1997–98 New York Islanders season

1997–98 New York Islanders
Division	4th Atlantic
Conference	10th Eastern
1997–98 record	30–41–11
Home record	17–20–4
Road record	13–21–7
Goals for	212
Goals against	225
Team information
General manager	Mike Milbury
Coach	Rick Bowness (Oct.–Mar.) Mike Milbury (Mar.–Apr.)
Captain	Bryan McCabe (Oct.–Feb.) Trevor Linden (Feb.–Apr.)
Arena	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Average attendance	12,253
Minor league affiliate(s)	Utah Grizzlies Kentucky Thoroughblades Louisville RiverFrogs
Team leaders
Goals	Zigmund Palffy (45)
Assists	Zigmund Palffy (42)
Points	Zigmund Palffy (87)
Penalty minutes	Rich Pilon (297)
Plus/minus	Mariusz Czerkawski (+11)
Wins	Tommy Salo (23)
Goals against average	Wade Flaherty (1.99)

The 1997–98 New York Islanders season was the 26th season in the franchise's history. The Islanders missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

Off-season

In June 1997, New York Islanders general manager Mike Milbury extended an invitation to Cammi Granato to attend Islanders training camp. Granato eventually declined.

Defenseman Bryan McCabe was named team captain.

Regular season

In February, Bryan McCabe was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Trevor Linden, who's named the Islanders' new captain upon arrival.

The Islanders tied the Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins for most short-handed goals allowed with 16.

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

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

			Regular season
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
16	Zigmund Palffy	RW	82	45	42	87	−2	34
21	Robert Reichel	C	82	25	40	65	−11	32
34	Bryan Berard	D	75	14	32	46	−32	59
20	Bryan Smolinski	C	81	13	30	43	−16	34
29	Kenny Jonsson	D	81	14	26	40	−2	58
14	Tom Chorske	LW	82	12	23	35	7	39
17	Sergei Nemchinov	LW	74	10	19	29	3	24
39	Travis Green‡	C	54	14	12	26	−19	66
25	Mariusz Czerkawski	RW	68	12	13	25	11	23
13	Claude Lapointe	C	78	10	10	20	−9	47
44	Todd Bertuzzi‡	RW	52	7	11	18	−19	58
32	Trevor Linden†	RW	25	10	7	17	−1	33
7	Scott Lachance	D	63	2	11	13	−11	45
18	Mike Hough	LW	74	5	7	12	−4	27
4	Bryan McCabe‡	D	56	3	9	12	9	145
24	Paul Kruse‡	LW	62	6	1	7	−12	138
2	Rich Pilon	D	76	0	7	7	1	291
10	Joe Sacco†	RW	25	3	3	6	1	10
36	J. J. Daigneault†	D	18	0	6	6	1	21
33	Ken Belanger	LW	37	3	1	4	1	101
54	Kip Miller†	C	9	1	3	4	−2	2
44	Jason Dawe†	RW	13	1	2	3	−2	6
6	Doug Houda‡	D	31	1	2	3	−6	47
28	Dennis Vaske	D	19	0	3	3	2	12
36	Dane Jackson	RW	8	1	1	2	1	4
55	Vladimir Chebaturkin	D	2	0	2	2	−1	0
3	Zdeno Chara	D	25	0	1	1	1	50
30	Wade Flaherty	G	16	0	1	1		0
58	John Namestnikov	D	6	0	1	1	−1	4
49	Vladimir Orszagh	RW	11	0	1	1	−3	2
42	Dan Plante	RW	7	0	1	1	−1	6
35	Tommy Salo	G	62	0	1	1		31
60	Ray Schultz	D	13	0	1	1	3	45
43	Jason Strudwick‡	D	17	0	1	1	1	36
1	Eric Fichaud	G	17	0	0	0		0
11	Sean Haggerty	LW	5	0	0	0	−3	0
46	Jason Holland‡	D	8	0	0	0	−4	4
12	Mark Janssens†‡	C	12	0	0	0	−3	34
52	Mark Lawrence	RW	2	0	0	0	0	2
37	Jeff Libby	D	1	0	0	0	0	0
48	Warren Luhning	RW	8	0	0	0	−4	0
24	Gino Odjick†	RW	13	0	0	0	1	31
8	Steve Webb	RW	20	0	0	0	−2	35

Goaltending

		Regular season
No.	Player	GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
35	Tommy Salo	62	23	29	5	1617	152	2.64	.906	4	3461
30	Wade Flaherty	16	4	4	3	309	23	1.99	.926	3	694
1	Eric Fichaud	17	3	8	3	422	40	2.97	.905	0	807

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Zigmund Palffy
Team	Bob Nystrom Award	Rich Pilon

Draft picks

New York's draft picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	4	Roberto Luongo	Canada	Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
1	5	Eric Brewer	Canada	Prince George Cougars (WHL)
2	31	Jeff Zehr	Canada	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
3	59	Jarrett Smith	Canada	Prince George Cougars (WHL)
3	79	Robert Schnabel	Czech Republic	Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)
4	85	Petr Mika	Czech Republic	Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)
5	115	Adam Edinger	United States	Bowling Green State University (CCHA)
6	139	Bobby Leavins	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
7	166	Kris Knoblauch	Canada	Edmonton Ice (WHL)
8	196	Jeremy Symington	Canada	Petrolia Jets (WOHL)
9	222	Ryan Clark	United States	Lincoln Stars (USHL)

References

• "New York Islanders 1997-98 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
• "1997-98 New York Islanders Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2023.