Game one

The opening game was in Dallas and it was the visiting Buffalo Sabres who struck first, winning 3–2 in overtime. Dallas led 1–0 on a power play goal by Brett Hull, but Stu Barnes and Wayne Primeau scored 5:04 apart in the third to give Buffalo a 2–1 lead. Jere Lehtinen tied the game in the final minute of the third period, but Jason Woolley scored at 15:30 of overtime to give the Sabres the series lead.

Game two

With three seconds left in the period, Dallas center Mike Modano tripped Buffalo goaltender Dominik Hasek, and a number of scrums broke out as time expired. Dallas winger Joe Nieuwendyk fought Buffalo center Brian Holzinger in the circle to the right of Hasek. These were the first fighting majors in three years in the final round, and it was also Nieuwendyk's first fighting major in five years in either the playoffs or regular season.

After the scoreless opening period, the teams traded goals in the middle frame. Craig Ludwig's first goal in 102 playoff games gave Dallas its first lead of the game in the third period, but Alexei Zhitnik tied it 71 seconds later. Brett Hull scored on a slap shot, a one-timer on a pass from Tony Hrkac, from the top of the circle to Hasek's left with 2:50 remaining in the game, but Buffalo had an excellent chance to tie the game with Derian Hatcher being assessed a high-sticking minor 19 seconds later. During the power play, Buffalo pulled Hasek for a 6-on-4 attacking advantage, but the Stars were able to kill the penalty, and Hatcher scored an empty-netter just three seconds after emerging from the penalty box. The empty net goal sealed the win for Dallas, and evened the series at one game apiece. Mike Modano left the game with approximately ten minutes to play after suffering a broken wrist.

Game three

The series shifted to Buffalo for games three and four. It was the visiting Dallas Stars turn to win one on the road, winning 2–1. With Modano hampered by his wrist injury, and Hull leaving the game with a groin injury, Joe Nieuwendyk's two goals, including his sixth game-winner of the playoffs, led Dallas to the win.

Game four

Facing a two games to one deficit in the series, the Sabres came through with a 2–1 victory on Dixon Ward's game-winning goal in the second period.

Game five

With the series tied at two games apiece and returning to Dallas, Ed Belfour made 23 saves to shut out the Sabres, and move Dallas within one win of the Stanley Cup.

Game six

The series shifted back to Marine Midland Arena for game six, where the Dallas Stars would seek their first Stanley Cup, while the Buffalo Sabres would fight for a win to extend the series to a seventh and final game.

Dallas, which allowed the first goal in the earlier two games played at Marine Midland Arena, took a 1–0 lead on one of its few scoring chances in the first period when Lehtinen scored his tenth goal of the playoffs at 8:09. The Sabres tied the game with their first goal since the third period of game four when Barnes' wrist shot eluded Belfour with 1:39 to play in the second period.

The game remained tied at one through the third period and the first two overtime periods, despite several chances by both teams to score. At 14:51 of the third overtime period, Brett Hull scored to end the series and win Dallas their first Stanley Cup. Joe Nieuwendyk was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs.

It was the longest Cup-winning game in Finals history, and the second-longest Finals game overall, after game one of the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals, which ended at 15:13 of the third overtime.

This was the first time since 1994 that the Stanley Cup Finals did not end in a sweep. It is the Stars' only Stanley Cup win, while Buffalo has not returned to the Finals since. It was the Sabres' second Stanley Cup Finals appearance; the first was a loss to Philadelphia in 1975. It was the third appearance for the Stars' franchise, and their first since moving to Dallas from Minnesota in 1993.

Dallas Stars

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
1		Roman Turek	G	R	1990	Strakonice, Czechoslovakia	first (did not play)
20		Ed Belfour	G	L	1997–98	Carman, Manitoba	second (1992)
2		Derian Hatcher – C	D	L	1990	Sterling Heights, Michigan	first
3		Craig Ludwig – A	D	L	1991–92	Rhinelander, Wisconsin	third (1986, 1989)
5		Darryl Sydor	D	L	1995–96	Edmonton, Alberta	second (1993)
24		Richard Matvichuk	D	L	1991	Edmonton, Alberta	first
27		Shawn Chambers	D	L	1995–96	Royal Oak, Michigan	third (1991, 1995)
37		Brad Lukowich	D	L	1996–97	Cranbrook, British Columbia	first (did not play)
17		Brent Severyn	D	L	1998–99	Vegreville, Alberta	first (did not play)
56		Sergei Zubov – A	D	R	1996–97	Moscow, Soviet Union	second (1994)
9		Mike Modano – A	C	L	1988	Livonia, Michigan	second (1991)
10		Brian Skrudland	C	L	1997–98	Peace River, Alberta	fourth (1986, 1989, 1996)
11		Blake Sloan	RW	R	1998–99	Park Ridge, Illinois	first
12		Mike Keane	RW	R	1997–98	Winnipeg, Manitoba	fourth (1989, 1993, 1996)
14		Dave Reid	LW	L	1996–97	Toronto, Ontario	first
15		Jamie Langenbrunner	RW	R	1993	Cloquet, Minnesota	first
16		Pat Verbeek	RW	R	1996–97	Sarnia, Ontario	first
18		Derek Plante	C	L	1998–99	Cloquet, Minnesota	first (did not play)
21		Guy Carbonneau	C	R	1995–96	Sept-Îles, Quebec	fourth (1986, 1989, 1993)
22		Brett Hull	RW	R	1998–99	Belleville, Ontario	second (1986)
25		Joe Nieuwendyk – A	C	L	1995–96	Oshawa, Ontario	second (1989)
26		Jere Lehtinen	RW	R	1992	Espoo, Finland	first
29		Grant Marshall	RW	R	1994–95	Port Credit, Ontario	first (did not play)
33		Benoit Hogue	LW	L	1998–99	Repentigny, Quebec	first
41		Tony Hrkac	LW	L	1998–99	Thunder Bay, Ontario	second (1992)
49		Jon Sim	LW	L	1996	New Glasgow, Nova Scotia	first

