1997 Stanley Cup playoffs#Western Conference Final

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:

1. New Jersey Devils, Atlantic Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions – 104 points
2. Buffalo Sabres, Northeast Division champions – 92 points
3. Philadelphia Flyers – 103 points
4. Florida Panthers – 89 points
5. New York Rangers – 86 points
6. Pittsburgh Penguins – 84 points
7. Ottawa Senators – 77 points (31 wins, 8 points head-to-head vs. Montreal)
8. Montreal Canadiens – 77 points (31 wins, 2 points head-to-head vs. Ottawa)

1. Colorado Avalanche, Pacific Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 107 points
2. Dallas Stars, Central Division champions – 104 points
3. Detroit Red Wings – 94 points
4. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim – 85 points
5. Phoenix Coyotes – 83 points (38 wins)
6. St. Louis Blues – 83 points (36 wins)
7. Edmonton Oilers – 81 points (36 wins)
8. Chicago Blackhawks – 81 points (34 wins)

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.

{{#invoke:transcludable section|main|section=Bracket|text=

{{16TeamBracket|RD1-RD2-path=0

| RD1=Conference quarterfinals

| RD2=Conference semifinals

| RD3=Conference finals

| RD4=Stanley Cup Finals

| RD2-group1=Eastern Conference

| RD2-group2=Western Conference

| RD1-seed01=1

| RD1-team01=New Jersey

| RD1-score01=4

| RD1-seed02=8

| RD1-team02=Montreal

| RD1-score02=1

| RD1-seed03=2

| RD1-team03=Buffalo

| RD1-score03=4

| RD1-seed04=7

| RD1-team04=Ottawa

| RD1-score04=3

| RD1-seed05=3

| RD1-team05=Philadelphia

| RD1-score05=4

| RD1-seed06=6

| RD1-team06=Pittsburgh

| RD1-score06=1

| RD1-seed07=4

| RD1-team07=Florida

| RD1-score07=1

| RD1-seed08=5

| RD1-team08=NY Rangers

| RD1-score08=4

| RD1-seed09=1

| RD1-team09=Colorado

| RD1-score09=4

| RD1-seed10=8

| RD1-team10=Chicago

| RD1-score10=2

| RD1-seed11=2

| RD1-team11=Dallas

| RD1-score11=3

| RD1-seed12=7

| RD1-team12=Edmonton

| RD1-score12=4

| RD1-seed13=3

| RD1-team13=Detroit

| RD1-score13=4

| RD1-seed14=6

| RD1-team14=St. Louis

| RD1-score14=2

| RD1-seed15=4

| RD1-team15=Anaheim

| RD1-score15=4

| RD1-seed16=5

| RD1-team16=Phoenix

| RD1-score16=3

| RD2-seed01=1

| RD2-team01=New Jersey

| RD2-score01=1

| RD2-seed02=5

| RD2-team02=NY Rangers

| RD2-score02=4

| RD2-seed03=2

| RD2-team03=Buffalo

| RD2-score03=1

| RD2-seed04=3

| RD2-team04=Philadelphia

| RD2-score04=4

| RD2-seed05=1

| RD2-team05=Colorado

| RD2-score05=4

| RD2-seed06=7

| RD2-team06=Edmonton

| RD2-score06=1

| RD2-seed07=3

| RD2-team07=Detroit

| RD2-score07=4

| RD2-seed08=4

| RD2-team08=Anaheim

| RD2-score08=0

| RD3-seed02=3

| RD3-team02=Philadelphia

| RD3-score02=4

| RD3-seed01=5

| RD3-team01=NY Rangers

| RD3-score01=1

| RD3-seed03=1

| RD3-team03=Colorado

| RD3-score03=2

| RD3-seed04=3

| RD3-team04=Detroit

| RD3-score04=4

| RD4-seed01=E3

| RD4-team01=Philadelphia

| RD4-score01=0

| RD4-seed02=W3

| RD4-team02=Detroit

| RD4-score02=4

}}

}}

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.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Montreal Canadiens

|team2=New Jersey Devils

|stadium2=Molson Centre

|stadium1=Continental Airlines Arena

|date1 =April 17

|score1 =2–5

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-njd/1997/04/17/1996030111#game=1996030111,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =04:28 – Brian Rolston (1)
08:07 – pp – Shawn Chambers (1)

|1-2-1 =Shayne Corson – sh – 05:40
Benoit Brunet (1) – sh – 17:17

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =05:19 – Bill Guerin (1)
11:59 – sh – Brian Rolston (2)
19:15 – en – Martin Brodeur (1)

|goalie1-1 =Jocelyn Thibault 30 saves / 34 shots

|goalie1-2 =Martin Brodeur 28 saves / 30 shots

|date2 =April 19

|score2 =1–4

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-njd/1997/04/19/1996030112#game=1996030112,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =05:56 – pp – John MacLean (1)

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =11:29 – pp – John MacLean (2)
15:49 – pp – Bill Guerin (2)

|2-3-1 =Brian Savage (1) – 14:33

|2-3-2 =04:58 – Bobby Carpenter (1)

|goalie2-1 =Jocelyn Thibault 37 saves / 41 shots

|goalie2-2 =Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 22 shots

|date3 =April 22

|score3 =6–4

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/njd-vs-mtl/1997/04/22/1996030113#game=1996030113,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =00:34 – Mark Recchi (1)
17:06 – Scott Thornton (1)

|3-1-2 =Patrik Elias (1) – pp – 14:02
Bobby Holik (1) – 19:35

|3-2-1 =02:39 – Mark Recchi (2)

|3-2-2 =Valeri Zelepukin (1) – 04:58
Valeri Zelepukin (2) – 07:15

|3-3-1 =04:37 – Saku Koivu (1)

|3-3-2 =Valeri Zelepukin (3) – pp – 07:50
Brian Rolston (3) – sh-en – 19:01

|goalie3-1 =Jocelyn Thibault 21 saves / 26 shots

|goalie3-2 =Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 25 shots

|date4 =April 24

|score4 =3–4

|ot4 =3

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/njd-vs-mtl/1997/04/24/1996030114#game=1996030114,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =Scott Niedermayer (1) – pp – 03:11
Patrik Elias (2) – 11:53

|4-2-1 =07:42 – Mark Recchi (3)

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =02:41 – Turner Stevenson (1)
05:03 – Mark Recchi (4)

|4-3-2 =Lyle Odelein (1) – 18:24

|4-4-1 =07:37 – Patrice Brisebois (1)

|4-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Jose Theodore 56 saves / 59 shots

|goalie4-2 =Martin Brodeur 37 saves / 41 shots

|date5 =April 26

|score5 =0–4

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-njd/1997/04/26/1996030115#game=1996030115,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =17:32 – Kevin Dean (1)

