1997–98 Tampa Bay Lightning season

1997–98 Tampa Bay Lightning
1997–98 Tampa Bay Lightning
Division	7th Atlantic
Conference	13th Eastern
1997–98 record	17–55–10
Home record	11–23–7
Road record	6–32–3
Goals for	151
Goals against	269
Team information
General manager	Phil Esposito
Coach	Terry Crisp (Oct) ; Rick Paterson (Oct–Nov) ; Jacques Demers (Nov–Apr)
Captain	Paul Ysebaert (Oct) ; Mikael Renberg (Nov–Apr)
Alternate captains	Jamie Huscroft (Oct–Mar); Rob Zamuner
Arena	Ice Palace
Average attendance	13,866
Minor league affiliate(s)	Adirondack Red Wings; Chesapeake Icebreakers
Team leaders
Goals	Mikael Renberg (16); Alexander Selivanov (16)
Assists	Paul Ysebaert (27)
Points	Paul Ysebaert (40)
Penalty minutes	Louie DeBrusk (166)
Plus/minus	Jody Hull (+2)
Wins	Mark Fitzpatrick (7)
Goals against average	Daren Puppa (2.72)
	← 1996–97 1998–99 →

The 1997–98 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the Lightning's sixth season of operation. The Lightning missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Offseason

Regular season

On October 26, head coach Terry Crisp was fired after a 2–7–2 start and Paul Ysebaert’s tenure as team captain ended.^[1]^[2] Assistant coach Rick Paterson served as interim head coach until Jacques Demers was hired as the team’s new head coach on November 12.^[3] Demers named Mikael Renberg the team’s new captain on November 19.^[4]

The Lightning struggled offensively during the regular season, being shut out a league-high 11 times (tied with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) and finishing 26th in goals scored (151), power-play goals scored (33) and power-play percentage (9.35%). The 9.35% power play was the lowest in NHL history in one season by any team until the 2020-21 Anaheim Ducks surpassed it with an 8.94% power play efficiency.^[5]

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^[6]
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^[7]

October: 2–9–2 (home: 1–4–1; road: 1–5–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
1	W	October 1, 1997	4–2	Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	1–0–0	Recap
2	L	October 3, 1997	3–4	New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	1–1–0	Recap
3	T	October 5, 1997	1–1 OT	Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	1–1–1	Recap
4	W	October 9, 1997	4–1	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	2–1–1	Recap
5	L	October 10, 1997	0–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	2–2–1	Recap
6	L	October 15, 1997	1–2	@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)	2–3–1	Recap
7	L	October 17, 1997	1–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	2–4–1	Recap
8	L	October 18, 1997	0–5	@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	2–5–1	Recap
9	L	October 21, 1997	1–7	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	2–6–1	Recap
10	T	October 23, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1997–98)	2–6–2	Recap
11	L	October 24, 1997	3–4	@ New York Rangers (1997–98)	2–7–2	Recap
12	L	October 26, 1997	1–3	Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	2–8–2	Recap
13	L	October 29, 1997	2–5	Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	2–9–2	Recap

November: 2–8–2 (home: 2–1–2; road: 0–7–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
14	L	November 5, 1997	2–5	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	2–10–2	Recap
15	L	November 6, 1997	2–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	2–11–2	Recap
16	L	November 8, 1997	1–3	@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	2–12–2	Recap
17	L	November 11, 1997	2–5	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	2–13–2	Recap
18	L	November 14, 1997	1–4	New York Islanders (1997–98)	2–14–2	Recap
19	L	November 16, 1997	2–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	2–15–2	Recap
20	L	November 17, 1997	1–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	2–16–2	Recap
21	W	November 19, 1997	6–3	New York Rangers (1997–98)	3–16–2	Recap
22	W	November 22, 1997	4–3	Calgary Flames (1997–98)	4–16–2	Recap
23	T	November 26, 1997	3–3 OT	Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)	4–16–3	Recap
24	L	November 28, 1997	0–2	@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	4–17–3	Recap
25	T	November 29, 1997	3–3 OT	Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	4–17–4	Recap