Buffalo Sabres

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
30		Dwayne Roloson	G	L	1998–99	Simcoe, Ontario	first (did not play)
39		Dominik Hasek	G	L	1992–93	Pardubice, Czechoslovakia	second (1992)
3		James Patrick – A	D	R	1998–99	Winnipeg, Manitoba	first
4		Rhett Warrener	D	R	1998–99	Shaunavon, Saskatchewan	second (1996)
5		Jason Woolley	D	L	1994–95	Toronto, Ontario	second (1996)
8		Darryl Shannon	D	L	1995–96	Barrie, Ontario	first
42		Richard Smehlik	D	L	1990	Ostrava, Czechoslovakia	first
44		Alexei Zhitnik	D	L	1994–95	Kyiv, Soviet Union	second (1993)
74		Jay McKee	D	L	1995	Kingston, Ontario	first
9		Erik Rasmussen	LW	L	1996	Minneapolis, Minnesota	first
15		Dixon Ward	RW	R	1995–96	Leduc, Alberta	first
17		Randy Cunneyworth	LW	L	1998–99	Etobicoke, Ontario	first
18		Michal Grosek	RW	R	1995–96	Vyškov, Czechoslovakia	first
19		Brian Holzinger	C	R	1991	Parma, Ohio	first
22		Wayne Primeau	C	L	1994	Scarborough, Ontario	first
24		Paul Kruse	LW	L	1997–98	Merritt, British Columbia	first
25		Vaclav Varada	RW	L	1993–94	Vsetín, Czechoslovakia	first
27		Michael Peca – C	C	R	1995–96	Toronto, Ontario	second (1994)
32		Rob Ray	RW	L	1988	Stirling, Ontario	first
37		Curtis Brown – A	C	L	1994	Unity, Saskatchewan	first
41		Stu Barnes	C	R	1998–99	Spruce Grove, Alberta	second (1996)
80		Geoff Sanderson	LW	L	1997–98	Hay River, Northwest Territories	first
81		Miroslav Satan	RW	L	1996–97	Jacovce, Czechoslovakia	first
90		Joe Juneau	C	L	1998–99	Pont-Rouge, Quebec	second (1998)

Players

Stanley Cup engraving

• † Brent Severyn played only 30 games, missing 22 regular season games due to injuries, and was a healthy scratch for the playoffs. Dallas asked the NHL to include his name, because he spent the entire season with Dallas.
• †† Derek Plante – played 41 regular season games for Buffalo and 10 for Dallas, NHL total 51 games. He also played 6 playoff games. His name was included on the cup, because he spent the whole season in the NHL.
• Mike Modano and Shawn Chambers were the only players on the roster remaining from 1990-91 Minnesota North Stars. Chambers left the Stars in summer of 1991 for Washington. He joined Tampa Bay in summer of 1992. Chambers won the Stanley Cup first year in New Jersey in 1995, before rejoining the Stars in summer of 1997. The North Stars in 1990-91 were coached by Bob Gainey (who would become general manager in 1992 and hold the position when the team relocated), where they lost in 6 games to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals.

Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas in 1993 to become the Dallas Stars. Chambers was not with the North Stars/Stars for the whole period between 1991 and 1997, as he won the Stanley Cup in 1995 with the New Jersey Devils, before rejoining the Stars.

Included on the team picture, but left off the Stanley Cup.

• In February, Dallas added #6 Doug Lidster (D) from the Canadian national team, and #37 Brad Lukowich (D), from the minor league Kalamazoo Wings. Lidster played 17 regular season and 4 playoff games. Lukowich played 14 regular season and 8 playoff games (2 games in conference finals). They were left off the cup even though they played in the playoffs.
• Leon Friedrich† (Video Coordinator), Craig Lowery† (Trainer Asst.), Doug Warner† (Equipment Asst.) – All 5 members were awarded Stanley Cup Rings