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =14:17 – pp – Bobby Holik (2)

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =08:01 – sh – John MacLean (3)
11:08 – pp – Lyle Odelein (2)

|goalie5-1 =Jose Theodore 45 saves / 49 shots

|goalie5-2 =Martin Brodeur 24 saves / 24 shots

|series = New Jersey won series 4–1

}}

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.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Ottawa Senators

|team2=Buffalo Sabres

|stadium2=Corel Centre

|stadium1=Marine Midland Arena

|date1 =April 17

|score1 =1–3

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/ott-vs-buf/1997/04/17/1996030121#game=1996030121,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =14:30 – sh – Brian Holzinger (1)

|1-3-1 =Daniel Alfredsson (1) – pp – 03:57

|1-3-2 =05:08 – Derek Plante (1)
14:09 – pp – Randy Burridge (1)

|goalie1-1 =Ron Tugnutt 23 saves / 26 shots

|goalie1-2 =Dominik Hasek 22 saves / 23 shots

|date2 =April 19

|score2 =3–1

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/ott-vs-buf/1997/04/19/1996030122#game=1996030122,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =Andreas Dackell (1) – 02:48

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =Steve Duchesne (1) – pp – 08:37

|2-2-2 =09:34 – Randy Burridge (2)

|2-3-1 =Daniel Alfredsson (2) – pp – 00:18

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Ron Tugnutt 23 saves / 24 shots

|goalie2-2 =Dominik Hasek 26 saves / 29 shots

|date3 =April 21

|score3 =3–2

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-ott/1997/04/21/1996030123#game=1996030123,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =15:31 – pp – Sergei Zholtok (1)
17:41 – pp – Alexei Yashin (1)

|3-2-2 =Randy Burridge (3) – 13:27

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =Darryl Shannon (1) – 11:51
Dixon Ward (1) – 19:40

|goalie3-1 =Ron Tugnutt 22 saves / 25 shots

|goalie3-2 =Dominik Hasek 15 saves / 16 shots
Steve Shields 11 saves / 12 shots

|date4 =April 23

|score4 =0–1

|ot4 =1

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-ott/1997/04/23/1996030124#game=1996030124,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|4-4-1 =02:34 – Daniel Alfredsson (3)

|4-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Ron Tugnutt 17 saves / 17 shots

|goalie4-2 =Steve Shields 35 saves / 36 shots

|date5 =April 25

|score5 =4–1

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/ott-vs-buf/1997/04/25/1996030125#game=1996030125,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =Shawn McEachern (1) – 16:14

|5-1-2 =No scoring

|5-2-1 =Daniel Alfredsson (4) – 01:00

|5-2-2 =No scoring

|5-3-1 =Daniel Alfredsson (5) – sh – 00:28
Randy Cunneyworth (1) – 13:56

|5-3-2 =01:19 – Donald Audette (1)

|goalie5-1 =Ron Tugnutt 24 saves / 25 shots

|goalie5-2 =Steve Shields 22 saves / 26 shots
Andrei Trefilov 4 saves / 4 shots

|date6 =April 27

|score6 =3–0

|won6 =2

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-ott/1997/04/27/1996030126#game=1996030126,game_state=final

|6-1-1 =No scoring

|6-1-2 =Brian Holzinger (2) – 03:25

|6-2-1 =No scoring

|6-2-2 =Alexei Zhitnik (1) – 07:46

|6-3-1 =No scoring

|6-3-2 =Jason Dawe (1) – 15:44

|goalie6-1 =Ron Tugnutt 18 saves / 21 shots

|goalie6-2 =Steve Shields 31 saves / 31 shots

|date7 =April 29

|score7 =2–3

|ot7 =1

|won7 =2

|recap7 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/ott-vs-buf/1997/04/29/1996030127#game=1996030127,game_state=final

|7-1-1 =Shawn McEachern (2) – pp – 10:50

|7-1-2 =No scoring

|7-2-1 =No scoring

|7-2-2 =16:03 – pp – Donald Audette (2)

|7-3-1 =Wade Redden (1) – 00:45

|7-3-2 =06:29 – Derek Plante (2)

|7-4-1 =No scoring

|7-4-2 =05:24 – Derek Plante (3)

|goalie7-1 =Ron Tugnutt 28 saves / 31 shots

|goalie7-2 =Steve Shields 25 saves / 27 shots

|series = Buffalo won series 4–3

}}

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.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Pittsburgh Penguins

|team2=Philadelphia Flyers

|stadium2=Civic Arena

|stadium1=CoreStates Center

|date1 =April 17

|score1 =1–5

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/pit-vs-phi/1997/04/17/1996030131#game=1996030131,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =07:45 – Pat Falloon (1)

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =00:39 – John LeClair (1)
19:28 – pp – Rod Brind'Amour (1)

|1-3-1 =Jaromir Jagr (1) – 05:00

|1-3-2 =08:51 – pp – Eric Lindros (1)
18:17 – Pat Falloon (2)

|goalie1-1 =Ken Wregget 33 saves / 38 shots

|goalie1-2 =Garth Snow 27 saves / 28 shots

|date2 =April 19

|score2 =2–3

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/pit-vs-phi/1997/04/19/1996030132#game=1996030132,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =Mario Lemieux (1) – 10:59

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =Jaromir Jagr (2) – 04:44

|2-3-2 =03:23 – Joel Otto (1)
05:52 – John LeClair (2)
13:40 – Trent Klatt (1)

|goalie2-1 =Ken Wregget 36 saves / 39 shots

|goalie2-2 =Garth Snow 28 saves /30 shots

|date3 =April 21

|score3 =5–3

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-pit/1997/04/21/1996030133#game=1996030133,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =07:19 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (3)
16:29 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (4)

|3-1-2 =Mikael Renberg (1) – 07:54

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =Pat Falloon (3) – pp – 10:33
Eric Lindros (2) – 13:46
John LeClair (3) – pp – 19:48

|3-3-1 =19:44 – Greg Johnson (1)

|3-3-2 =Dainius Zubrus (1) – 18:28

|goalie3-1 =Ken Wregget 48 saves / 52 shots

|goalie3-2 =Garth Snow 35 saves / 38 shots

|date4 =April 23

|score4 =1–4

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-pit/1997/04/23/1996030134#game=1996030134,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =01:09 – Ian Moran (1)
13:22 – sh – Eddie Olczyk (1)
18:28 – sh – Petr Nedved (1)

|4-1-2 =Shjon Podein (1) – 01:45

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =18:56 – Mario Lemieux (2)