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

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
26	W	December 3, 1997	2–1	Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	5–17–4	Recap
27	L	December 5, 1997	0–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	5–18–4	Recap
28	L	December 6, 1997	2–4	@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	5–19–4	Recap
29	L	December 10, 1997	0–3	@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)	5–20–4	Recap
30	W	December 13, 1997	3–1	@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	6–20–4	Recap
31	L	December 14, 1997	0–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	6–21–4	Recap
32	T	December 16, 1997	1–1 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	6–21–5	Recap
33	W	December 17, 1997	2–0	Boston Bruins (1997–98)	7–21–5	Recap
34	T	December 20, 1997	2–2 OT	New York Rangers (1997–98)	7–21–6	Recap
35	T	December 22, 1997	2–2 OT	St. Louis Blues (1997–98)	7–21–7	Recap
36	L	December 23, 1997	1–4	@ New York Rangers (1997–98)	7–22–7	Recap
37	L	December 27, 1997	1–3	Boston Bruins (1997–98)	7–23–7	Recap
38	W	December 29, 1997	2–1	San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	8–23–7	Recap
39	W	December 31, 1997	2–0	New York Rangers (1997–98)	9–23–7	Recap

January: 0–12–1 (home: 0–7–1; road: 0–5–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
40	T	January 2, 1998	2–2 OT	Florida Panthers (1997–98)	9–23–8	Recap
41	L	January 3, 1998	1–4	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	9–24–8	Recap
42	L	January 7, 1998	2–5	Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	9–25–8	Recap
43	L	January 9, 1998	1–4	@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	9–26–8	Recap
44	L	January 11, 1998	2–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	9–27–8	Recap
45	L	January 12, 1998	3–6	Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	9–28–8	Recap
46	L	January 14, 1998	1–7	New York Islanders (1997–98)	9–29–8	Recap
47	L	January 21, 1998	2–3 OT	Washington Capitals (1997–98)	9–30–8	Recap
48	L	January 23, 1998	1–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	9–31–8	Recap
49	L	January 24, 1998	2–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	9–32–8	Recap
50	L	January 26, 1998	1–2	@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	9–33–8	Recap
51	L	January 28, 1998	2–3	Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	9–34–8	Recap
52	L	January 31, 1998	0–2	@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)	9–35–8	Recap

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

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
53	L	February 2, 1998	3–7	Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	9–36–8	Recap
54	T	February 4, 1998	3–3 OT	@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	9–36–9	Recap
55	L	February 5, 1998	4–5	Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	9–37–9	Recap
56	W	February 7, 1998	4–3	@ Washington Capitals (1997–98)	10–37–9	Recap
57	W	February 25, 1998	4–3	@ Washington Capitals (1997–98)	11–37–9	Recap
58	L	February 26, 1998	1–4	New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	11–38–9	Recap
59	W	February 28, 1998	5–2	Washington Capitals (1997–98)	12–38–9	Recap

March: 5–8–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 2–6–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
60	L	March 3, 1998	1–2	@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)	12–39–9	Recap
61	L	March 4, 1998	2–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	12–40–9	Recap
62	L	March 7, 1998	2–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	12–41–9	Recap
63	W	March 9, 1998	2–1	@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)	13–41–9	Recap
64	L	March 11, 1998	0–2	Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	13–42–9	Recap
65	W	March 14, 1998	1–0	Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	14–42–9	Recap
66	L	March 16, 1998	3–4 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1997–98)	14–43–9	Recap
67	W	March 18, 1998	4–2	Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	15–43–9	Recap
68	W	March 21, 1998	5–1	Florida Panthers (1997–98)	16–43–9	Recap
69	L	March 25, 1998	1–2 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	16–44–9	Recap
70	L	March 26, 1998	2–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)	16–45–9	Recap
71	L	March 28, 1998	2–8	@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	16–46–9	Recap
72	W	March 30, 1998	3–1	@ New York Rangers (1997–98)	17–46–9	Recap

April: 0–9–1 (home: 0–5–1; road: 0–4–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
73	L	April 1, 1998	0–4	@ New York Islanders (1997–98)	17–47–9	Recap
74	L	April 2, 1998	1–4	@ Washington Capitals (1997–98)	17–48–9	Recap
75	L	April 4, 1998	1–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	17–49–9	Recap
76	L	April 6, 1998	0–3	New York Islanders (1997–98)	17–50–9	Recap
77	L	April 8, 1998	1–6	Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	17–51–9	Recap
78	L	April 11, 1998	1–5	Dallas Stars (1997–98)	17–52–9	Recap
79	L	April 13, 1998	2–3	Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	17–53–9	Recap
80	L	April 15, 1998	1–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	17–54–9	Recap
81	L	April 16, 1998	0–4	@ New York Islanders (1997–98)	17–55–9	Recap
82	T	April 18, 1998	2–2 OT	Florida Panthers (1997–98)	17–55–10	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 Lightning only.
‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.

