1997–98 Florida Panthers season

1997–98 Florida Panthers
1997–98 Florida Panthers
Division	6th Atlantic
Conference	12th Eastern
1997–98 record	24–43–15
Home record	11–24–6
Road record	13–19–9
Goals for	203
Goals against	256
Team information
General manager	Bryan Murray
Coach	Doug MacLean (Oct.–Nov.); Bryan Murray (Nov.–Apr.)
Captain	Scott Mellanby
Arena	Miami Arena
Average attendance	14,703
Minor league affiliate(s)	Beast of New Haven; Tallahassee Tiger Sharks; Port Huron Border Cats
Team leaders
Goals	Ray Whitney (32)
Assists	Robert Svehla (34)
Points	Ray Whitney (61)
Penalty minutes	Paul Laus (263)
Plus/minus	Ray Whitney (+10)
Wins	John Vanbiesbrouck (18)
Goals against average	John Vanbiesbrouck (2.87)
	← 1996–97 1998–99 →

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

Regular season

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

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

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

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

No.	Player	Pos	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

† = 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.

No.	Player	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

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Kevin Weekes	October 16, 1997	^[7]
	Peter Worrell	November 22, 1997
	Ryan Johnson	December 5, 1997
	John Jakopin	March 13, 1998
	Chris Allen	April 18, 1998
1,000th game played	Kirk Muller	January 14, 1998	^[8]

Transactions

Draft picks

Florida'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	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)

Notes

^ Tikkanen wore number 97 in his first 14 games.

References

"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.

^ "1997-98 NHL Summary".
^ "Boston Bruins at Florida Panthers Box Score — November 26, 1997".
^ "FLA Records". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
^ "Edmonton Oilers at Calgary Flames Box Score — November 26, 1996".
^ "1997–1998 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
^ "1997-98 Florida Panthers Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
^ "1997-98 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
^ "MULLER TO PLAY 1,000TH GAME". Sun Sentinel. January 14, 1998. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
^ "1997 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.

[7] Tikkanen wore number 97 in his first 14 games.

[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.

[8] "1997-98 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 8, 2024.

[9] "MULLER TO PLAY 1,000TH GAME". Sun Sentinel. January 14, 1998. Retrieved July 8, 2023.

[10] "1997 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.

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v t e Florida Panthers
Founded in 1993 Based in Sunrise, Florida
Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks expansion draft Seasons Current season
History	1993 expansion Records Award winners Retired numbers Broadcasters
Personnel	Owner(s) Sunrise Sports and Entertainment (Vincent Viola, chairman) General manager Bill Zito Head coach Paul Maurice Team captain Aleksander Barkov Current roster
Arenas	Miami Arena Amerant Bank Arena
Rivalries	Tampa Bay Lightning
Affiliates	AHL Charlotte Checkers ECHL Savannah Ghost Pirates
Media	TV Scripps Sports (WSFL-TV) Radio WQAM
Culture and lore	Rat trick FTL War Memorial Stanley C. Panther Viktor E. Ratt Wayne Huizenga
Category Commons

v t e Florida Panthers seasons
1990s	1990–91 . 1991–92 . 1992–93 . 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
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 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

v t e 1997–98 NHL season
Northeast	Boston Buffalo Carolina Montreal Ottawa Pittsburgh
Atlantic	Florida New Jersey NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Tampa Bay Washington
Central	Chicago Dallas Detroit Phoenix St. Louis Toronto
Pacific	Anaheim Calgary Colorado Edmonton Los Angeles San Jose Vancouver
See also	Draft Waiver draft All-Star Game Stanley Cup playoffs Stanley Cup Finals