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Ken Wregget 37 saves /38 shots

|goalie4-2 =Garth Snow 21 saves / 25 shots

|date5 =April 26

|score5 =3–6

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/pit-vs-phi/1997/04/26/1996030135#game=1996030135,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =Kevin Hatcher (1) – pp – 05:37
Mario Lemieux (3) – 15:34

|5-1-2 =00:14 – Eric Lindros (3)
17:38 – sh – Rod Brind'Amour (2)
18:32 – sh – Rod Brind'Amour (3)

|5-2-1 =Ron Francis (1) – pp – 02:37

|5-2-2 =07:30 – John LeClair (4)
10:28 – Trent Klatt (2)

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =19:55 – en – Vinny Prospal (1)

|goalie5-1 =Ken Wregget 39 saves / 44 shots

|goalie5-2 =Garth Snow 15 saves / 18 shots

|series = Philadelphia won series 4–1

}}

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Game 5 was the final playoff game played at Miami Arena.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=New York Rangers

|team2=Florida Panthers

|stadium2=Madison Square Garden

|stadium1=Miami Arena

|date1 =April 17

|score1 =0–3

|won1 =2

|recap1 =https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-fla/1997/04/17/1996030141#game=1996030141,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =06:06 – pp – Johan Garpenlov (1)
13:13 – pp – Kirk Muller (1)
15:07 – Rob Niedermayer (1)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Mike Richter 25 saves /28 shots

|goalie1-2 =John Vanbiesbrouck 34 saves /34 shots

|date2 =April 20

|score2 =3–0

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-fla/1997/04/20/1996030142#game=1996030142,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =Wayne Gretzky (1) – 13:15
Esa Tikkanen (1) – pp – 14:58

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =Luc Robitaille (1) – 03:29

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Mike Richter 31 saves / 31 shots

|goalie2-2 =John Vanbiesbrouck 41 saves / 44 shots

|date3 =April 22

|score3 =3–4

|ot3 =1

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-nyr/1997/04/22/1996030143#game=1996030143,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =13:12 – Mike Eastwood (1)
17:09 – Luc Robitaille (2)

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =Johan Garpenlov (2) – pp – 01:16
Ray Sheppard (1) – 02:58
Robert Svehla (1) – pp – 16:32

|3-3-1 =19:41 – Luc Robitaille (3)

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|3-4-1 =16:29 – Esa Tikkanen (2)

|3-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Mike Richter 36 saves / 39 shots

|goalie3-2 =John Vanbiesbrouck 41 saves / 45 shots

|date4 =April 23

|score4 =2–3

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-nyr/1997/04/23/1996030144#game=1996030144,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =Rob Niedermayer (2) – pp – 13:23

|4-2-1 =03:07 – pp – Wayne Gretzky (2)
06:46 – Wayne Gretzky (3)
09:30 – Wayne Gretzky (4)

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =David Nemirovsky (1) – 01:40

|goalie4-1 =Mike Richter 21 saves / 23 shots

|goalie4-2 =John Vanbiesbrouck 25 saves / 28 shots

|date5 =April 25

|score5 =3–2

|ot5 =1

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-fla/1997/04/25/1996030145#game=1996030145,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =Mark Messier (1) – 00:39

|5-1-2 =14:17 – Mike Hough (1)

|5-2-1 =Mark Messier (2) – 19:44

|5-2-2 =No scoring

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =12:37 – pp – Ray Sheppard (2)

|5-4-1 =Esa Tikkanen (3) – 12:02

|5-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Mike Richter 38 saves /40 shots

|goalie5-2 =John Vanbiesbrouck 30 saves / 33 shots

|series = New York won series 4–1

}}

This was the second consecutive and second overall playoff meeting between these two teams; with Colorado winning last year's series in six games.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Chicago Blackhawks

|team2=Colorado Avalanche

|stadium2=United Center

|stadium1=McNichols Sports Arena

|date1 =April 16

|score1 =0–6

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/chi-vs-col/1997/04/16/1996030151#game=1996030151,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =05:54 – Mike Keane (1)
09:23 – pp – Sandis Ozolinsh (1)
12:48 – pp – Peter Forsberg (1)
19:00 – Peter Forsberg (2)

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =16:14 – Mike Ricci (1)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =05:31 – Claude Lemieux (1)

|goalie1-1 =Jeff Hackett 19 saves / 24 shots
Chris Terreri 13 saves / 14 shots

|goalie1-2 =Patrick Roy 22 saves / 22 shots

|date2 =April 18

|score2 =1–3

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/chi-vs-col/1997/04/18/1996030152#game=1996030152,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =James Black (1) – 17:53

|2-1-2 =03:53 – Mike Keane (1)
05:06 – Sandis Ozolinsh (2)

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =07:30 – Claude Lemieux (2)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Jeff Hackett 30 saves / 33 shots

|goalie2-2 =Patrick Roy 24 saves / 25 shots

|date3 =April 20

|score3 =3–4

|ot3 =2

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-chi/1997/04/20/1996030153#game=1996030153,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =09:38 – Eric Daze (1)

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =13:51 – Tony Amonte (1)

|3-2-2 =Keith Jones (1) – 10:59

|3-3-1 =04:00 – Eric Daze (2)

|3-3-2 =Rene Corbet (1) – 15:25
Claude Lemieux (3) – 17:28

|3-4-1 =Sergei Krivokrasov (1) – 11:03

|3-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Jeff Hackett 48 saves / 51 shots

|goalie3-2 =Patrick Roy 53 saves / 57 shots

|date4 =April 22

|score4 =3–6

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-chi/1997/04/22/1996030154#game=1996030154,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =03:34 – Tony Amonte (2)

|4-1-2 =Keith Jones (2) – 09:31
Joe Sakic (1) – 14:17

|4-2-1 =05:53 – Bob Probert (1)
06:57 – Ethan Moreau (1)
10:16 – pp – Bob Probert (2)
17:53 – Steve Dubinsky (1)

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =14:28 – sh-en – Tony Amonte (3)

|4-3-2 =Aaron Miller (1) – 16:00

|goalie4-1 =Jeff Hackett 29 saves / 32 shots

|goalie4-2 =Patrick Roy 25 saves / 30 shots

|date5 =April 24

|score5 =0–7

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/chi-vs-col/1997/04/24/1996030155#game=1996030155,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =02:53 – pp – Claude Lemieux (4)
09:14 – Mike Keane (3)
16:49 – pp – Valeri Kamensky (1)

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =14:12 – pp – Valeri Kamensky (2)
16:44 – Jon Klemm (1)

