1997-98_St._Louis_Blues_season

1997–98 St. Louis Blues season

National Hockey League team season

The highlight of the 1997–98 St. Louis Blues season would mark an end of an era as former captain Brett Hull was not re-signed following the season.

Quick Facts St. Louis Blues, Division ...

1997–98 St. Louis Blues
Division	3rd Central
Conference	4th Western
1997–98 record	45–29–8
Home record	26–10–5
Road record	19–19–3
Goals for	256
Goals against	204
Team information
General manager	Larry Pleau
Coach	Joel Quenneville
Captain	Chris Pronger
Arena	Kiel Center
Average attendance	18,414
Minor league affiliate(s)	Worcester IceCats Peoria Rivermen Baton Rouge Kingfish
Team leaders
Goals	Geoff Courtnall (31)
Assists	Pierre Turgeon (46)
Points	Brett Hull (72)
Penalty minutes	Kelly Chase (231)
Plus/minus	Chris Pronger (+47)
Wins	Grant Fuhr (29)
Goals against average	Jamie McLennan (2.17)
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

Off-season

In his first full season as head coach, Joel Quenneville decided to employ a defensive formula. The move worked wonders as even Brett Hull bought into the new system as the Blues finished in third place with a solid 45–29–8 record. In the first round of the playoffs, the Blues would sweep the Los Angeles Kings in four games. In the second round, the Blues were eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings in six games. The season would mark an end of an era, as Brett Hull was not signed to a new contract after the season, joining the Dallas Stars as a free agent during the summer.^[1]

Defenseman Chris Pronger was named team captain, a role that had been vacant during the previous season.

Regular season

The Blues were one of only two teams out the NHL's 26 to score at least 3 goals per game (The Detroit Red Wings were the other team). The Blues' 256 goals for led all teams.^[2]

Final standings

More information No., CR ...

Central Division
No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Dallas Stars	82	49	22	11	242	167	109
2	3	Detroit Red Wings	82	44	23	15	250	196	103
3	4	St. Louis Blues	82	45	29	8	256	204	98
4	6	Phoenix Coyotes	82	35	35	12	224	227	82
5	9	Chicago Blackhawks	82	30	39	13	192	199	73
6	10	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	30	43	9	194	237	69

More information R, Div ...

Western Conference^[3]
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

More information Game, Result ...

1997–98 regular season^[4]

October: 10–2–2 (home: 7–1–1; road: 3–1–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
1	L	October 1, 1997	1–3	Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	0–1–0	Recap
2	W	October 3, 1997	7–2	Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	1–1–0	Recap
3	W	October 4, 1997	2–1	@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)	2–1–0	Recap
4	W	October 9, 1997	3–2 OT	Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	3–1–0	Recap
5	W	October 11, 1997	5–3	Florida Panthers (1997–98)	4–1–0	Recap
6	W	October 13, 1997	3–1	Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	5–1–0	Recap
7	W	October 17, 1997	2–0	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	6–1–0	Recap
8	W	October 18, 1997	5–3	New York Rangers (1997–98)	7–1–0	Recap
9	T	October 20, 1997	3–3 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	7–1–1	Recap
10	L	October 22, 1997	3–4	@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	7–2–1	Recap
11	W	October 23, 1997	4–1	Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	8–2–1	Recap
12	W	October 25, 1997	5–2	Washington Capitals (1997–98)	9–2–1	Recap
13	W	October 29, 1997	3–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	10–2–1	Recap
14	T	October 30, 1997	2–2 OT	Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)	10–2–2	Recap

November: 5–7–1 (home: 3–3–1; road: 2–4–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
15	W	November 1, 1997	2–0	San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	11–2–2	Recap
16	L	November 3, 1997	1–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	11–3–2	Recap
17	L	November 6, 1997	1–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	11–4–2	Recap
18	L	November 8, 1997	1–4	@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)	11–5–2	Recap
19	W	November 10, 1997	7–1	@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)	12–5–2	Recap
20	W	November 13, 1997	4–2	Boston Bruins (1997–98)	13–5–2	Recap
21	W	November 15, 1997	5–2	Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	14–5–2	Recap
22	W	November 17, 1997	3–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	15–5–2	Recap
23	L	November 20, 1997	0–3	Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	15–6–2	Recap
24	L	November 22, 1997	0–2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	15–7–2	Recap
25	L	November 25, 1997	2–3	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	15–8–2	Recap
26	T	November 27, 1997	2–2 OT	Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	15–8–3	Recap
27	L	November 29, 1997	2–4	@ New York Islanders (1997–98)	15–9–3	Recap

