1997–98 Los Angeles Kings season
The 1997–98 Los Angeles Kings season was the Kings' 31st season in the National Hockey League. The Kings qualified for the playoffs for the first time in five years, losing in the first round to St. Louis in four straight games.
1997–98 Los Angeles Kings | |
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Division | 2nd Pacific |
Conference | 5th Western |
1997–98 record | 38–33–11 |
Home record | 22–16–3 |
Road record | 16–17–8 |
Goals for | 227 |
Goals against | 225 |
Team information | |
General manager | Dave Taylor |
Coach | Larry Robinson |
Captain | Rob Blake |
Alternate captains | Luc Robitaille Garry Galley |
Arena | Great Western Forum |
Average attendance | 13,019 |
Minor league affiliate(s) | Long Beach Ice Dogs Fredericton Canadiens Mississippi Sea Wolves |
Team leaders | |
Goals | Glen Murray (29) |
Assists | Jozef Stumpel (58) |
Points | Jozef Stumpel (79) |
Penalty minutes | Matt Johnson (249) |
Plus/minus | Jozef Stumpel (+17) |
Wins | Stephane Fiset (26) |
Goals against average | Jamie Storr (2.22) |
Offseason
Regular season
On Saturday, April 11, 1998, the Kings scored three short-handed goals in 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche.[1]
Final standings
No. | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 231 | 205 | 95 |
2 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 227 | 225 | 87 |
3 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 215 | 224 | 80 |
4 | San Jose Sharks | 82 | 34 | 38 | 10 | 210 | 216 | 78 |
5 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 26 | 41 | 15 | 217 | 252 | 67 |
6 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 82 | 26 | 43 | 13 | 205 | 261 | 65 |
7 | 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.
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
Playoffs
The Kings were swept by the St. Louis Blues in 4 games in the first round. At home (game 3) LA were leading 3-0, until Storr was run by Geoff Courtnall with 11:27 remaining in the 3rd period. Kings player Sean O'Donnell stuck up for Storr resulting in a 5-minute major for the Blues. St. Louis went on to score 4 PP goals in a 3:07 span. Jamie likely had a concussion or some injury from the charge as his reactions and play were sluggishly uncoordinated contributing to the goals especially the 4th one.
Schedule and results
Regular season
1997–98 regular season[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 5–5–4 (home: 3–3–0; road: 2–2–4)
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November: 7–4–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–2–1)
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December: 4–7–2 (home: 2–2–1; road: 2–5–1)
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January: 7–3–2 (home: 5–1–1; road: 2–2–1)
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February: 4–2–1 (home: 1–1–0; road: 3–1–1)
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March: 7–6–1 (home: 4–4–1; road: 3–2–0)
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April: 4–6–0 (home: 2–3–0; road: 2–3–0)
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Legend:
Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point) |
Playoffs
1998 Stanley Cup playoffs[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (4) St. Louis Blues: Blues win 4–0
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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 Kings only.
- ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Kings only.
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
15 | Jozef Stumpel | C | 77 | 21 | 58 | 79 | 17 | 53 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
27 | Glen Murray | RW | 81 | 29 | 31 | 60 | 6 | 54 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
9 | Vladimir Tsyplakov | LW | 73 | 18 | 34 | 52 | 15 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 8 |
4 | Rob Blake | D | 81 | 23 | 27 | 50 | −3 | 94 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 6 |
44 | Yanic Perreault | C | 79 | 28 | 20 | 48 | 6 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 6 |
20 | Luc Robitaille | LW | 57 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 5 | 66 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
23 | Craig Johnson | LW | 74 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 9 | 42 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
3 | Garry Galley | D | 74 | 9 | 28 | 37 | −5 | 63 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 2 |
45 | Sandy Moger | C | 62 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 4 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
22 | Ian Laperriere | RW | 77 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 0 | 131 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
19 | Russ Courtnall† | RW | 58 | 12 | 6 | 18 | −2 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
6 | Sean O'Donnell | D | 80 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 7 | 179 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 36 |
28 | Philippe Boucher | D | 45 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 6 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
26 | Ray Ferraro | C | 40 | 6 | 9 | 15 | −10 | 42 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
14 | Mattias Norstrom | D | 73 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 90 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
42 | Dan Bylsma | RW | 65 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
24 | Nathan LaFayette | C | 34 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