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =08:01 – pp – Valeri Kamensky (3)
15:13 – pp – Keith Jones (3)

|goalie5-1 =Jeff Hackett 16 saves / 21 shots
Chris Terreri 12 saves / 14 shots

|goalie5-2 =Patrick Roy 25 saves / 25 shots

|date6 =April 26

|score6 =6–3

|won6 =2

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-chi/1997/04/26/1996030156#game=1996030156,game_state=final

|6-1-1 =02:46 – Keith Carney (1)
10:18 – Gary Suter (1)
17:28 – sh – Tony Amonte (4)

|6-1-2 =Joe Sakic (2) – pp – 18:37

|6-2-1 =No scoring

|6-2-2 =Valeri Kamensky (4) – 00:28
Joe Sakic (3) – 15:10

|6-3-1 =No scoring

|6-3-2 =Valeri Kamensky (5) – pp – 08:00
Claude Lemieux (5) – pp – 09:25
Adam Deadmarsh (1) – 17:00

|goalie6-1 =Jeff Hackett 23 saves / 29 shots

|goalie6-2 =Patrick Roy 21 saves / 24 shots

|series = Colorado won series 4–2

}}

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.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Edmonton Oilers

|team2=Dallas Stars

|stadium2=Edmonton Coliseum

|stadium1=Reunion Arena

|date1 =April 16

|score1 =3–5

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/edm-vs-dal/1997/04/16/1996030161#game=1996030161,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Todd Marchant (1) – sh – 03:16
Kelly Buchberger (1) – 14:58

|1-1-2 =12:24 – Joe Nieuwendyk (1)
12:54 – Jere Lehtinen (1)

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =Doug Weight (1) – 06:52

|1-3-2 =02:42 – Bob Bassen (1)
17:29 – Mike Modano (1)
18:57 – en – Brent Gilchrist (1)

|goalie1-1 =Curtis Joseph 24 saves / 28 shots

|goalie1-2 =Andy Moog 20 saves / 23 shots

|date2 =April 18

|score2 =4–0

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/edm-vs-dal/1997/04/18/1996030162#game=1996030162,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =Mike Grier (1) – pp – 14:51

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =Mariusz Czerkawski (1) – 00:43

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =Boris Mironov (1) – pp – 02:50
Ryan Smyth (1) – 07:07

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Curtis Joseph 25 saves / 25 shots

|goalie2-2 =Andy Moog 17 saves / 21 shots
Arturs Irbe 4 saves / 4 shots

|date3 =April 20

|score3 =3–4

|ot3 =1

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/dal-vs-edm/1997/04/20/1996030163#game=1996030163,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =Mike Modano (2) – sh – 04:53
Benoit Hogue (1) – pp – 18:53

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =Joe Nieuwendyk (1) – 08:07

|3-3-1 =16:00 – Doug Weight (2)
17:44 – pp – Andrei Kovalenko (1)
17:56 – Mike Grier (2)

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|3-4-1 =09:15 – Kelly Buchberger (2)

|3-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Curtis Joseph 39 saves / 42 shots

|goalie3-2 =Andy Moog 37 saves / 41 shots

|date4 =April 22

|score4 =4–3

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/dal-vs-edm/1997/04/22/1996030164#game=1996030164,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =10:13 – pp –Andrei Kovalenko (1)

|4-1-2 =Mike Modano (1) – pp – 13:15

|4-2-1 =08:23 – pp – Jason Arnott (1)

|4-2-2 =Dave Reid (1) – 02:20

|4-3-1 =18:47 – Ryan Smyth (2)

|4-3-2 =Brent Gilchrist (2) – 01:53
Jamie Langenbrunner (1) – 05:31

|goalie4-1 =Curtis Joseph 26 saves / 30 shots

|goalie4-2 =Andy Moog 30 saves / 33 shots

|date5 =April 25

|score5 =1–0

|ot5 =2

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/edm-vs-dal/1997/04/25/1996030165#game=1996030165,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =No scoring

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =No scoring

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =No scoring

|5-4-1 =Ryan Smyth (3) – 00:22

|5-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Curtis Joseph 43 saves / 43 shots

|goalie5-2 =Andy Moog 27 saves / 28 shots

|date6 =April 27

|score6 =3–2

|won6 =2

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/dal-vs-edm/1997/04/27/1996030166#game=1996030166,game_state=final

|6-1-1 =13:25 – Mike Grier (3)

|6-1-2 =Jere Lehtinen (2) – 03:49

|6-2-1 =19:42 – Mariusz Czerkawski (2)

|6-2-2 =Bob Bassen (2) – 14:43

|6-3-1 =No scoring

|6-3-2 =Mike Modano (4) – 14:42

|goalie6-1 =Curtis Joseph 38 saves / 41 shots

|goalie6-2 =Andy Moog 33 saves / 35 shots

|date7 =April 29

|score7 =4–3

|ot7 =1

|won7 =1

|recap7 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/edm-vs-dal/1997/04/29/1996030167#game=1996030167,game_state=final

|7-1-1 =Rem Murray (1) – 01:45

|7-1-2 =01:38 – Benoit Hogue (2)

|7-2-1 =Boris Mironov (2) – pp – 07:24
Andrei Kovalenko (3) – 19:40

|7-2-2 =11:22 – pp – Pat Verbeek (1)
13:27 – Bob Bassen (3)

|7-3-1 =No scoring

|7-3-2 =No scoring

|7-4-1 =Todd Marchant (2) – 12:26

|7-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie7-1 =Curtis Joseph 38 saves / 41 shots

|goalie7-2 =Andy Moog 29 saves / 33 shots

|series = Edmonton won series 4–3

}}

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.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=St. Louis Blues

|team2=Detroit Red Wings

|stadium2=Kiel Center

|stadium1=Joe Louis Arena

|date1 =April 16

|score1 =2–0

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-det/1997/04/16/1996030171/recap/box-score#game=1996030171,game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=boxscore

|1-1-1 =Geoff Courtnall (1) – 12:44
Pierre Turgeon (1) – pp – 19:22

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Grant Fuhr 30 saves / 30 shots

|goalie1-2 =Mike Vernon 25 saves / 27 shots

|date2 =April 18

|score2 =1–2

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-det/1997/04/18/1996030172/recap/box-score#game=1996030172,game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=boxscore

|2-1-1 =Marc Bergevin (1) – 04:24

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =04:05 – sh – Kris Draper (1)
07:09 – Larry Murphy (1)

|goalie2-1 =Grant Fuhr 31 saves / 33 shots

|goalie2-2 =Mike Vernon 22 saves / 23 shots

|date3 =April 20

|score3 =3–2

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-stl/1997/04/20/1996030173/recap/box-score#game=1996030173,game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=boxscore

|3-1-1 =17:09 – Brett Hull (1)

|3-1-2 =Kris Draper (2) – 02:40

|3-2-1 =06:36 – pp – Joe Murphy (1)

|3-2-2 =Brendan Shanahan (1) – pp – 00:39
Steve Yzerman (1) – pp – 15:22

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Grant Fuhr 26 saves / 29 shots

|goalie3-2 =Mike Vernon 24 saves / 26 shots

|date4 =April 22

|score4 =0–4

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-stl/1997/04/22/1996030174/recap/box-score#game=1996030174,game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=boxscore

|4-1-1 =05:50 – Geoff Courtnall (2)
18:51 – Pavol Demitra (1)

