Top 5 Players of the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals

Originally published on Jan. 17, 2020

By Zane Miller

On Tuesday, June 16th, 1998, the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Washington Capitals at the MCI Center in Washington to win the 85th Stanley Cup Finals four games to none, the most recent Stanley Cup Finals sweep as of this writing. It was the ninth Stanley Cup championship for the Red Wings franchise, and the first that was won in the District of Columbia. These are the top five players that I felt most stood out during the series.

5. #96 Tomas Holmstrom (Red Wings)- F

Holmstrom scored a goal and four assists during the series, including the opening goal in game three just 35 seconds in, as the Red Wings went on to win 2-1.

4. #20 Martin Lapointe (Red Wings)- F

Lapointe picked up a pair of goals and one assist in the series to help the Red Wings to back-to-back Stanley Cups.

3. #19 Steve Yzerman (Red Wings)- F

Yzerman claimed player of the game in game two, scoring two goals in the Red Wings’ 5-4 win in overtime.

2. #17 Doug Brown (Red Wings)- F

Brown earned player of the game in game four, getting a pair of goals as the Red Wings won it 4-1 to claim the series sweep.

1. #30 Chris Osgood (Red Wings)- G

Osgood scored player of the game honors in games one and three, making 16 saves on 17 chances in the Red Wings’ 2-1 win, while game three saw him get 17 saves on 18 shots as the Red Wings picked up another 2-1 victory.

Players of the Game Breakdown:

Link to stats database: https://www.hockey-reference.com/playoffs/1998-detroit-red-wings-vs-washington-capitals-stanley-cup-final.html