The 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began on April 16, 1997, following the completion of the 1996–97 NHL season. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series for conference quarter-finals, semi-finals and championships, and then the conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup.
The playoffs ended on June 7, with the Detroit Red Wings defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in a four-game sweep to win their eighth Stanley Cup championship in their history, and their first in 42 years. Red Wings goaltender Mike Vernon was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff's Most Valuable Player. This was the only time Ray Bourque missed the playoffs in his career. His team, the Boston Bruins, missed the playoffs for the first time since 1967, ending their 29-year consecutive playoffs appearances record.
The top eight teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The top two seeds in each conference were awarded to the division winners; while the six remaining spots were awarded to the highest finishers in their respective conferences.
The following teams qualified for the playoffs:
Eastern Conference
New Jersey Devils, Atlantic Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions – 104 points
Buffalo Sabres, Northeast Division champions – 92 points
In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series, following a 2–2–1–1–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The team with home ice advantage played at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team played at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). For any series played between Central and Pacific Division teams, the team with home ice advantage had the option of using a 2–3–2 format to reduce travel, with the sites for games five and six switched; if the 2–3–2 format was chosen, the team with home ice advantage then had the additional option to start the series on the road instead of at home. The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the two division winners seeded 1–2 based on regular season record, and the five remaining teams seeded 3–8.
The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system. During the first three rounds, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. The higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.
Martin Brodeur became the fourth goaltender in league history to score a goal in game one, marking the second time in NHL history that a goaltender had scored a goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the fifth time overall.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This series marked the first appearance of a team representing Ottawa in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 67 years. The most recent team to represent Ottawa prior to this was the original Ottawa Senators, who lost in the Quarterfinal round in 1930.
(3) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (6) Pittsburgh Penguins
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams; with Philadelphia winning the only previous series in the 1989 Patrick Division Finals in seven games.
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams; with the teams splitting the two previous series. They last met in the 1991 Clarence Campbell Conference Final where the Minnesota North Stars defeated Edmonton in five games. This was the Oilers' last playoff series victory against the Stars until 2024 as they lost the next five series against Dallas.
This was the second consecutive and fifth overall playoff meeting between these two teams; with the teams splitting the four previous series. Detroit won last year's Western Conference Semifinals in seven games. Game three was Craig McTavish's final game and the last NHL game ever with a helmetless player.
(4) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim vs. (5) Phoenix Coyotes
This was the first and to date only playoff series between these two teams. This was the first time the cities of Anaheim and Phoenix were represented in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams; with New York winning both previous series. They last met in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, where New York won in seven games.
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams; with Philadelphia winning all three previous series. They last met in the 1995 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, where Philadelphia won in five games.
This was the first playoff meeting between the Avalanche and Oilers. The Avalanche defeated the Oilers in five games to return to the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row.
Both teams would meet again in the first round of next year's playoffs, where the Oilers came back from a 3-1 series deficit to upset the Avalanche in seven games.
(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
This was the first playoff meeting between the Red Wings and Ducks. The Red Wings swept the Ducks to return to the Western Conference Finals for the third year in a row.
Despite ending in a sweep, three of the four games played required at least one overtime period, the longest being Game 2 which went into triple overtime.
This was the tenth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Philadelphia having won five of the nine previous series. Their most recent meeting was in the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals which Philadelphia won in four games. The Rangers made their third Conference Final appearance and first since defeating New Jersey in seven games in 1994. Philadelphia made their fifth Conference Final appearance and first since losing to New Jersey in six games in 1995.
New York out shot Philadelphia in Game 1 25–21, but the Flyers ended up winning 3–1. Wayne Gretzky had his second hat-trick of the playoffs in Game 2 as the Rangers edged the Flyers 5–4. With the series tied at 1–1, the two teams moved to Madison Square Garden in New York for Games 3 and 4. This time, it was the Flyers' Eric Lindros who scored a hat-trick as Philadelphia won 6–3. In Game 4, Lindros broke a 2–2 tie with just seven seconds remaining in regulation, and the Flyers won 3–2. The Rangers scored twice in 26 seconds in the first period to take a 2–1 lead. The Flyers scored three unanswered goals and won the game 4–2 and the series 4–1. This was the last playoff game for both Gretzky and Mark Messier, as neither of the players' teams made the post-season for the rest of their careers.
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with Colorado winning the only previous series. This was a rematch of the previous season's Western Conference Final, which Colorado won in six games. This was Detroit's third straight and fifth overall Conference Finals appearance, while it was Colorado's fourth trip to Conference Final. The rivalry between the two teams was as heated as ever after the events of a brawl during a game on March 26 still fresh.
The Red Wings played a determined Game 1 as Brendan Shanahan broke a scoreless tie at 1:13 of the third period to give Detroit a 1–0 lead. Joe Sakic scored just 27 seconds later and Mike Ricci added another at 6:13 gave Colorado a 2–1 lead that they would not relinquish. In Game 2, Colorado led 2–0 but Detroit pulled to within one on a power-play goal by Igor Larionov at 16:51 of the second period. The Red Wings then went on to score three times in the third period to win 4–2 and tie the series at one game apiece. In Game 3, the Red Wings got two goals from Vyacheslav Kozlov and went on to win 2–1. Detroit also won Game 4, 6–0. Red Wings goaltender Mike Vernon made 19 saves in the shutout and Igor Larionov and Kirk Maltby both scored twice. Detroit now led the series three games to one. Embarrassed and frustrated after such a lopsided loss in Game 4, Colorado came right back in Game 5 with a 6–0 win of their own, with Patrick Roy stopping all 32 shots he faced. Claude Lemieux and Joe Sakic both scored two goals in the victory. In Game 6, the Red Wings looked to close out the series. Sergei Fedorov's goal at 6:11 of the third period gave Detroit a 2–0 lead. Scott Young pulled Colorado to within one on a goal at 14:48, but the Avalanche could not score the equalizer, and Brendan Shanahan sealed the game and series for Detroit with an empty net goal at 19:30.
This was the first and to date only playoff series between these two teams. Detroit made their twentieth appearance in the Finals and second in the past three years. Their last appearance was in 1995, where they were upset by the New Jersey Devils in a sweep. Philadelphia made their seventh appearance in the Finals and first since 1987 when they lost to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games. Detroit last won the Stanley Cup in 1955, while Philadelphia last won the Stanley Cup in 1975. The Red Wings swept the Flyers to win their first Stanley Cup since 1955 and eighth overall, ending what was the longest Stanley Cup title drought in the league at that time.
With the loss, the Flyers' record in the Stanley Cup Finals fell to 2-5. The Red Wings would win the Stanley Cup three more times after this in 1998, 2002, and 2008. The 1997 Stanley Cup Finals began a streak of playoff success for Detroit-based teams over their Philadelphia counterparts. After the Red Wings' victory, the NBA's Detroit Pistons would defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA playoffs in 2003, 2005, and 2008.
This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.[2]