December: 7–6–3 (home: 4–3–2; road: 3–3–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
28	W	December 2, 1997	3–1	@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	16–9–3	Recap
29	W	December 4, 1997	4–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	17–9–3	Recap
30	W	December 6, 1997	4–3 OT	Calgary Flames (1997–98)	18–9–3	Recap
31	W	December 8, 1997	5–1	Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	19–9–3	Recap
32	L	December 10, 1997	3–4 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	19–10–3	Recap
33	W	December 11, 1997	2–1	@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	20–10–3	Recap
34	L	December 13, 1997	1–4	Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	20–11–3	Recap
35	L	December 15, 1997	1–3	Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	20–12–3	Recap
36	T	December 18, 1997	4–4 OT	New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	20–12–4	Recap
37	W	December 20, 1997	4–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	21–12–4	Recap
38	T	December 22, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)	21–12–5	Recap
39	W	December 23, 1997	3–2	@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)	22–12–5	Recap
40	L	December 26, 1997	1–4	Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	22–13–5	Recap
41	T	December 27, 1997	5–5 OT	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	22–13–6	Recap
42	L	December 29, 1997	2–4	@ Washington Capitals (1997–98)	22–14–6	Recap
43	L	December 31, 1997	2–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	22–15–6	Recap

January: 6–5–2 (home: 3–1–1; road: 3–4–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
44	W	January 3, 1998	4–3	Calgary Flames (1997–98)	23–15–6	Recap
45	W	January 6, 1998	5–1	@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	24–15–6	Recap
46	W	January 7, 1998	3–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	25–15–6	Recap
47	W	January 10, 1998	5–1	@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)	26–15–6	Recap
48	L	January 12, 1998	1–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	26–16–6	Recap
49	L	January 14, 1998	1–2 OT	Dallas Stars (1997–98)	26–17–6	Recap
50	L	January 20, 1998	1–3	@ New York Rangers (1997–98)	26–18–6	Recap
51	T	January 22, 1998	3–3 OT	New York Islanders (1997–98)	26–18–7	Recap
52	L	January 24, 1998	4–5	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	26–19–7	Recap
53	L	January 26, 1998	2–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	26–20–7	Recap
54	T	January 27, 1998	3–3 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	26–20–8	Recap
55	W	January 29, 1998	2–0	Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	27–20–8	Recap
56	W	January 31, 1998	6–3	Dallas Stars (1997–98)	28–20–8	Recap

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

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
57	L	February 4, 1998	2–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	28–21–8	Recap
58	W	February 5, 1998	3–1	@ Boston Bruins (1997–98)	29–21–8	Recap
59	W	February 7, 1998	4–1	Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	30–21–8	Recap
60	L	February 26, 1998	1–3	@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	30–22–8	Recap
61	W	February 28, 1998	5–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	31–22–8	Recap

March: 8–4–0 (home: 6–1–0; road: 2–3–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
62	W	March 1, 1998	6–2	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	32–22–8	Recap
63	W	March 3, 1998	5–3	Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	33–22–8	Recap
64	W	March 5, 1998	4–0	Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	34–22–8	Recap
65	W	March 7, 1998	2–1	Dallas Stars (1997–98)	35–22–8	Recap
66	W	March 9, 1998	4–0	@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	36–22–8	Recap
67	L	March 11, 1998	2–3	@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)	36–23–8	Recap
68	L	March 14, 1998	0–2	Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	36–24–8	Recap
69	L	March 21, 1998	0–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	36–25–8	Recap
70	L	March 22, 1998	3–5	@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)	36–26–8	Recap
71	W	March 26, 1998	3–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)	37–26–8	Recap
72	W	March 28, 1998	3–2	Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	38–26–8	Recap
73	W	March 30, 1998	6–2	San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	39–26–8	Recap

