1997–98 Edmonton Oilers season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=1997–98
Team=Edmonton Oilers
Conference=Western
ConferenceRank=7th
Division=Pacific
DivisionRank=3rd
Record=35–37–10
HomeRecord=20–16–5
RoadRecord=15–21–5
GoalsFor=215 (15th)
GoalsAgainst=224 (16th)
GeneralManager=Glen Sather
Coach=Ron Low
Captain=Kelly Buchberger
AltCaptain=Boris Mironov
Doug Weight
Arena=Edmonton Coliseum
Attendance=16,245
GoalsLeader=Doug Weight (26)
AssistsLeader=Doug Weight (44)
PointsLeader=Doug Weight (70)
PlusMinusLeader=Todd Marchant & Dean McAmmond (+9)
PIMLeader=Drake Berehowsky (169)
WinsLeader=Curtis Joseph (29)
GAALeader=Curtis Joseph (2.63)
DivisionWin=
ConferenceWin=
StanleyCup=

The 1997–98 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' 19th season in the NHL, and they were coming off a 36–37–9 record in 1996–97, earning their first playoff spot in 5 seasons. The Oilers then defeated the heavily favoured Dallas Stars before losing to the Colorado Avalanche in the 2nd round.

Edmonton started off the season pretty slow, and on January 4, when they had a record of 11–22–9, the Oilers would trade Jason Arnott and Bryan Muir to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Bill Guerin and Valeri Zelepukin. The trade seemed to spark Edmonton, as they would finish the year 24–15–1, making the playoffs for the 2nd straight season, as they would finish in 7th place in the Western Conference.

Offensively, Doug Weight had another very solid season, leading the Oilers in goals (26), assists (44) and points (70). Ryan Smyth would be the only other player to score 20 goals for the team. Dean McAmmond had a break out season, finishing 2nd to Weight with 50 points and 3rd on the team with 19 goals. Bill Guerin had a solid half season in Edmonton, scoring 13 goals and 29 points in 40 games. Boris Mironov would lead the defense with 16 goals and 46 points, while Drake Berehowsky would lead the team with 169 penalty minutes.

In goal, Curtis Joseph would get the majority of playing time, winning 29 games, posting a GAA of 2.63 and setting the club record with shutouts in a season at 8. Bob Essensa would back him up once again, and do a very good job, having a GAA of 2.55 and winning 6 games for the team.

The Oilers would open the playoffs against the Pacific Division winning Colorado Avalanche, who eliminated Edmonton from the playoffs the previous spring, and finished with 15 more points during the regular season. The Oilers would surprise the Avalanche in the opening game, winning 3–2, but Colorado would storm back, and win 3 in a row, to go up 3–1 in the series. Then the Curtis Joseph show began, as he would hold off the Avalanche in game 5, as Edmonton won 3–1 in Denver to keep their season alive. Edmonton would return home for the 6th game, and easily shutout Colorado 4–0, forcing a 7th game. Curtis Joseph would earn his 2nd straight shutout in the 7th and deciding game, as Edmonton would win the game 2–0, and win the series, eliminating the heavily favoured Avalanche.

In the 2nd round, Edmonton would play against the Dallas Stars, who the Oilers defeated the previous year in the opening round. The Stars finished with an NHL best 109 points in the regular season. The Stars would beat Edmonton in the first game, but Curtis Joseph would shutout Dallas in game 2, evening the series as it returned to Edmonton for the next 2 games. The 3rd game would be scoreless in regulation time, however, the Stars would score in the 1st overtime to take a 2–1 series lead. The Oilers offense then went dry, as they would score only 2 goals in the next 2 games, losing them both, and the series 4 games to 1.

eason standings

Dallas Stars 4, Edmonton Oilers 1

Playoff stats

coring leaders

"*Later traded to the New Jersey Devils"

Free agents

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft

References

* [http://www.shrpsports.com SHRP Sports]
* [http://www.hockeydb.com The Internet Hockey Database]
*National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007