Hockey InsightsChampions

Stanley Cup Final · 1998-99

Dallas Stars win the Stanley Cup

DAL def. BUF

Dallas Stars won the 1998-99 Stanley Cup Final 4-2 over Buffalo Sabres, 2 games went to overtime, 4 were decided by a single goal.

4-2

Series result · 6 games

Dallas Stars lifted the Cup in Game 6 at Marine Midland Arena.

Series after

api-web.nhle.com club-schedule-season + gamecenter boxscore · fetched 2026-08-17 · 6 Final games

The road to the Final

16 clubs, 4 rounds

The whole tournament, in the shape that spring actually had: 16 clubs, 4 rounds. Every series carries the games the schedule feed publishes. 86 in all that spring. The champion's road is the lit line — EDM 4-0 · STL 4-2 · COL 4-3 · BUF 4-2. Hover a series to read it beside the board; choose one to open its games underneath.

Conference Quarterfinals8 series

Conference Semifinals4 series

Eastern Conference Finals2 series

Stanley Cup Final1 series

api-web.nhle.com/v1/playoff-bracket/1999 · fetched 2026-08-17 · DAL champion · 4 rounds

The series, game by game

Pick a game

Every game of the Final as its own card. Choosing one opens its goal sequence below and repaints the series score in the band above to the moment that game ended.

Game 1 · BUF 3, DAL 2

1999-06-08 · Reunion Arena

OT · One-goal game

Goal sequence

1stBUF 0 · DAL 1
10:17 B. HullDALAssists: M. Modano, J. LehtinenGo-ahead0-1PP
2ndBUF 0 · DAL 0

No goals in this period.

3rdBUF 2 · DAL 1
08:33 S. BarnesBUFAssists: J. Juneau, R. SmehlikEqualizer1-138m 16s later
13:37 W. PrimeauBUFAssists: A. Zhitnik, R. SmehlikGo-ahead2-1PP5m 4s later
19:11 J. LehtinenDALAssists: M. Modano, S. ZubovEqualizer2-25m 34s later
OTBUF 1 · DAL 0
15:30 J. WoolleyBUFAssists: C. BrownGAME WINNER3-216m 19s later

Goaltending

D. HasekBUF75:24 · 2 GA · 1.59 GAA · EV 23/24 · PP 11/12 · SH 1/1 35/37 · .946 SV%W
E. BelfourDAL74:59 · 3 GA · 2.40 GAA · EV 16/18 · PP 4/5 · SH 1/1 21/24 · .875 SV%L

Shots on goal

BUF24
DAL37
DifferentialDAL +13

Points

R. SmehlikBUF2
M. ModanoDAL2
J. LehtinenDAL2
W. PrimeauBUF1
C. BrownBUF1

Shots by player

B. HullDAL8
M. PecaBUF5
G. SandersonBUF4
G. CarbonneauDAL4
D. SydorDAL4

Time on ice

A. ZhitnikBUF32:18
D. HatcherDAL31:59
R. SmehlikBUF31:00
S. ZubovDAL30:35
R. WarrenerBUF27:26

Hits

A. ZhitnikBUF12
J. McKeeBUF7
E. RasmussenBUF6
M. PecaBUF5
R. SmehlikBUF5

Three stars

The league publishes three stars in this feed from about 2010; none are on file for this game.

The team line · BUF / DAL

Faceoffs won47.3% / 52.7%
Power play1/4 / 1/10
Power play %25.0% / 10.0%
Penalty minutes20 / 8
Hits60 / 44
Blocked shots27 / 15
Giveaways13 / 22
Takeaways3 / 7

api-web.nhle.com gamecenter/1998030411/landing + /boxscore + wsc/game-story · fetched 2026-08-17

The series as a whole

6 games

The shape of the Final, its intensity, and who carried it. The Conn Smythe Trophy is voted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and is not carried in this feed. These are the series leader boards, not an award pick, and no composite score is computed.

Shape

Games played6
Series result4-2
GoalsDAL 13 · BUF 9
Overtime games2
Multi-overtime games1
One-goal games4
Decided by three or more0
Shutouts1
Lead changes3
Comeback wins0
Home wins3–3
Empty-net goals1

gamecenter boxscore + landing · fetched 2026-08-17 · Empty-net goals are counted from the goal feed's own goalModifier flag. A count of zero means none was flagged, which for an early Final may mean none was recorded.

