, 1997 5–2 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 10–15–5 Recap
31 W December 12, 1997 4–3 @ New York Rangers (1997–98) 11–15–5 Recap
32 L December 13, 1997 1–4 @ New York Islanders (1997–98) 11–16–5 Recap
33 L December 15, 1997 2–6 Boston Bruins (1997–98) 11–17–5 Recap
34 L December 17, 1997 2–4 New York Rangers (1997–98) 11–18–5 Recap
35 W December 18, 1997 4–0 @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 12–18–5 Recap
36 L December 20, 1997 0–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 12–19–5 Recap
37 L December 23, 1997 2–3 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 12–20–5 Recap
38 W December 26, 1997 5–2 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 13–20–5 Recap
39 W December 27, 1997 6–2 @ New York Islanders (1997–98) 14–20–5 Recap
40 T December 30, 1997 2–2 OT San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 14–20–6 Recap
January: 4–5–5 (home: 4–0–1; road: 0–5–4)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
41 W January 1, 1998 2–1 OT New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 15–20–6 Recap
42 T January 2, 1998 2–2 OT @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 15–20–7 Recap
43 T January 4, 1998 3–3 OT Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 15–20–8 Recap
44 L January 7, 1998 2–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 15–21–8 Recap
45 T January 9, 1998 3–3 OT @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 15–21–9 Recap
46 T January 10, 1998 2–2 OT @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 15–21–10 Recap
47 L January 12, 1998 1–3 @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 15–22–10 Recap
48 L January 14, 1998 2–3 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 15–23–10 Recap
49 L January 21, 1998 3–8 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 15–24–10 Recap
50 L January 22, 1998 1–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 15–25–10 Recap
51 T January 24, 1998 1–1 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 15–25–11 Recap
52 W January 27, 1998 3–0 Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 16–25–11 Recap
53 W January 29, 1998 3–2 Dallas Stars (1997–98) 17–25–11 Recap
54 W January 31, 1998 2–0 Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 18–25–11 Recap
February: 0–4–1 (home: 0–2–1; road: 0–2–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
55 L February 1, 1998 2–5 Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 18–26–11 Recap
56 T February 3, 1998 1–1 OT Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 18–26–12 Recap
57 L February 7, 1998 2–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 18–27–12 Recap
58 L February 25, 1998 2–3 New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 18–28–12 Recap
59 L February 27, 1998 1–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 18–29–12 Recap
March: 3–10–0 (home: 1–5–0; road: 2–5–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
60 L March 4, 1998 3–4 New York Rangers (1997–98) 18–30–12 Recap
61 L March 7, 1998 3–6 @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 18–31–12 Recap
62 L March 9, 1998 1–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 18–32–12 Recap
63 L March 11, 1998 3–5 @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 18–33–12 Recap
64 L March 13, 1998 0–4 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 18–34–12 Recap
65 L March 15, 1998 4–8 Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 18–35–12 Recap
66 L March 17, 1998 2–4 Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 18–36–12 Recap
67 L March 19, 1998 1–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 18–37–12 Recap
68 L March 21, 1998 1–5 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 18–38–12 Recap
69 L March 23, 1998 3–5 Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 18–39–12 Recap
70 W March 26, 1998 5–4 Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 19–39–12 Recap
71 W March 28, 1998 3–2 OT @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 20–39–12 Recap
72 W March 29, 1998 4–0 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 21–39–12 Recap
April: 3–4–3 (home: 2–4–0; road: 1–0–3)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
73 L April 1, 1998 3–4 Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 21–40–12 Recap
74 W April 4, 1998 4–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 22–40–12 Recap
75 W April 5, 1998 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 23–40–12 Recap
76 L April 7, 1998 1–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 23–41–12 Recap
77 W April 9, 1998 3–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 24–41–12 Recap
78 T April 11, 1998 3–3 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 24–41–13 Recap
79 T April 12, 1998 5–5 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 24–41–14 Recap
80 L April 14, 1998 2–3 Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 24–42–14 Recap
81 L April 16, 1998 3–7 Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 24–43–14 Recap
82 T April 18, 1998 2–2 OT @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 24–43–15 Recap
Legend:

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

Player statistics[edit]

Scoring[edit]