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =01:10 – pp – Geoff Courtnall (3)
09:23 – Chris Pronger (1)

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Grant Fuhr 28 saves / 28 shots

|goalie4-2 =Mike Vernon 19 saves / 23 shots
Chris Osgood 4 saves / 4 shots

|date5 =April 25

|score5 =2–5

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-det/1997/04/25/1996030175/recap/box-score#game=1996030175,game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=boxscore

|5-1-1 =Al MacInnis (1) – pp – 11:02

|5-1-2 =03:22 – Steve Yzerman (2)

|5-2-1 =Jim Campbell (1) – pp – 12:14

|5-2-2 =05:02 – pp – Vyacheslav Kozlov (1)
07:58 – Darren McCarty (1)
13:15 – Brendan Shanahan (2)

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =06:32 – pp – Larry Murphy (2)

|goalie5-1 =Grant Fuhr 28 saves / 33 shots

|goalie5-2 =Mike Vernon 19 saves / 21 shots

|date6 =April 27

|score6 =3–1

|won6 =2

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-stl/1997/04/27/1996030176/recap/box-score#game=1996030176,game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=boxscore

|6-1-1 =02:12 – Brett Hull (2)

|6-1-2 =Vyacheslav Kozlov (2) – pp – 08:45

|6-2-1 =No scoring

|6-2-2 =Brendan Shanahan (3) – pp – 01:07

|6-3-1 =No scoring

|6-3-2 =Kirk Maltby (1) – 08:24

|goalie6-1 =Grant Fuhr 27 saves / 30 shots

|goalie6-2 =Mike Vernon 24 saves / 25 shots

|series = Detroit won series 4–2

}}

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.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Phoenix Coyotes

|team2=Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

|stadium2=America West Arena

|stadium1=Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim

|date1 =April 16

|score1 =2–4

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phx-vs-ana/1997/04/16/1996030181#game=1996030181,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =08:57 – pp – Teemu Selanne (1)
16:01 – Paul Kariya (1)

|1-2-1 =Jeremy Roenick (1) – 03:27
Keith Tkachuk (1) – pp – 16:48

|1-2-2 =14:15 – Teemu Selanne (2)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =19:13 – en – Paul Kariya (2)

|goalie1-1 =Nikolai Khabibulin 25 saves / 28 shots

|goalie1-2 =Guy Hebert 29 saves / 31 shots

|date2 =April 18

|score2 =2–4

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phx-vs-ana/1997/04/18/1996030182#,game=1996030182,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =Teppo Numminen (1) – pp – 09:23

|2-1-2 =10:46 – pp – Dmitri Mironov (1)

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =07:03 – pp – J. J. Daigneault (1)

|2-3-1 =Keith Tkachuk (2) – 03:55

|2-3-2 =13:26 – J. J. Daigneault (2)
19:53 – en – Teemu Selanne (3)

|goalie2-1 =Nikolai Khabibulin 31 saves / 35 shots

|goalie2-2 =Guy Hebert 36 saves / 38 shots

|date3 =April 20

|score3 =1–4

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/ana-vs-phx/1997/04/20/1996030183#game=1996030183,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =01:18 – Darrin Shannon (1)
08:50 – Darrin Shannon
14:01 – Keith Tkachuk (3)

|3-1-2 =Paul Kariya (3) – pp – 18:49

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =15:28 – Mike Gartner (1)

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Nikolai Khabibulin 30 saves / 31 shots

|goalie3-2 =Guy Hebert 22 saves / 26 shots

|date4 =April 22

|score4 =0–2

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/ana-vs-phx/1997/04/22/1996030184#game=1996030184,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =12:45 – Bob Corkum (1)
19:54 – en – Teppo Numminen (2)

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Nikolai Khabibulin 32 saves / 32 shots

|goalie4-2 =Guy Hebert 23 saves / 24 shots

|date5 =April 24

|score5 =5–2

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phx-vs-ana/1997/04/24/1996030185#game=1996030185,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =Keith Tkachuk (4) – 14:46

|5-1-2 =17:37 – Teemu Selanne (4)

|5-2-1 =Jeremy Roenick (2) – 07:17
Teppo Numminen (3) – 09:12

|5-2-2 =No scoring

|5-3-1 =Bob Corkum (2) – 14:10
Keith Tkachuk (5) – en – 19:39

|5-3-2 =06:52 – pp – Teemu Selanne (5)

|goalie5-1 =Nikolai Khabibulin 30 saves / 32 shots

|goalie5-2 =Guy Hebert 19 saves / 23 shots

|date6 =April 27

|score6 =3–2

|ot6 =1

|won6 =2

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/ana-vs-phx/1997/04/27/1996030186#game=1996030186,game_state=final

|6-1-1 =No scoring

|6-1-2 =No scoring

|6-2-1 =No scoring

|6-2-2 =Paul Kariya (4) – pp – 06:12
Brian Bellows (1) – 19:01

|6-3-1 =09:00 – Darrin Shannon (3)
17:44 – pp – Keith Tkachuk (6)

|6-3-2 =No scoring

|6-4-1 =No scoring

|6-4-2 =Paul Kariya (5) – 07:29

|goalie6-1 =Nikolai Khabibulin 36 saves / 39 shots

|goalie6-2 =Guy Hebert 19 saves / 21 shots

|date7 =April 29

|score7 =0–3

|won7 =2

|recap7 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phx-vs-ana/1997/04/29/1996030187#game=1996030187,game_state=final

|7-1-1 =No scoring

|7-1-2 =03:11 – Dave Karpa (1)

|7-2-1 =No scoring

|7-2-2 =03:12 – Steve Rucchin (1)
08:19 – Joe Sacco (1)

|7-3-1 =No scoring

|7-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie7-1 =Nikolai Khabibulin 23 saves / 26 shots

|goalie7-2 =Guy Hebert 31 saves / 31 shots

|series = Anaheim won series 4–3

}}

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.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=New York Rangers

|team2=New Jersey Devils

|stadium2=Madison Square Garden

|stadium1=Continental Airlines Arena

|date1 =May 2

|score1 =0–2

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-njd/1997/05/02/1996030211#game=1996030211,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =13:45 – pp – Scott Niedermayer (2)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =19:56 – en – John MacLean (4)

|goalie1-1 =Mike Richter 32 saves / 33 shots

|goalie1-2 =Martin Brodeur 21 saves / 21 shots

|date2 =May 4

|score2 =2–0

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-njd/1997/05/04/1996030212#game=1996030212,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =Brian Leetch (1) – pp – 18:21

