The 1997–98 Florida Panthers season was the Panthers' fifth season. After making the Stanley Cup playoffs in 1997, the Panthers failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Offseason
Regular season
The Panthers' penalty kill struggled during the regular season and they allowed the most power-play goals in the NHL (82) and had the lowest penalty-kill percentage (79.65%). They also tied the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins for the most short-handed goals allowed, with 16.
On November 26, 1997, the Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins at home by a score of 10-5. Veteran forward Ray Sheppard had a hat trick in the game. It was the first time in franchise history that the Panthers had scored 10 goals in a regular-season game. It also came exactly one year after the last NHL team had scored 10 goals in a regular-season game, as the Edmonton Oilers had defeated their provincial rival Calgary Flames on the road by a score of 10-1 on November 26, 1996.
Final standings
Schedule and results
|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |1||L||October 1, 1997||1–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) ||0–1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |2||W||October 4, 1997||5–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) ||1–1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |3||L||October 11, 1997||3–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) ||1–2–0 || |- align="center" |4||T||October 13, 1997||2–2 OT|| align="left"| New York Islanders (1997–98) ||1–2–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |5||W||October 15, 1997||2–1 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) ||2–2–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |6||L||October 16, 1997||0–4 || align="left"| @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) ||2–3–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |7||L||October 19, 1997||1–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) ||2–4–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |8||L||October 22, 1997||0–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) ||2–5–1 || |- align="center" |9||T||October 23, 1997||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) ||2–5–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |10||W||October 25, 1997||5–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) ||3–5–2 || |- align="center" |11||T||October 28, 1997||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) ||3–5–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |12||L||October 30, 1997||2–5 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (1997–98) ||3–6–3 || |-
|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |13||L||November 1, 1997||3–4 OT|| align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) ||3–7–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |14||L||November 5, 1997||2–4 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1997–98) ||3–8–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |15||W||November 6, 1997||4–2 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) ||4–8–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |16||W||November 9, 1997||3–2 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1997–98) ||5–8–3 || |- align="center" |17||T||November 12, 1997||2–2 OT|| align="left"| New York Islanders (1997–98) ||5–8–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |18||L||November 14, 1997||2–5 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) ||5–9–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |19||W||November 15, 1997||1–0 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1997–98) ||6–9–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |20||L||November 18, 1997||1–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1997–98) ||6–10–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |21||L||November 20, 1997||1–2 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1997–98) ||6–11–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |22||W||November 22, 1997||2–1 OT|| align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) ||7–11–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |23||L||November 23, 1997||2–5 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1997–98) ||7–12–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |24||W||November 26, 1997||10–5 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1997–98) ||8–12–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |25||L||November 28, 1997||2–3 || align="left"| Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) ||8–13–4 || |- align="center" |26||T||November 30, 1997||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1997–98) ||8–13–5 || |-