1998 Stanley Cup Finals

Just six days after sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1997 Finals, Red Wings defenceman Vladimir Konstantinov and masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov sustained serious brain injuries when the limousine in which they were riding crashed. Viacheslav Fetisov was also in the limousine but was not seriously injured. The Red Wings subsequently dedicated their 1997–98 season to the two injured members and wore a patch on their jerseys bearing the players' initials. When the Red Wings were presented with the Stanley Cup, they wheeled Konstantinov onto the ice and placed the Cup in his lap. They also took him for a victory lap around the rink.

Detroit advanced to the Finals by defeating the Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, and Dallas Stars in six games each.

Washington defeated the Boston Bruins 4–2, the Ottawa Senators 4–1, and the Buffalo Sabres 4–2.

In this series, Capitals head coach Ron Wilson became the first person to head coach in both an Olympics and a Stanley Cup Finals in the same year, having coached team USA at the Nagano Olympics. Peter Laviolette would join him in this feat in 2006 while with the Carolina Hurricanes during their championship season, having coached the American ice hockey team during the Torino Olympics.

Game one edit

At home, Detroit took an early lead in the first period and scored two goals within two minutes and 14 seconds of each other. The Red Wings were able to hold off a Washington assault and take the first game of the series with a score of 2–1.

Game two edit

It looked as if the Capitals were to tie the series with a 4–2 lead in the third period, but after a Detroit goal to make it 4–3, Capitals forward Esa Tikkanen had ascoring opportunity midway through the third period that would have likely put Detroit away before the venue changed back to Washington's MCI Center, and also would have changed the entire dynamic of the series, but he missed the open net shot. Detroit then rallied late in the third period to tie the game and send it into overtime. Kris Draper scored with four minutes left in the first overtime to give the Red Wings a 5–4 victory and a 2–0 lead in the series.

Game three edit

Detroit scored in the first 35 seconds to take an early lead which held up until the third period. The Capitals tied the game midway through the third period, but Sergei Fedorov scored to give the Wings a three games to none lead in the series.

Game four edit

In game four, Detroit was dominant throughout to win the game by a score of 4–1 and sweep the series. Steve Yzerman was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. When the Cup was awarded, Vladimir Konstantinov was brought onto the ice in his wheelchair and joined the celebration with his team.

Bolded years under Finals appearance indicates year won Stanley Cup.

Detroit Red Wings edit

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
30		Chris Osgood	G	L	1991	Peace River, Alberta	third (1995, 1997)
31		Kevin Hodson	G	L	1993–94	Winnipeg, Manitoba	second (1997) (did not play)
2		Viacheslav Fetisov	D	L	1994–95	Moscow, Soviet Union	third (1995, 1997)
3		Bob Rouse	D	R	1994–95	Surrey, British Columbia	third (1995, 1997)
5		Nicklas Lidstrom – A	D	L	1989	Krylbo, Sweden	third (1995, 1997)
15		Dmitri Mironov	D	R	1997–98	Moscow, Soviet Union	first (did not play)
16		Vladimir Konstantinov	D	R	1989	Murmansk, Soviet Union	third (1995, 1997) (did not play)
27		Aaron Ward	D	R	1993–94	Windsor, Ontario	second (1997) (did not play)
34		Jamie Macoun	D	L	1997–98	Newmarket, Ontario	third (1986, 1989)
44		Anders Eriksson	D	L	1993	Bollnäs, Sweden	first
55		Larry Murphy	D	R	1996–97	Scarborough, Ontario	fourth (1991, 1992, 1997)
8		Igor Larionov	C	L	1995–96	Voskresensk, Soviet Union	second (1997)
11		Mathieu Dandenault	LW	R	1994	Sherbrooke, Quebec	second (1997) (did not play)
13		Vyacheslav Kozlov	LW	L	1990	Voskresensk, Soviet Union	third (1995, 1997)
14		Brendan Shanahan – A	LW	R	1996–97	Etobicoke, Ontario	second (1997)
17		Doug Brown	RW	R	1994–95	Southborough, Massachusetts	third (1995, 1997)
18		Kirk Maltby	RW	R	1995–96	Guelph, Ontario	second (1997)
19		Steve Yzerman – C	C	R	1983	Burnaby, British Columbia	third (1995, 1997)
20		Martin Lapointe	RW	R	1991	Ville St. Pierre, Quebec	third (1995, 1997)
22		Mike Knuble	RW	R	1991	Toronto, Ontario	first (did not play)
25		Darren McCarty	RW	R	1992	Burnaby, British Columbia	third (1995, 1997)
26		Joe Kocur	RW	R	1996–97	Kelvington, Saskatchewan	third (1994, 1997)
33		Kris Draper	C	L	1993–94	Toronto, Ontario	third (1995, 1997)
41		Brent Gilchrist	C	L	1997–98	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan	second (1989) (did not play)
91		Sergei Fedorov	C	L	1989	Pskov, Soviet Union	third (1995, 1997)
96		Tomas Holmstrom	LW	L	1994	Piteå, Sweden	second (1997)