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =Russ Courtnall (1) – en – 19:15

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Mike Richter 32 saves / 32 shots

|goalie2-2 =Martin Brodeur 20 saves / 21 shots

|date3 =May 6

|score3 =2–3

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/njd-vs-nyr/1997/05/06/1996030213#game=1996030213,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =03:57 – Wayne Gretzky (5)
05:24 – Esa Tikkanen (4)

|3-1-2 =Randy McKay (1) – 06:04

|3-2-1 =06:41 – pp – Esa Tikkanen (5)

|3-2-2 =Steve Thomas (1) – 07:26

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Mike Richter 33 saves / 35 shots

|goalie3-2 =Martin Brodeur 23 saves / 26 shots

|date4 =May 8

|score4 =0–3

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/njd-vs-nyr/1997/05/08/1996030214#game=1996030214,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =05:49 – pp – Adam Graves (1)

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =14:36 – Wayne Gretzky (6)

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =19:02 – en – Esa Tikkanen (6)

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Mike Richter 35 saves / 35 shots

|goalie4-2 =Martin Brodeur 25 saves / 27 shots

|date5 =May 11

|score5 =2–1

|ot5 =1

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-njd/1997/05/11/1996030215#game=1996030215,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =Esa Tikkanen (7) – 07:53

|5-1-2 =No scoring

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =12:02 – pp – Brian Rolston (4)

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =No scoring

|5-4-1 =Adam Graves (2) – 14:08

|5-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Mike Richter 46 saves / 47 shots

|goalie5-2 =Martin Brodeur 29 saves / 31 shots

|series = New York won series 4–1

}}

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.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Philadelphia Flyers

|team2=Buffalo Sabres

|stadium2=CoreStates Center

|stadium1=Marine Midland Arena

|date1 =May 3

|score1 =5–3

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-buf/1997/05/03/1996030221#game=1996030221,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =Dan Kordic (1) – 11:23
Mikael Renberg (2) – pp – 19:59

|1-2-2 =05:10 – Michal Grosek (1)
06:00 – Brad May (1)
17:26 – pp – Donald Audette (3)

|1-3-1 =Rod Brind'Amour (4) – 10:00
Shjon Podein (2) – 19:12
Rod Brind'Amour (5) – en – 19:54

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Garth Snow 29 saves / 32 shots

|goalie1-2 =Steve Shields 42 saves / 46 shots

|date2 =May 5

|score2 =2–1

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-buf/1997/05/05/1996030222#game=1996030222,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =Mikael Renberg (3) – 04:47
Chris Therien (1) – 16:49

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =18:18 – Jason Dawe (2)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Garth Snow 29 saves / 30 shots

|goalie2-2 =Steve Shields 35 saves / 37 shots

|date3 =May 7

|score3 =1–4

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-phi/1997/05/07/1996030223#game=1996030223,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =08:18 – pp – Eric Lindros (4)
11:51 – pp – Dale Hawerchuk (1)
18:57 – Rod Brind'Amour (6)

|3-1-2 =Darryl Shannon (2) – pp – 14:55

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =19:48 – en – Eric Desjardins (1)

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Garth Snow 15 saves / 16 shots

|goalie3-2 =Steve Shields 34 saves / 37 shots

|date4 =May 9

|score4 =5–4

|ot4 =1

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-phi/1997/05/09/1996030224#game=1996030224,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =10:15 – pp – Dainius Zubrus (2)

|4-1-2 =Donald Audette (2) – pp – 04:27

|4-2-1 =01:03 – Dale Hawerchuk (2)

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =05:28 – Trent Klatt (3)
13:26 – Mikael Renberg (4)

|4-3-2 =Derek Plante (4) – pp – 03:34
Michal Grosek (2) – 04:28
Dixon Ward (2) – sh – 11:53

|4-4-1 =No scoring

|4-4-2 =Ed Ronan (1) – 06:24

|goalie4-1 =Garth Snow 20 saves / 25 shots

|goalie4-2 =Steve Shields 39 saves / 43 shots

|date5 =May 11

|score5 =6–3

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-buf/1997/05/11/1996030225#game=1996030225,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =No scoring

|5-2-1 =John LeClair (5) – 05:27
Eric Lindros (5) – 08:32
Eric Lindros (6) – 09:13
Dainius Zubrus (3) – 14:51

|5-2-2 =10:07 – Michal Grosek (3)
14:19 – pp – Randy Burridge (4)
19:59 – pp – Randy Burridge (5)

|5-3-1 =Shjon Podein (3) – 06:00
Dainius Zubrus (4) – en – 19:48

|5-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Ron Hextall 21 saves / 24 shots

|goalie5-2 =Steve Shields 34 saves / 39 shots

|series = Philadelphia won series 4–1

}}

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.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Edmonton Oilers

|team2=Colorado Avalanche

|stadium2=Edmonton Coliseum

|stadium1=McNichols Sports Arena

|date1 =May 2

|score1 =1–5

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/edm-vs-col/1997/05/02/1996030231#game=1996030231,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =03:10 – Eric Lacroix (1)
09:08 – Claude Lemieux (6)

|1-2-1 =Kelly Buchberger (3) – 04:00

|1-2-2 =12:28 – Peter Forsberg (3)
16:16 – Sandis Ozolinsh (3)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =06:39 – pp – Peter Forsberg (4)

|goalie1-1 =Curtis Joseph 32 saves / 37 shots

|goalie1-2 =Patrick Roy 35 saves / 36 shots

|date2 =May 4

|score2 =1–4

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/edm-vs-col/1997/05/04/1996030232#game=1996030232,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =13:52 – pp – Scott Young (1)

|2-2-1 =Doug Weight (3) – 04:19

|2-2-2 =06:39 – Valeri Kamensky (6)
11:35 – pp – Claude Lemieux (7)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =09:51 – Rene Corbet (2)

|goalie2-1 =Curtis Joseph 20 saves / 24 shots

|goalie2-2 =Patrick Roy 42 saves / 43 shots

|date3 =May 7

|score3 =3–4

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-edm/1997/05/07/1996030233#game=1996030233,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =03:20 – Kelly Buchberger (4)
19:48 – Jason Arnott (2)

|3-1-2 =Peter Forsberg (5) – 02:25

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =Valeri Kamensky (7) – pp – 07:29
Claude Lemieux (8) – 11:24

|3-3-1 =13:57 – Kelly Buchberger (5)
16:15 – Ryan Smyth (4)