7 | Steve McKenna | LW | 62 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −9 | 150 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
5 | Aki Berg | D | 72 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 61 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
2 | Doug Zmolek | D | 46 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 111 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
10 | Donald MacLean | C | 22 | 5 | 2 | 7 | −1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
17 | Matt Johnson | LW | 66 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −8 | 249 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 6 |
33 | Jan Vopat | D | 21 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
11 | Brad Smyth‡ | RW | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
12 | Roman Vopat | C | 25 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −7 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
52 | Jason Morgan | C | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −7 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
35 | Stephane Fiset | G | 60 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
43 | Vitali Yachmenev | LW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
31 | Frederic Chabot | G | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
21 | Olli Jokinen | C | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1 | Jamie Storr | G | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||
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No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
35 | Stephane Fiset | 60 | 26 | 25 | 8 | 1728 | 158 | 2.71 | .909 | 2 | 3497 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 61 | 7 | 4.52 | .885 | 0 | 93 |
1 | Jamie Storr | 17 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 482 | 34 | 2.22 | .929 | 2 | 920 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 9 | 3.72 | .883 | 0 | 145 |
31 | Frederic Chabot | 12 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 267 | 29 | 3.14 | .891 | 0 | 554 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Awards and records
Awards
Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
League (annual) |
James Norris Memorial Trophy | Rob Blake | [4] |
NHL All-Rookie Team | Jamie Storr (Goaltender) | [5] | |
NHL First All-Star Team | Rob Blake (Defense) | [5] | |
Team | Best Newcomer | Jozef Stumpel | [6] |
Bill Libby Memorial Award | Rob Blake | [6] | |
Defensive Player | Ian Laperriere | [6] | |
Jim Fox Community Service | Luc Robitaille | [6] | |
Leading Scorer | Jozef Stumpel | [6] | |
Most Inspirational | Rob Blake | [6] | |
Most Popular Player | Rob Blake | [6] | |
Outstanding Defenseman | Rob Blake | [6] | |
Unsung Hero | Mattias Norstrom | [6] |
Milestones
Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
1,000th point | Luc Robitaille | January 29, 1998 | [7] |
Transactions
The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1997–98 season.[8]
Trades
August 28, 1997 | To Los Angeles Kings Luc Robitaille |
To New York Rangers Kevin Stevens |
August 29, 1997 | To Los Angeles Kings Jozef Stümpel Sandy Moger 4th round pick in 1998 - Pierre Dagenais |
To Boston Bruins Byron Dafoe Dmitri Khristich |
November 14, 1997 | To Los Angeles Kings Future considerations |
To New York Rangers Brad Smyth |
Free agent signings
July 5, 1997 | From Buffalo Sabres Garry Galley (3 years, $4.8 million) |
July 18, 1997 | From Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) Mark Visheau |
July 25, 1997 | From New York Islanders Chris Taylor |
September 3, 1997 | From Florida Panthers Frédéric Chabot |
November 7, 1997 | From New York Rangers Russ Courtnall (1 year, $940,000) |
Free agents lost
August 11, 1997 | To Buffalo Sabres Patrice Tardif |
August 15, 1997 | To San Jose Sharks Barry Potomski |
August 18, 1997 | To Phoenix Coyotes John Slaney (1 year, $350,000) |
September 4, 1997 | To Phoenix Coyotes Brad Tiley |
Draft picks
Los Angeles'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 | 3 | Olli Jokinen | Finland | HIFK (Finland) |
1 | 15 | Matt Zultek | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
2 | 29 | Scott Barney | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
4 | 83 | Joe Corvo | United States | Western Michigan University (CCHA) |
4 | 99 | Sean Blanchard | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
6 | 137 | Richard Seeley | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
6 | 150 | Jeff Katcher | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
8 | 193 | Jay Kopischke | United States | North Iowa Huskies (USHL) |
9 | 220 | Konrad Brand | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
See also
References
- "Los Angeles Kings 1997-98 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
- "1997-98 Los Angeles Kings Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
- "Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings Box Score — April 11, 1998".
- "1997-1998 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
- "1997-98 Los Angeles Kings Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
- "James Norris Memorial Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- "Postseason All-Star Teams". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- Los Angeles Kings 2014–15 Media Guide, p. 201–03
- "Robitaille reaches milestone". Deseret News. January 30, 1998. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- "Hockey Transactions Search Results".
- "1997 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.