2003–04 NHL season
The 2003–04 NHL season was the 87th regular season of the National Hockey League. The thirty teams played 82 games in a new format that increased divisional games from 5 to 6 per team (30 total), conference games from 3 to 4 (32 total), and decreased inter-conference games to at least one per team, with three extra games (18 in total).
2003–04 NHL season | |
---|---|
League | National Hockey League |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Duration | October 8, 2003 – June 7, 2004 |
Number of games | 82 |
Number of teams | 30 |
TV partner(s) | CBC, TSN, RDS (Canada) ESPN, ABC (United States) |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Marc-Andre Fleury |
Picked by | Pittsburgh Penguins |
Regular season | |
Presidents' Trophy | Detroit Red Wings |
Season MVP | Martin St. Louis (Lightning) |
Top scorer | Martin St. Louis (Lightning) |
Playoffs | |
Playoffs MVP | Brad Richards (Lightning) |
Stanley Cup | |
Champions | Tampa Bay Lightning |
Runners-up | Calgary Flames |
The Stanley Cup winners were the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the best of seven series 4–3 against the Calgary Flames. This was the first season since the 1969–70 season that teams would wear their dark jerseys at home. For the fourth time in eight years, the all-time record for total shutouts in a season was shattered, as 192 shutouts were recorded. The 2003–04 regular season was also the first one (excluding the lockout-shortened regular season of 1994–95) since 1967–68 in which there was neither a 50-goal scorer, nor a 100-point scorer.
This was the final season that ABC and ESPN televised NHL games. It was also the final NHL season before the 2004–05 NHL lockout, and the final season in which games could end in ties.
Regular season
changeFinal standings
changeDetroit Red Wings won the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
For rankings in conference, division leaders are automatically ranked 1–3. These three, plus the next five teams in the conference standings, earn playoff berths at the end of the season.
Eastern Conference
changeNo. | CR | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 40 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 229 | 186 | 101 |
2 | 6 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 43 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 213 | 164 | 100 |
3 | 8 | New York Islanders | 82 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 237 | 210 | 91 |
4 | 13 | New York Rangers | 82 | 27 | 40 | 7 | 8 | 206 | 250 | 69 |
5 | 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 23 | 47 | 8 | 4 | 190 | 303 | 58 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
No. | CR | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 41 | 19 | 15 | 7 | 209 | 188 | 104 |
2 | 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 45 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 242 | 204 | 103 |
3 | 5 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 43 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 262 | 189 | 102 |
4 | 7 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 41 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 208 | 192 | 93 |
5 | 9 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 37 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 220 | 221 | 85 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
No. | CR | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 46 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 245 | 192 | 106 |
2 | 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 33 | 37 | 8 | 4 | 214 | 243 | 78 |
3 | 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 28 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 172 | 209 | 76 |
4 | 12 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 28 | 35 | 15 | 4 | 188 | 221 | 75 |
5 | 14 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 23 | 46 | 10 | 3 | 186 | 253 | 59 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
R | Div | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Z- Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 46 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 245 | 192 | 106 |
2 | Y- Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 41 | 19 | 15 | 7 | 209 | 188 | 104 |
3 | Y- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 40 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 209 | 188 | 101 |
4 | X- Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 45 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 242 | 204 | 103 |
5 | X- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 43 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 262 | 189 | 102 |
6 | X- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 43 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 213 | 164 | 100 |
7 | X- Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 41 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 208 | 192 | 93 |
8 | X- New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 237 | 210 | 91 |
8.5 | ||||||||||
9 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 220 | 221 | 85 |
10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 33 | 37 | 8 | 4 | 214 | 243 | 78 |
11 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 28 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 172 | 209 | 76 |
12 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 28 | 35 | 15 | 4 | 188 | 221 | 75 |
13 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 27 | 40 | 7 | 8 | 206 | 250 | 69 |
14 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 23 | 46 | 10 | 3 | 186 | 253 | 59 |
15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 23 | 47 | 8 | 4 | 190 | 303 | 58 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
Z- Clinched Conference; Y- Clinched Division; X- Clinched Playoff spot
Western Conference
changeNo. | CR | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 48 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 255 | 189 | 109 |