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Curtis Joseph 21 saves / 24 shots

|goalie3-2 =Patrick Roy 34 saves / 38 shots

|date4 =May 9

|score4 =3–2

|ot4 =1

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-edm/1997/05/09/1996030234#game=1996030234,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =Valeri Kamensky (8) – 03:06

|4-2-1 =07:08 – sh – Todd Marchant (3)
12:47 – pp – Ryan Smyth (5)

|4-2-2 =Sandis Ozolinsh (4) – pp – 18:40

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|4-4-1 =No scoring

|4-4-2 =Claude Lemieux (9) – 08:35

|goalie4-1 =Curtis Joseph 38 saves / 41 shots

|goalie4-2 =Patrick Roy 27 saves / 29 shots

|date5 =May 11

|score5 =3–4

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/edm-vs-col/1997/05/11/1996030235#game=1996030235,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =13:56 – Joe Sakic (4)

|5-2-1 =Todd Marchant (4) – sh – 09:38
Jason Arnott (3) – 17:52

|5-2-2 =04:56 – Adam Deadmarsh (2)

|5-3-1 =Andrei Kovalenko (4) – pp – 13:49

|5-3-2 =00:35 – Claude Lemieux (10)
18:52 – pp – Adam Deadmarsh (3)

|goalie5-1 =Curtis Joseph 25 saves / 29 shots

|goalie5-2 =Patrick Roy 26 saves / 29 shots

|series = Colorado won series 4–1

}}

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.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

|team2=Detroit Red Wings

|stadium2=Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim

|stadium1=Joe Louis Arena

|date1 =May 2

|score1 =1–2

|ot1 =1

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/ana-vs-det/1997/05/02/1996030241#game=1996030241,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =Paul Kariya (6) – pp – 19:00

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =11:01 – Sergei Fedorov (1)

|1-4-1 =No scoring

|1-4-2 =00:59 – Martin Lapointe (1)

|goalie1-1 =Guy Hebert 28 saves / 30 shots

|goalie1-2 =Mike Vernon 19 saves / 20 shots

|date2 =May 4

|score2 =2–3

|ot2 =3

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/ana-vs-det/1997/05/04/1996030242#game=1996030242,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =04:34 – Steve Yzerman (3)

|2-3-1 =Jari Kurri (1) – 04:18
Teemu Selanne (6) – 16:53

|2-3-2 =12:14 – Doug Brown (1)

|2-4-1 =No scoring

|2-4-2 =01:31 – pp – Vyacheslav Kozlov (3)

|goalie2-1 =Guy Hebert 30 saves / 31 shots
Mikhail Shtalenkov 38 saves / 40 shots

|goalie2-2 =Mike Vernon 49 saves / 51 shots

|date3 =May 6

|score3 =5–3

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-ana/1997/05/06/1996030243#game=1996030243,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =11:19 – pp – Paul Kariya (7)
12:09 – pp – Teemu Selanne (7)

|3-1-2 =Vyacheslav Kozlov (4) – pp – 15:47

|3-2-1 =05:12 – Ted Drury (1)

|3-2-2 =Igor Larionov (1) – pp – 13:03
Doug Brown (2) – 16:28

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =Sergei Fedorov (2) – 03:34
Vyacheslav Kozlov (5) – 03:58

|goalie3-1 =Mikhail Shtalenkov 44 saves / 49 shots

|goalie3-2 =Mike Vernon 20 saves / 23 shots

|date4 =May 8

|score4 =3–2

|ot4 =2

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-ana/1997/05/08/1996030244#game=1996030244,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =03:01 – Joe Sacco (2)

|4-1-2 =Doug Brown (3) – 18:25

|4-2-1 =15:23 – pp – Brian Bellows (2)

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =Nicklas Lidstrom (1) – 09:09

|4-4-1 =No scoring

|4-4-2 =Brendan Shanahan (4) – 17:03

|goalie4-1 =Mikhail Shtalenkov 70 saves / 73 shots

|goalie4-2 =Mike Vernon 35 saves / 37 shots

|series = Detroit won series 4–0

}}

{{See also|NHL conference finals}}

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.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=New York Rangers

|team2=Philadelphia Flyers

|stadium2=Madison Square Garden

|stadium1=CoreStates Center

|date1 =May 16

|score1 =1–3

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-phi/1997/05/16/1996030311#game=1996030311,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =02:28 – Dainius Zubrus (5)
04:39 – pp – Janne Niinimaa (1)

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =Luc Robitaille (4) – 19:50

|1-3-2 =08:34 – Eric Lindros (6)

|goalie1-1 =Mike Richter 18 saves / 21 shots

|goalie1-2 =Garth Snow 24 saves / 25 shots

|date2 =May 18

|score2 =5–4

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-phi/1997/05/18/1996030312#game=1996030312,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =Doug Lidster (1) – 05:09
Wayne Gretzky (7) – pp – 07:35
Wayne Gretzky (8) – pp – 09:34

|2-1-2 =04:11 – pp – John LeClair (6)

|2-2-1 =Wayne Gretzky (9) – 09:30
Mark Messier (3) – 13:45

|2-2-2 =06:45 – Paul Coffey (1)
07:34 – Rod Brind'Amour (7)
15:11 – Shjon Podein (4)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Mike Richter 25 saves / 29 shots

|goalie2-2 =Garth Snow 5 saves / 10 shots
Ron Hextall 12 saves / 12 shots

|date3 =May 20

|score3 =6–3

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-nyr/1997/05/20/1996030313#game=1996030313,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =Eric Lindros (7) – 07:33
Petr Svoboda (1) – 12:03

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =00:43 – pp – Russ Courtnall (2)
04:02 – Russ Courtnall (3)
14:21 – Wayne Gretzky (10)

|3-3-2 =Eric Lindros (8) – 06:35
Trent Klatt (4) – 14:59
Rod Brind'Amour (8) – 16:52
Eric Lindros (9) – en – 19:22

|goalie3-1 =Mike Richter 19 saves / 24 shots

|goalie3-2 =Ron Hextall 25 saves / 28 shots

|date4 =May 23

|score4 =3–2

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-nyr/1997/05/23/1996030314#game=1996030314,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =Mikael Renberg (5) – pp – 07:08

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =01:41 – sh – Esa Tikkanen (8)
17:52 – Brian Leetch (2)

|4-3-2 =John Druce (1) – sh – 16:47
Eric Lindros (10) – pp – 19:53

|goalie4-1 =Mike Richter 39 saves / 42 shots

|goalie4-2 =Ron Hextall 31 saves / 33 shots

|date5 =May 25

|score5 =2–4

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-phi/1997/05/25/1996030315#game=1996030315,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =Alexander Karpovtsev (1) – pp – 12:30
Esa Tikkanen (9) – pp – 12:56

|5-1-2 =05:18 – pp – Eric Lindros (11)
15:53 – pp – John LeClair (7)
19:06 – Rod Brind'Amour (9)