April: 6–3–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 4–2–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
74	W	April 1, 1998	6–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	40–26–8	Recap
75	W	April 4, 1998	4–1	Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)	41–26–8	Recap
76	L	April 7, 1998	3–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	41–27–8	Recap
77	W	April 9, 1998	3–2	Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	42–27–8	Recap
78	L	April 11, 1998	3–4	Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	42–28–8	Recap
79	L	April 12, 1998	3–4	@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)	42–29–8	Recap
80	W	April 16, 1998	7–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	43–29–8	Recap
81	W	April 18, 1998	5–4	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	44–29–8	Recap
82	W	April 19, 1998	5–3	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	45–29–8	Recap

Legend:

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

Playoffs

More information 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs, Game ...

1998 Stanley Cup playoffs^[4]

Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (5) Los Angeles Kings: Blues win 4–0

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Series	Recap
1	W	April 23, 1998	8–3	Los Angeles Kings	Blues lead 1–0	Recap
2	W	April 25, 1998	2–1	Los Angeles Kings	Blues lead 2–0	Recap
3	W	April 27, 1998	4–3	@ Los Angeles Kings	Blues lead 3–0	Recap
4	W	April 29, 1998	2–1	@ Los Angeles Kings	Blues win 4–0	Recap

Western Conference Semifinals vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings: Red Wings win 4–2

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Series	Recap
1	W	May 8, 1998	4–2	@ Detroit Red Wings	Blues lead 1–0	Recap
2	L	May 10, 1998	1–6	@ Detroit Red Wings	Series tied 1–1	Recap
3	L	May 12, 1998	2–3 2OT	Detroit Red Wings	Red Wings lead 2–1	Recap
4	L	May 14, 1998	2–5	Detroit Red Wings	Red Wings lead 3–1	Recap
5	W	May 17, 1998	3–1	@ Detroit Red Wings	Red Wings lead 3–2	Recap
6	L	May 19, 1998	1–6	Detroit Red Wings	Red Wings win 4–2	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 Blues only.
‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blues only.

More information Regular season, Playoffs ...

			Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
16	Brett Hull	RW	66	27	45	72	−1	26	10	3	3	6	−3	2
77	Pierre Turgeon	C	60	22	46	68	13	24	10	4	4	8	−5	2
14	Geoff Courtnall	LW	79	31	31	62	12	94	10	2	8	10	−2	18
28	Steve Duchesne	D	80	14	42	56	9	32	10	0	4	4	−8	6
38	Pavol Demitra	LW	61	22	30	52	11	22	10	3	3	6	−3	2
2	Al MacInnis	D	71	19	30	49	6	80	8	2	6	8	1	12
22	Craig Conroy	C	81	14	29	43	20	46	10	1	2	3	−1	8
10	Jim Campbell	RW	76	22	19	41	0	55	10	7	3	10	−1	12
44	Chris Pronger	D	81	9	27	36	47	180	10	1	9	10	−2	26
33	Scott Pellerin	LW	80	8	21	29	14	62	10	0	2	2	1	10
23	Blair Atcheynum	RW	61	11	15	26	5	10	10	0	0	0	−2	2
27	Terry Yake	C	65	10	15	25	1	38	10	2	1	3	−3	6
9	Darren Turcotte	C	62	12	6	18	6	26	10	0	0	0	−4	2
25	Pascal Rheaume	C	48	6	9	15	4	35	10	1	3	4	0	8
17	Joe Murphy‡	RW	27	4	9	13	8	22	—	—	—	—	—	—
37	Harry York‡	C	58	4	6	10	0	31	—	—	—	—	—	—
4	Marc Bergevin	D	81	3	7	10	−2	90	10	0	1	1	−1	8
19	Chris McAlpine	D	54	3	7	10	14	36	10	0	0	0	−1	16
5	Todd Gill†	D	11	5	4	9	2	10	10	2	2	4	−3	10
34	Michel Picard†	LW	16	1	8	9	3	29	—	—	—	—	—	—
20	Rudy Poeschek	RW/D	50	1	7	8	−5	64	2	0	0	0	−2	6
39	Kelly Chase	RW	67	4	3	7	10	231	7	0	0	0	−2	23
6	Jamie Rivers	D	59	2	4	6	5	36	—	—	—	—	—	—
18	Tony Twist	LW	60	1	1	2	−4	105	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Grant Fuhr	G	58	0	2	2		6	10	0	1	1		2
12	Chris Kenady	RW	5	0	2	2	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
32	Mike Eastwood†	C	10	1	0	1	0	6	3	1	0	1	−1	0
43	Libor Zabransky	D	6	0	1	1	−3	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Jamie McLennan	G	30	0	0	0		4	1	0	0	0		0
30	Rich Parent	G	1	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
7	Ricard Persson	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