2 | 7 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 39 | 30 | 11 | 2 | 191 | 198 | 91 |
3 | 8 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 216 | 217 | 91 |
4 | 14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 25 | 45 | 8 | 4 | 177 | 238 | 62 |
5 | 15 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 20 | 43 | 11 | 8 | 188 | 259 | 59 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
No. | CR | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 43 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 235 | 194 | 101 |
2 | 4 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 40 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 235 | 198 | 100 |
3 | 6 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 42 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 200 | 176 | 94 |
4 | 9 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 36 | 29 | 12 | 5 | 221 | 208 | 89 |
5 | 10 | Minnesota Wild | 82 | 30 | 29 | 20 | 3 | 188 | 183 | 83 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
No. | CR | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | San Jose Sharks | 82 | 43 | 21 | 12 | 6 | 219 | 183 | 104 |
2 | 5 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 41 | 26 | 13 | 2 | 194 | 175 | 97 |
3 | 11 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 28 | 29 | 16 | 9 | 205 | 217 | 81 |
4 | 12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 82 | 29 | 35 | 10 | 8 | 184 | 213 | 76 |
5 | 13 | Phoenix Coyotes | 82 | 22 | 36 | 18 | 6 | 188 | 245 | 68 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
R | Div | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | P- Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 48 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 255 | 189 | 109 |
2 | Y- San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 43 | 21 | 12 | 6 | 255 | 183 | 104 |
3 | Y- Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 43 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 235 | 194 | 101 |
4 | X- Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 40 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 236 | 198 | 100 |
5 | X- Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 41 | 26 | 13 | 2 | 194 | 175 | 97 |
6 | X- Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 42 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 200 | 176 | 94 |
7 | X- St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 39 | 30 | 11 | 2 | 191 | 198 | 91 |
8 | X- Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 216 | 217 | 91 |
8.5 | ||||||||||
9 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 36 | 29 | 12 | 5 | 221 | 208 | 89 |
10 | Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 30 | 29 | 20 | 3 | 188 | 183 | 83 |
11 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 28 | 29 | 16 | 9 | 205 | 217 | 81 |
12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PA | 82 | 29 | 35 | 10 | 8 | 184 | 213 | 76 |
13 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 22 | 36 | 18 | 6 | 188 | 245 | 68 |
14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 25 | 45 | 8 | 4 | 177 | 238 | 62 |
15 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 20 | 43 | 11 | 8 | 188 | 259 | 59 |
Divisions: CE – Central, PA – Pacific, NW – Northwest
P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot
Scoring leaders
changeNote: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Martin St. Louis | Tampa Bay | 82 | 38 | 56 | 94 |
Ilya Kovalchuk | Atlanta | 81 | 41 | 46 | 87 |
Joe Sakic | Colorado | 81 | 33 | 54 | 87 |
Markus Naslund | Vancouver | 78 | 35 | 49 | 84 |
Marian Hossa | Ottawa | 81 | 36 | 46 | 82 |
Patrik Elias | New Jersey | 82 | 38 | 43 | 81 |
Daniel Alfredsson | Ottawa | 77 | 32 | 48 | 80 |
Cory Stillman | Tampa Bay | 81 | 25 | 55 | 80 |
Robert Lang | Washington / Detroit | 69 | 30 | 49 | 79 |
Brad Richards | Tampa Bay | 82 | 26 | 53 | 79 |
Leading goaltenders
changeNote: GP = Games Played; Mins = Minutes Played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OT = Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against Average
Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Martin Brodeur | New Jersey | 75 | 4554 | 38 | 26 | 11 | 154 | 11 | .917 | 2.03 |
Marty Turco | Dallas | 73 | 4359 | 37 | 21 | 13 | 144 | 9 | .913 | 1.98 |
Ed Belfour | Toronto | 59 | 3444 | 34 | 19 | 6 | 122 | 10 | .918 | 2.13 |
Tomas Vokoun | Nashville | 73 | 4221 | 34 | 29 | 10 | 178 | 3 | .909 | 2.53 |
Dan Cloutier | Vancouver | 60 | 3539 | 33 | 21 | 6 | 134 | 5 | .914 | 2.27 |
Stanley Cup Playoffs
changeNote: All dates in 2004.
The 2004 playoffs were considered to be wide open with no clear favourite. All of the top teams had weaknesses. Tampa Bay and Boston were both young teams with no history of recent postseason success. Detroit, Ottawa, Colorado, and Philadelphia all had major questions in goal. New Jersey was marred by injuries to Scott Stevens and Brian Rafalski, while Vancouver was missing the suspended Todd Bertuzzi.
The first-round Eastern Conference matchups were notable for the number of heated rivalries. The Ottawa Senators met the Toronto Maple Leafs for the fourth time in five years in the always passion-filled Battle of Ontario. The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens met in a resumption of the most common of all NHL playoff series, and one which the Canadiens have thoroughly dominated, including an upset win two years prior. The Philadelphia Flyers also played a hated division rival in the New Jersey Devils. The only non-rivalry was the Tampa Bay-New York Islanders series.
The West saw the resumption of the Vancouver-Calgary rivalry, which had been somewhat dormant as the Flames made the playoffs for the first time since 1996. In a less passionate but still interesting matchup, Detroit played division rival Nashville (whom they had struggled against during the regular season) in Nashville's first ever franchise visit to the playoffs. San Jose met the St. Louis Blues, while the always difficult four-five matchup saw Colorado and Dallas meet.