Washington Capitals edit

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
30		Bill Ranford	G	L	1996–97	Brandon, Manitoba	third (1988, 1990) (did not play)
37		Olaf Kolzig	G	L	1989	Johannesburg, South Africa	first
2		Ken Klee	D	R	1990	Indianapolis, Indiana	first
6		Calle Johansson – A	D	L	1988–89	Gothenburg, Sweden	first
19		Brendan Witt	D	L	1993	Humboldt, Saskatchewan	first (did not play)
24		Mark Tinordi	D	L	1994–95	Red Deer, Alberta	second (1991)
28		Jeff Brown	D	R	1997–98	Ottawa, Ontario	second (1994)
29		Joe Reekie	D	L	1993–94	Victoria, British Columbia	first
55		Sergei Gonchar	D	L	1992	Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union	first
96		Phil Housley	D	L	1996–97	Saint Paul, Minnesota	first
9		Todd Krygier	LW	L	1995–96	Chicago Heights, Illinois	first
10		Kelly Miller	LW	L	1986–87	Lansing, Michigan	first
11		Esa Tikkanen	LW	L	1997–98	Helsinki, Finland	sixth (1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994)
12		Peter Bondra	RW	L	1990	Bakovtsi, Soviet Union	first
13		Andrei Nikolishin	C	L	1996–97	Vorkuta, Soviet Union	first
17		Chris Simon	LW	L	1996–97	Wawa, Ontario	second (1996)
20		Michal Pivonka	C	L	1984	Kladno, Czechoslovakia	first (did not play)
21		Jeff Toms	C	L	1997–98	Swift Current, Saskatchewan	first
22		Steve Konowalchuk	LW	L	1991	Salt Lake City, Utah	first (did not play)
23		Brian Bellows	RW	R	1997–98	St. Catharines, Ontario	third (1991, 1993)
27		Craig Berube	LW	L	1993–94	Calahoo, Alberta	first
32		Dale Hunter – C	C	L	1987–88	Petrolia, Ontario	first
36		Mike Eagles	C/RW	L	1993–94	Sussex, New Brunswick	first
44		Richard Zednik	RW	L	1994	Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia	first
77		Adam Oates – A	C	R	1996–97	Weston, Ontario	first
90		Joe Juneau	C	L	1993–94	Pont-Rouge, Quebec	first

The 1998 Stanley Cup was presented to Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman following the Red Wings 4–1 win over the Capitals in game four

The following Red Wings players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup

1997–98 Detroit Red Wings

Players

Stanley Cup engravings edit

• Konstantinov's career ended in a car accident. The Red Wings still recognized him as part of the team and got permission from the league to have his name engraved.
• Wally Crossman was the oldest person engraved on the Stanley Cup at age 87.
• Detroit wanted to include a record 55 names on the Stanley Cup in 1997–98. Following that request, the NHL decided to limit the number of names to 52 to make sure all names fit on the Cup. Players who play in Stanley Cup Finals, or play at least 41 regular season games for the winning team, must be included on the Cup each year. Other players who do not officially qualify may also be included if requested by the team. There are no rules for which non-players must be included on the Stanley Cup, only a limit on total number of names going on the cup. No player who officially qualifies may be left off to include more non-players.

Included on the team picture, but left off the Stanley Cup

• #34 Norm Maracle† (G – 4 games played), #21 Darryl Laplante† (D – played 2 games) did not qualify to win the Stanley Cup. Both players spent majority of the season of in the minors. Maracle played 66 games in goal for Adirondack while Darryl Laplante played 77 on defence.
• Art Mnatsusakanov†, Johnny Remejes†, Mike Vella† (Dressing Room Asst.) – all 5 members were awarded Stanley Cup Rings

In Canada, the series was televised on CBC. In the United States, Fox broadcast game one while ESPN televised games two through four. Had the series extended, games five and seven would have been broadcast on Fox, and ESPN would have aired game six.

The following season, the Red Wings would reach the Western Conference Semifinals, only to be ousted by the Colorado Avalanche in six games. The Red Wings would not return to the Stanley Cup Finals until four years later, when they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in five games. The Washington Capitals, however, missed the playoffs the following year. The Capitals would not return to the Stanley Cup Finals until 20 years later, when they would win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history after defeating the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in five games.

• 1997–98 NHL season
• List of Stanley Cup champions

External videos
1998 Stanley Cup Final, Game 4 - Detroit vs. Washington on YouTube

• Diamond, Dan (2000). Total Stanley Cup. NHL.
• Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7.
• Wilborn, Michael (1998). "Red Wings Fans jam Downtown". Washington Post.