More information Regular season, Playoffs ...

		Regular season										Playoffs
No.	Player	GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
31	Grant Fuhr	58	29	21	6	1354	138	2.53	.898	3	3274	10	6	4	297	28	2.73	.906	0	616
29	Jamie McLennan	30	16	8	2	618	60	2.17	.903	2	1658	1	0	0	4	1	4.25	.750	0	14
30	Rich Parent	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00	1.000	0	12	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

More information Type, Award/honor ...

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	Jamie McLennan	^[5]
	King Clancy Memorial Trophy	Kelly Chase	^[6]
	NHL Second All-Star Team	Chris Pronger (Defense)	^[7]
	NHL Plus-Minus Award	Chris Pronger	^[8]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Al MacInnis^{[lower-alpha 1]}	^[9]

Milestones

More information Milestone, Player ...

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
1,000th game played	Al MacInnis	October 23, 1997	^[10]
1,000th game played	Geoff Courtnall	March 3, 1998	^[11]
1,000th point	Al MacInnis	April 7, 1998	^[12]

Transactions

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010)

Draft picks

St. Louis's draft picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[13]

More information Round, # ...

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	40	Tyler Rennette	Canada	North Bay Centennials (OHL)
4	86	Didier Tremblay	Canada	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
4	98	Jan Horacek	Czech Republic	Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)
4	106	Jame Pollock	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
6	149	Nicholas Bilotto	Canada	Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL)
7	177	Ladislav Nagy	Slovakia	HC Košice (Slovakia)
8	206	Bob Haglund	United States	Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)
9	232	Dmitri Plekhanov	Russia	Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (Russia)
9	244	Marek Ivan	Czech Republic	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)

Notes

Commissioner’s selection.

References

"St. Louis Blues 1997-98 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
"1997-98 St. Louis Blues Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 6, 2023.

[1]
St. Louis Blues (1967-Present)
[2]
"1997-98 NHL Summary".
[3]
"1997-1998 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
[4]
"1997-98 St. Louis Blues Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
[5]
"Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
[6]
"King Clancy Memorial Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
[7]
"Postseason All-Star Teams". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
[8]
"Bud Light Plus-Minus Award award winners at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
[9]
"NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1998". NHL.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
[10]
"N.H.L.: LAST NIGHT; Lightning Coach On Thin Ice". The New York Times. October 24, 1997. Retrieved July 9, 2023. Blues defenseman Al MacInnis, who played in his 1,000th game, was honored in a pregame ceremony.
[11]
"ST. PETERSBURG TIMES POWER RANKINGS". Tampa Bay Times. March 8, 1998. Retrieved July 9, 2023. ST. LOUIS (8): Can you believe Geoff Courtnall played his 1,000th NHL game last week?
[12]
"1981 NHL Entry Draft -- Al MacInnis". www.hockeydraftcentral.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023. Scored his 1,000th career NHL point during St. Louis' April 7, 1998, game at Detroit.
[13]
"1997 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.

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1997-98_St._Louis_Blues_season

Off-season

Regular season

Final standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Scoring

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

Draft picks

See also

Notes

References

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