The Calgary Flames, a sixth seed, defeated three straight division champions, the Canucks, the Red Wings and the Sharks to become the first Canadian team to reach the Stanley Cup Finals in ten years, since the Canucks lost to the Rangers in the Finals in 1994. They faced the Tampa Bay Lightning, who defeated the Islanders in five, swept the Canadiens and defeated the Flyers in seven games.
The Flames and the Lightning battled hard in the Stanley Cup Finals, eventually pushing the series to seven games. By game 5, the Flames took the 3–2 series lead back to Calgary, and in game six, a puck appeared to have gone into the net, which would have made the game 3–2, but the goal light did not go on, the referee did not signal that a goal had been scored, and play went on, no goal counted. Extensive replays showed the play was inconclusive. The Lightning would win the game in double overtime, and go on to win the Stanley Cup with a 2–1 win in game seven, with two goals from Ruslan Fedotenko. Brad Richards, with a team-high 25 points in the playoffs, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Playoff bracket
changeConference Quarterfinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Stanley Cup Finals | |||||||||||||||
1 | Tampa Bay | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
8 | NY Islanders | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Tampa Bay | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
7 | Montreal | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | Boston | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
7 | Montreal | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Tampa Bay | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | Philadelphia | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | Philadelphia | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
6 | New Jersey | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | Philadelphia | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Toronto | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Toronto | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
5 | Ottawa | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
E1 | Tampa Bay | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
W6 | Calgary | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Detroit | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
8 | Nashville | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
6 | Calgary | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | San Jose | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
7 | St. Louis | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | San Jose | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
Western Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
6 | Calgary | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | Vancouver | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
6 | Calgary | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | San Jose | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Colorado | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Colorado | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
5 | Dallas | 1 |
Conference Quarterfinals
changeEastern Conference Quarterfinals
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Western Conference Quarterfinals
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Conference Semifinals
changeEastern Conference Semifinals
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Western Conference Semifinals
change
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Conference Finals
change
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Finals
changeTampa Bay vs. Calgary | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date | Away | Home | |
May 25 | Calgary 4 | 1 Tampa Bay | |
May 27 | Calgary 1 | 4 Tampa Bay | |
May 29 | Tampa Bay 0 | 3 Calgary | |
May 31 | Tampa Bay 1 | 0 Calgary | |
June 3 | Calgary 3 | 2 Tampa Bay | OT |
June 5 | Tampa Bay 3 | 2 Calgary | 2OT |
June 7 | Calgary 1 | 2 Tampa Bay | |
Tampa Bay wins series 4–3 and Stanley Cup | |||
Brad Richards (Tampa Bay) wins Conn Smythe Trophy |
Scoring leaders
changeNote: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brad Richards | Tampa Bay | 23 | 12 | 13 | 25 |
Martin St. Louis | Tampa Bay | 23 | 9 | 15 | 24 |
Jarome Iginla | Calgary | 26 | 13 | 9 | 22 |
Fredrik Modin | Tampa Bay | 23 | 8 | 11 | 19 |
Craig Conroy | Calgary | 26 | 6 | 11 | 17 |
Vincent Lecavalier | Tampa Bay | 23 | 9 | 7 | 16 |
Keith Primeau | Philadelphia | 18 | 9 | 7 | 16 |
Martin Gelinas | Calgary | 26 | 8 | 6 | 14 |
Vincent Damphousse | San Jose | 17 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
Alexei Zhamnov | Philadelphia | 18 | 4 | 10 | 14 |
NHL awards
changeThe NHL Awards presentation took place in Toronto.
All-Star teams
changeFirst games
changeThe following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2003–04 (listed with their first team):
- Joffrey Lupul, Anaheim Mighty Ducks
- Kari Lehtonen, Atlanta Thrashers
- Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
- Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres
- Matthew Lombardi, Calgary Flames
- Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
- Tuomo Ruutu, Chicago Blackhawks
- John-Michael Liles, Colorado Avalanche
- Marek Svatos, Colorado Avalanche
- Nikolai Zherdev, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Pascal Leclaire, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Michael Ryder, Montreal Canadiens
- Jordin Tootoo, Nashville Predators
- Marek Zidlicky, Nashville Predators
- Antoine Vermette, Ottawa Senators
- Antero Niittymaki, Philadelphia Flyers
- Joni Pitkanen, Philadelphia Flyers
- Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Tom Preissing, San Jose Sharks
- Alexander Semin, Washington Capitals
Last games
changeThe following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 2003–04 (listed with their last team):
- Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche
- Steve Thomas, Detroit Red Wings
- Adam Oates, Edmonton Oilers
- Igor Larionov, New Jersey Devils
- Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils
- Cliff Ronning, New York Islanders
- Mark Messier, New York Rangers
- Vincent Damphousse, San Jose Sharks
- Al MacInnis, St. Louis Blues
- Ron Francis, Toronto Maple Leafs
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "2003-2004 Division Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "2003–2004 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.