Intensity

Penalty minutes156 · 26.0 per game
Hits481 · 80.2 per game
Games with 50 or more hits6
Blocked shots207
Giveaways242
Takeaways70
Shots on goal351
Power-play goals6

gamecenter boxscore playerByGameStats · fetched 2026-08-17

Goaltending, whole series

E. BelfourDAL6 games · 428.7 min · .941 SV% · 1.26 GAA · 1 shutout 143/1524-2
D. HasekBUF6 games · 427.6 min · .939 SV% · 1.68 GAA 186/1982-4

gamecenter boxscore goalies · fetched 2026-08-17

Scoring leaders

M. ModanoDAL7 P (0G 7A)
J. LehtinenDAL5 P (3G 2A)
S. BarnesBUF3 P (3G 0A)
R. SmehlikBUF3 P (0G 3A)
A. ZhitnikBUF3 P (1G 2A)
J. LangenbrunnerDAL3 P (1G 2A)

Winning goals

B. HullDAL2 winners
D. WardBUF1 winner
J. WoolleyBUF1 winner
J. NieuwendykDAL1 winner
D. SydorDAL1 winner

Time on ice per game

D. ShannonBUF33:00
S. ZubovDAL31:20
D. HatcherDAL29:55
A. ZhitnikBUF29:21
R. SmehlikBUF26:01

gamecenter boxscore playerByGameStats · fetched 2026-08-17

In the era

98 Finals · 520 games

This Final measured against its own decade and against every Final the league's game feed covers. The 1990s line covers 10 Finals and 49 games. Rates are per Final game, and every Final contributes only to the rates it has data for: hits-per-game is computed over the Finals since 1997-98 that record hits, not over all of them. Each rate publishes its denominator.

This Final against the era

Overtime games2 of 6
This Final33%
1990s18%
All Finals18%
One-goal games4 of 6
This Final67%
1990s45%
All Finals41%
Shutouts1 of 6
This Final17%
1990s8%
All Finals17%
Goals per game22 goals
This Final3.67
1990s5.51
All Finals5.33

derived from all 98 Finals in data/cup_finals/ · fetched 2026-08-17

Records across the feed

Longest Final2023-24 · 7 games
Most overtime games1950-51 · 5
Highest scoring1972-73 · 9.33 per game
Most one-goal games2014-15 · 5

derived from data/cup_finals/index.json · fetched 2026-08-17

What the record actually holds

Coverage

12 of 14 statistical modules are published for this Final. A module counts as available only if the series contains a non-zero value for it. Historical boxscores carry the same field names as modern ones filled with zeros — 1978-79 publishes hits: 0 for all 170 skaters — so field presence is not evidence and is not treated as such.

Goal-by-goal sequenceGoaltender win/loss decisionsPenalty minutesTeam shots on goalGoaltender shots/saves/save%Goaltender even-strength/PP/SH splitsSkater time on iceHitsBlocked shots, giveaways, takeawaysFaceoff percentageShift countsGoal strength (even, power play, shorthanded)Winning-goal scorer (from the schedule feed)On-ice situation codes

Not published for this Final

On-ice situation codesOn-ice situation codes begin in 2009-10.
Winning-goal scorer (from the schedule feed)The schedule feed does not name a winning-goal scorer before 2008-09.
Method

Final games are selected from the club schedule feed on seriesStatus.seriesAbbrev of SCF, not on a round number: the Cup Final is round four only in a four-round playoff, and the 1954-55 Final is recorded as round two. No MVP or composite rating is computed. The Conn Smythe is a published award and is not in this feed.

Goal labels are relative to the team that scored. A goal that closes a two-goal gap to one is the scorer's own cut, not the leader's insurance. The winning goal is the champion's goal that put it one clear of the finalist's final total, which is the league's own definition.

Previous Final1997-98 · DETNext Final1999-00 · NJD
Sources: api-web.nhle.com/v1/club-schedule-season/{team}/{season} · api-web.nhle.com/v1/gamecenter/{game}/boxscore · api-web.nhle.com/v1/gamecenter/{game}/landing · data/stanley_cup_champions.json (the site's 107-Final ledger; it drives the season list) · data/franchise_history.json (alias_chain, for season-correct tricodes). Fetched 2026-08-17. The season list is driven by the site's own Stanley Cup ledger, and tricodes are resolved season by season through the franchise alias chain, so a Final is requested with the code its clubs actually used that year.