1997–98 Boston Bruins season
The 1997–98 Boston Bruins season was the team's 74th season. The season involved drafting Joe Thornton first overall.
Off-season
NHL Draft
Boston's picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 1 | Joe Thornton | Center | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds |
| 1 | 8 | Sergei Samsonov | Left wing | Russia | Detroit Vipers |
| 2 | 27 | Ben Clymer | Right wing | United States | University of Wisconsin |
| 3 | 54 | Mattias Karlin | Center | Sweden | Modo Hockey |
| 3 | 63 | Lee Goren | Right wing | Canada | University of North Dakota |
| 4 | 81 | Karol Bartanus | Right wing | Slovakia | Drummondville Voltigeurs |
| 6 | 135 | Denis Timofeyev | Defense | Russia | CSKA Moscow |
| 7 | 162 | Joel Trottier | Right wing | Canada | Ottawa 67's |
| 7 | 180 | Jim Baxter | Defense | Canada | Oshawa Generals |
| 8 | 191 | Antti Laaksonen | Left Wing | Finland | University of Denver |
| 9 | 218 | Eric Van Acker | Defense | Canada | Chicoutimi Saguenéens |
| 9 | 246 | Jay Henderson | Left wing | Canada | Edmonton Ice |
Regular season
The Bruins allowed the fewest shorthanded goals and were the most disciplined team during the regular season, being short-handed only 285 times.Final standings
Schedule and results
Player statistics
Regular season
;Scoring| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| C | 81 | 33 | 50 | 83 | 60 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 8 | |
| LW/C | 82 | 29 | 37 | 66 | 42 | 25 | 13 | 2 | 1 | |
| D | 82 | 13 | 35 | 48 | 80 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 3 | |
| LW | 81 | 22 | 25 | 47 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 3 | |
| RW | 61 | 26 | 20 | 46 | 54 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 6 | |
| RW | 78 | 16 | 27 | 43 | 31 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 4 | |
| LW | 79 | 16 | 23 | 39 | 54 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 5 | |
| C | 79 | 20 | 11 | 31 | 57 | -16 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| RW | 79 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 82 | -13 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| LW | 82 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 38 | -14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 66 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 56 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 82 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 67 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| C | 77 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 34 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| D | 59 | 1 | 15 | 16 | 24 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 50 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 36 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 22 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 6 | -2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 55 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 19 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 68 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 47 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 28 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 65 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 13 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 40 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 86 | -12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 82 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 199 | -14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
;Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| 3693 | 65 | 30 | 25 | 9 | 138 | 2.24 | 6 | 1602 | 1464 | .914 | |
| 788 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 1.83 | 1 | 326 | 302 | .926 | |
| 496 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 2.90 | 2 | 225 | 201 | .893 | |
| Team: | 4977 | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 186 | 2.24 | 9 | 2153 | 1967 | .914 |
Playoffs
;Scoring| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| C | 6 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | -2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW/C | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| RW | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
;Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| 422 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 1.99 | 1 | 159 | 145 | .912 | |
| Team: | 422 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 1.99 | 1 | 159 | 145 | .912 |