			Regular season
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
15	Paul Ysebaert	C	82	13	27	40	−43	32
20	Mikael Renberg	RW	68	16	22	38	−37	34
29	Alexander Selivanov	RW	70	16	19	35	−38	85
7	Rob Zamuner	LW	77	14	12	26	−31	41
18	Daymond Langkow	C	68	8	14	22	−9	62
44	Stephane Richer†	RW	26	9	11	20	−7	36
22	Dino Ciccarelli‡	RW	34	11	6	17	−14	42
24	Jason Wiemer‡	C	67	8	9	17	−9	132
34	Mikael Andersson	LW	72	6	11	17	−4	29
44	Roman Hamrlik‡	D	37	3	12	15	−18	22
16	Darcy Tucker†	RW	35	6	8	14	−8	89
14	Karl Dykhuis	D	78	5	9	14	−8	110
6	Jeff Norton‡	D	37	4	6	10	−25	26
64	Jason Bonsignore†	C	35	2	8	10	−11	22
4	Cory Cross	D	74	3	6	9	−24	77
28	Patrick Poulin‡	C	44	2	7	9	−3	19
5	Igor Ulanov‡	D	45	2	7	9	−5	85
33	Yves Racine	D	60	0	8	8	−23	41
19	Brian Bradley	C	14	2	5	7	−9	6
21	Jody Hull†	RW	28	2	4	6	2	4
23	Bryan Marchment†‡	D	22	2	4	6	−3	43
79	Vladimir Vujtek	LW	30	2	4	6	−2	16
6	David Wilkie†	D	29	1	5	6	−21	17
17	Brent Peterson	LW	19	5	0	5	−2	2
10	Sandy McCarthy†	RW	14	0	5	5	−1	71
11	Steve Kelly†	C	24	2	1	3	−9	15
5	Jassen Cullimore†	D	25	1	2	3	−4	22
36	Louie DeBrusk	LW	54	1	2	3	−2	166
3	Pavel Kubina	D	10	1	2	3	−1	22
9	Jeff Toms‡	C	13	1	2	3	−6	7
8	Jamie Huscroft‡	D	44	0	3	3	−4	122
62	Andrei Nazarov†	LW	14	1	1	2	−9	58
10	Paul Brousseau	RW	11	0	2	2	0	27
27	David Shaw‡	D	14	0	2	2	−2	12
28	Corey Spring	RW	8	1	0	1	−1	10
21	Mick Vukota‡	RW	42	1	0	1	0	116
30	Mark Fitzpatrick†	G	34	0	1	1		14
2	Mike McBain	D	27	0	1	1	−10	8
1	Zac Bierk	G	13	0	0	0		0
39	Enrico Ciccone†	D	12	0	0	0	−3	45
25	Allan Egeland	C	8	0	0	0	0	9
16	Troy Mallette†	LW	3	0	0	0	0	7
93	Daren Puppa	G	26	0	0	0		6
32	Corey Schwab	G	16	0	0	0		2
35	Derek Wilkinson	G	8	0	0	0		0

Goaltending

† = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.

		Regular season
No.	Player	GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
30	Mark Fitzpatrick†	34	7	24	1	975	102	3.16	.895	1	1938
93	Daren Puppa	26	5	14	6	660	66	2.72	.900	0	1456
32	Corey Schwab	16	2	9	1	370	40	2.92	.892	1	821
35	Derek Wilkinson	8	2	4	1	148	17	3.28	.885	0	311
1	Zac Bierk	13	1	4	1	210	30	4.16	.857	0	433

Awards and records

Records

Tampa Bay set team records for the longest losing streak, 13 games from January 3 to February 2, and the longest winless streak, 16 games from October 10 to November 17 and January 2 to February 5.^[8]^[9]

Transactions

Draft picks

Tampa Bay's draft picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[10]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	7	Paul Mara	United States	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
2	33	Kyle Kos	Canada	Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
3	61	Matt Elich	United States	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
5	108	Mark Thompson	Canada	Regina Pats (WHL)
5	109	Jan Sulc	Czech Republic	HC Chemopetrol Jr. (Czech Republic)
5	112	Karel Betik	Czech Republic	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
6	153	Andrei Skopintsev	Russia	TPS (Finland)
7	168	Justin Jack	Canada	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
7	170	Eero Somervuori	Finland	Jokerit (Finland)
7	185	Samuel St. Pierre	Canada	Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
8	198	Shawn Skolney	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
9	224	Paul Comrie	Canada	University of Denver (WCHA)