Description
The 1998 Stanley Cup Finals NHL championship series 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. It was the Capitals’ first appearance in a Stanley Cup Final since the franchise’s inception in 1974. The Red Wings won the series for the second year in a row, four games to none. It was the Wings’ ninth Stanley Cup, and as of 2016, this is the last season in which a defending Stanley Cup champion has successfully defended and retained the Stanley Cup and is also the most recent time when a Finals concluded with a sweep. This was also the last time until 2002 that a Stanley Cup Finals ended after an NBA Finals in the same season had concluded. 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).
