The Pittsburgh Penguins won the 1997-98 NHL Northeast division race on 98 points, 7 points ahead of the Boston Bruins.
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Northeast standings, 1997-98
Team
W
L
T
PTS
L10
Streak
Pittsburgh Penguins (PIT)
40
24
18
98
4-4-2
W3
Boston Bruins (BOS)
39
30
13
91
6-4-0
W1
Buffalo Sabres (BUF)
36
29
17
89
5-3-2
L1
Montréal Canadiens (MTL)
37
32
13
87
3-3-4
T1
Ottawa Senators (OTT)
34
33
15
83
6-2-2
W1
Carolina Hurricanes (CAR)
33
41
8
74
4-6-0
L5
Final standings.
Turning points
The lead changed hands 23 times.
The Pittsburgh Penguins trailed by as many as 8 points on November 13, 1997.
The Pittsburgh Penguins took first place for good on January 24, 1998.
The Montréal Canadiens won 7 games in a row from November 1, 1997 to November 13, 1997, the longest run of the race.
The Montréal Canadiens led by 6 points as late as November 14, 1997.
The Pittsburgh Penguins went 8-2-5 from January 21, 1998 to March 7, 1998, turning a deficit of 2 points into a lead of 13 points. That stretch runs either side of the Olympic break.
The top two ended the day within two points of each other on 79 of the 163 days played.
Five teams held first place.
The Pittsburgh Penguins spent 131 of the season's 201 charted days in first place.