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =No scoring

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =06:43 – Rod Brind'Amour (10)

|goalie5-1 =Mike Richter 25 saves / 29 shots

|goalie5-2 =Ron Hextall 17 saves / 19 shots

|series = Philadelphia won series 4–1

}}

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.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Detroit Red Wings

|team2=Colorado Avalanche

|stadium2=Joe Louis Arena

|stadium1=McNichols Sports Arena

|date1 =May 15

|score1 =1–2

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-col/1997/05/15/1996030321#game=1996030321,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =Brendan Shanahan (5) – 01:13

|1-3-2 =01:40 – Joe Sakic (5)
06:13 – Mike Ricci (2)

|goalie1-1 =Mike Vernon 17 saves / 19 shots

|goalie1-2 =Patrick Roy 34 saves / 35 shots

|date2 =May 17

|score2 =4–2

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-col/1997/05/17/1996030322#game=1996030322,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =18:37 – pp – Scott Young (2)

|2-2-1 =Igor Larionov (2) – pp – 16:51

|2-2-2 =16:09 – Claude Lemieux (11)

|2-3-1 =Sergei Fedorov (3) – pp – 02:10
Steve Yzerman (4) – 16:00
Darren McCarty (2) – 18:43

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Mike Vernon 15 saves / 17 shots

|goalie2-2 =Patrick Roy 36 saves / 40 shots

|date3 =May 19

|score3 =1–2

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-det/1997/05/19/1996030323#game=1996030323,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =01:12 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (6)

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =Joe Sakic (6) – pp – 14:47

|3-3-1 =08:20 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (7)

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Mike Vernon 27 saves / 28 shots

|goalie3-2 =Patrick Roy 26 saves / 28 shots

|date4 =May 22

|score4 =0–6

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-det/1997/05/22/1996030324#game=1996030324,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =01:52 – pp – Igor Larionov (3)
07:15 – Igor Larionov (4)

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =12:24 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (8)
16:54 – pp – Sergei Fedorov (4)
19:13 – Kirk Maltby (2)

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =05:25 – Kirk Maltby (3)

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Mike Vernon 19 saves / 19 shots

|goalie4-2 =Patrick Roy 20 saves / 25 shots
Craig Billington 12 saves / 13 shots

|date5 =May 24

|score5 =0–6

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-col/1997/05/24/1996030325#game=1996030325,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =06:46 – Claude Lemieux (12)
11:04 – Claude Lemieux (13)
15:34 – Joe Sakic (7)

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =02:23 – Stephane Yelle (1)
10:57 – Joe Sakic (8)
18:04 – Scott Young (3)

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Mike Vernon 7 saves / 11 shots
Chris Osgood 15 saves / 17 shots

|goalie5-2 =Patrick Roy 32 saves / 32 shots

|date6 =May 26

|score6 =1–3

|won6 =1

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-det/1997/05/26/1996030326#game=1996030326,game_state=final

|6-1-1 =No scoring

|6-1-2 =No scoring

|6-2-1 =03:29 – Martin Lapointe (2)

|6-2-2 =No scoring

|6-3-1 =06:11 – Sergei Fedorov (5)
19:30 – en – Brendan Shanahan (6)

|6-3-2 =Scott Young (4) – 14:48

|goalie6-1 =Mike Vernon 15 saves / 16 shots

|goalie6-2 =Patrick Roy 39 saves / 41 shots

|series = Detroit won series 4–2

}}

{{main|1997 Stanley Cup Finals}}

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.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Detroit Red Wings

|team2=Philadelphia Flyers

|stadium2=Joe Louis Arena

|stadium1=CoreStates Center

|date1 =May 31

|score1 =4–2

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-phi/1997/05/31/1996030411#game=1996030411,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Kirk Maltby (4) – sh – 06:38
Joe Kocur (1) – 15:56

|1-1-2 =07:37 – pp – Rod Brind'Amour (11)

|1-2-1 =Sergei Fedorov (6) – 11:41

|1-2-2 =17:11 – John LeClair (8)

|1-3-1 =Steve Yzerman (5) – 00:56

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Mike Vernon 26 saves / 28 shots

|goalie1-2 =Ron Hextall 26 saves / 30 shots

|date2 =June 3

|score2 =4–2

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-phi/1997/06/03/1996030412#game=1996030412,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =Brendan Shanahan (7) – 01:37
Steve Yzerman (6) – pp – 09:22

|2-1-2 =17:42 – pp – Rod Brind'Amour (12)
18:58 – pp – Rod Brind'Amour (13)

|2-2-1 =Kirk Maltby (5) – 02:39

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =Brendan Shanahan (8) – 09:56

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Mike Vernon 29 saves / 31 shots

|goalie2-2 =Garth Snow 24 saves / 28 shots

|date3 =June 5

|score3 =1–6

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-det/1997/06/05/1996030413#game=1996030413,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =09:03 – pp – Steve Yzerman (7)
11:05 – Sergei Fedorov (7)
19:00 – Martin Lapointe (3)

|3-1-2 =John LeClair (9) – pp – 07:03

|3-2-1 =03:12 – pp – Sergei Fedorov (8)
19:17 – Brendan Shanahan (9)

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =01:08 – pp – Martin Lapointe (4)

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Mike Vernon 21 saves / 22 shots

|goalie3-2 =Ron Hextall 23 saves / 29 shots

|date4 =June 7

|score4 =1–2

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-det/1997/06/07/1996030414#game=1996030414,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =19:27 – Nicklas Lidstrom (2)

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =13:02 – Darren McCarty (3)

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =Eric Lindros (12) – 19:45

|goalie4-1 =Mike Vernon 26 saves / 27 shots

|goalie4-2 =Ron Hextall 26 saves / 28 shots

|series = Detroit won series 4–0

}}

These are the top ten skaters based on points.[http://www.nhl.com/stats/player?reportType=season&seasonFrom=19961997&seasonTo=19961997&gameType=3&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=points,goals,assists NHL.com - Skater Stats]

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.[http://www.nhl.com/stats/player?report=goaliesummary&reportType=season&seasonFrom=19961997&seasonTo=19961997&gameType=3&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=goalsAgainstAverage NHL.com - Goalie Stats]

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1996 NHL Entry Draft
• 47th National Hockey League All-Star Game
• NHL All-Star Game
• NHL All-Rookie Team
• 1997 in sports
• 1996–97 NHL season

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.hockey-reference.com/playoffs/NHL_1997.html 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs at Hockey Reference]

{{s-start}}

{{succession box |

before = 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs |

after = 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs |

title = Stanley Cup playoffs |

years = |

}}

{{s-end}}

{{1996–97 NHL season by team}}

{{Stanley Cup playoffs}}

pl

Category:Stanley Cup playoffs