Финал Кубка Стэнли 1998: "Детройт" против "Вашингтона"

1998 ice hockey championship series

The 1998 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1997–98 season, and the culmination of the 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Western Conference champion and defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings and the Eastern Conference champion Washington Capitals. It was the 105th year of the Stanley Cup being contested. The series was the Capitals' first appearance in a Stanley Cup Finals since the franchise's inception in 1974. The Red Wings won the series for the second year in a row, four games to none, to capture their ninth Stanley Cup in team history. This was the fourth consecutive Stanley Cup Finals that concluded with a sweep, as well as the most recent time it has happened. Detroit coach Scotty Bowman won his eighth Stanley Cup in that capacity (having previously done so with the Montreal Canadiens in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979, the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992, and the Wings the previous year), tying him with former Canadiens coach Toe Blake for the record of most Cups won by a coach (which he would break when he helped the Red Wings win the 2002 Cup).

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.

Bolded years under Finals appearance indicates year won Stanley Cup.

#NatPlayerPositionHandAcquiredPlace of birthFinals appearance 30 G L 1991Peace River, Alberta third 31 G L Winnipeg, Manitoba second 2 D L Moscow, Soviet Union third 3 D R Surrey, British Columbia third 5 – A D L 1989Krylbo, Sweden third 15 D R Moscow, Soviet Union first 16 D R 1989Murmansk, Soviet Union third 27 D R Windsor, Ontario second 34 D L Newmarket, Ontario third 44 D L 1993Bollnäs, Sweden first 55 D R Scarborough, Ontario fourth 8 C L Voskresensk, Soviet Union second 11 LW R 1994Sherbrooke, Quebec second 13 LW L 1990Voskresensk, Soviet Union third 14 – A LW R Etobicoke, Ontario second 17 RW R Southborough, Massachusetts third 18 RW R Guelph, Ontario second 19 – C C R 1983Burnaby, British Columbia third 20 RW R 1991Ville St. Pierre, Quebec third 22 RW R 1991Toronto, Ontario first 25 RW R 1992Burnaby, British Columbia third 26 RW R Kelvington, Saskatchewan third 33 C L Toronto, Ontario third 41 C L Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan second 91 C L 1989Pskov, Soviet Union third 96 LW L 1994Piteå, Sweden second

#NatPlayerPositionHandAcquiredPlace of birthFinals appearance 30 G L Brandon, Manitoba third 37 G L 1989Johannesburg, South Africa first 2 D R 1990Indianapolis, Indiana first 6 – A D L Gothenburg, Sweden first 19 D L 1993Humboldt, Saskatchewan first 24 D L Red Deer, Alberta second 28 D R Ottawa, Ontario second 29 D L Victoria, British Columbia first 55 D L 1992Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union first 96 D L Saint Paul, Minnesota first 9 LW L Chicago Heights, Illinois first 10 LW L Lansing, Michigan first 11 LW L Helsinki, Finland sixth 12 RW L 1990Bakovtsi, Soviet Union first 13 C L Vorkuta, Soviet Union first 17 LW L Wawa, Ontario second 20 C L 1984Kladno, Czechoslovakia first 21 C L Swift Current, Saskatchewan first 22 LW L 1991Salt Lake City, Utah first 23 RW R St. Catharines, Ontario third 27 LW L Calahoo, Alberta first 32 – C C L Petrolia, Ontario first 36 C/RW L Sussex, New Brunswick first 44 RW L 1994Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia first 77 – A C R Weston, Ontario first 90 C L Pont Rouge, Quebec first

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.