  • 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 Panthers only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.
Regular season
No. Player Pos GP G A Pts +/- PIM
14 Ray Whitney† LW 68 32 29 61 10 28
15 Dave Gagner C 78 20 28 48 −21 55
24 Robert Svehla D 79 9 34 43 −3 113
27 Scott Mellanby RW 79 15 24 39 −14 127
19 Radek Dvorak RW 64 12 24 36 −1 33
26 Ray Sheppard‡ RW 61 14 17 31 −13 21
9 Kirk Muller LW 70 8 21 29 −14 54
11 Bill Lindsay RW 82 12 16 28 −2 80
25 Viktor Kozlov† C 46 12 11 23 −1 14
55 Ed Jovanovski D 81 9 14 23 −12 158
51 David Nemirovsky RW 41 9 12 21 −3 8
17 Steve Washburn C 58 11 8 19 −6 32
5 Gord Murphy D 79 6 11 17 −3 46
22 Dino Ciccarelli† RW 28 5 11 16 −2 28
21 Tom Fitzgerald‡ RW 69 10 5 15 −4 57
44 Rob Niedermayer C 33 8 7 15 −9 41
23 Chris Wells C 61 5 10 15 4 47
3 Paul Laus D 77 0 11 11 −5 293
10[a] Esa Tikkanen‡ LW 28 1 8 9 −7 16
2 Terry Carkner D 74 1 7 8 6 63
6 Jeff Norton† D 19 0 7 7 −7 18
29 Johan Garpenlov LW 39 2 3 5 −6 8
7 Rhett Warrener D 79 0 4 4 −16 99
34 John Vanbiesbrouck G 60 0 3 3 6
12 Jody Hull‡ RW 21 2 0 2 1 4
16 Ryan Johnson C 10 0 2 2 −4 0
8 Dallas Eakins D 23 0 1 1 1 44
12 Chris Allen D 1 0 0 0 0 2
30 Mark Fitzpatrick‡ G 12 0 0 0 2
4 John Jakopin D 2 0 0 0 −3 4
10 Dave Lowry‡ LW 7 0 0 0 −1 2
1 Kirk McLean† G 7 0 0 0 0
1 Kevin Weekes G 11 0 0 0 0
28 Peter Worrell LW 19 0 0 0 −4 153

Goaltending[edit]

  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.
Regular season
No. Player GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
34 John Vanbiesbrouck 60 18 29 11 1638 165 2.87 .899 4 3451
1 Kirk McLean† 7 4 2 1 207 22 3.25 .894 0 406
30 Mark Fitzpatrick‡ 12 2 7 2 265 32 3.00 .879 1 640
1 Kevin Weekes 11 0 5 1 247 32 3.96 .870 0 485

Awards and records[edit]

Milestones[edit]

Milestone Player Date Ref
1,000th game played Kirk Muller January 14, 1998 [7]

Transactions[edit]

Draft picks[edit]

Florida's draft picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[8]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 20 Mike Brown  Canada Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
2 47 Kristian Huselius  Sweden Farjestad BK (Sweden)
3 56 Vratislav Cech  Czech Republic Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
3 74 Nick Smith  Canada Barrie Colts (OHL)
4 95 Ivan Novoseltsev  Russia Krylya Sovetov (Russia)
5 127 Pat Parthenais  United States Detroit Whalers (OHL)
6 155 Keith Delaney  Canada Barrie Colts (OHL)
7 183 Tyler Palmer  Canada Lake Superior State University (CCHA)
8 211 Doug Schueller  United States Twin Cities Vulcans (USHL)
9 237 Benoit Cote  United States Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Tikkanen wore number 97 in his first 14 games.

References[edit]

  • "Florida Panthers 1997-98 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  • "1997-98 Florida Panthers Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  1. ^ "1997-98 NHL Summary".
  2. ^ "Boston Bruins at Florida Panthers Box Score — November 26, 1997".
  3. ^ "FLA Records". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  4. ^ "Edmonton Oilers at Calgary Flames Box Score — November 26, 1996".
  5. ^ "1997–1998 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  6. ^ "1997-98 Florida Panthers Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  7. ^ "MULLER TO PLAY 1,000TH GAME". Sun Sentinel. January 14, 1998. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  8. ^ "1997 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
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