2002–03 Ottawa Senators season



The 2002–03 Ottawa Senators season saw the Senators reach the highest point in the playoffs until the 2006–07 season. They were eliminated by the New Jersey Devils, the eventual Stanley Cup winning team in the Eastern Conference final. On top of their larger success, with their total 113 points they won the President's Trophy, the Northeast Division title and the Eastern Conference title.

After their long history of debt problems, the Senators filed for bankruptcy on January 9, 2003. Fortunately, they continued regular season play after getting some emergency financing from the NHL. Despite the off-ice problems, they had a successful year, compared to their early day woes. The President's Trophy awarded to the Senators making them the first Canadian team to win it since the Calgary Flames in 1989. In the playoffs they defeated their former teammate Alexei Yashin and his New York Islanders, then the Philadelphia Flyers before coming within one game of making it into the finals, falling to the Devils.

Regular season
Right winger Marian Hossa lead the scoring for Ottawa with a huge gap over the rest of the roster, just passing Yashin's past record of 44. Without a goaltending situation, Patrick Lalime showed one of his best years, with career bests in GAA and wins.

Despite a slow start to the season after an even .500 ratio, the Senators turned around their game with a 10–game unbeaten streak. Fans were cornerened if their start was with the off-ice problems however this was soon irrelevant to the fans when they again made a playoff berth. Before the playoffs, the Senators explained they need more grit, so two separate trades to Buffalo included tough guys Vaclav Varada and Rob Ray respectively, plus two-way forward Bryan Smolinski from the Los Angeles Kings.

Playoffs
In the first round of the playoffs the team played the New York Islanders, facing former team captain Alexei Yashin for the first time in the playoffs. Yashin played well in the first game and the Islanders won the first game at the Corel Centre 3–0. The loss by the Senators was attributed to paying too much attention to stopping Yashin and not enough on the rest of the Islanders. The Senators adjusted their play for the next game winning it and the next three games in a row to win the series 4–1.

In the second round, the team faced the Philadelphia Flyers who had defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. The Senators won the series on the basis of their strong defence, holding the Flyers to only ten goals in the six games, advancing to the Eastern Conference final series against the New Jersey Devils to decide the Prince of Wales Trophy.

The first two games of the series were in Ottawa and the wins were split between the Senators and Devils. In New Jersey, the Devils won both games to put the Senators at the brink of elimination. However, the Senators came back, winning the fifth game at home and the sixth game in New Jersey to force a seventh and deciding game at home.

In the seventh game, New Jersey took the lead twice, only to see Ottawa tie twice. The game was tied 2–2, when with two minutes remaining, Devils' forward Jeff Friesen deked out Patrick Lalime and shot over his leg pad, into the net, to score the series-winning goal.

Eastern Conference Quarter-final vs. (8) New York Islanders
Date     Opponent                    W-L Score 4/9/2003 New York Islanders           L  0 – 3 4/12/2003 New York Islanders          W  3 – 0 4/14/2003 at New York Islanders       W  3 – 2 4/16/2003 at New York Islanders       W  3 – 1 4/17/2003 New York Islanders          W  4 – 1

Eastern Conference Semi-final vs. (4) Philadelphia Flyers
4/25/2003 Philadelphia Flyers         W  4 – 2 4/27/2003 Philadelphia Flyers         L  0 – 2 4/29/2003 at Philadelphia Flyers      W  3 – 2 5/1/2003 at Philadelphia Flyers       L  0 – 1 5/3/2003 Philadelphia Flyers          W  5 – 2 5/5/2003 at Philadelphia Flyers       W  5 – 1

Eastern Conference Final vs. (2) New Jersey Devils
5/10/2003 New Jersey Devils           W  3 – 2 5/13/2003 New Jersey Devils           L  1 – 4 5/15/2003 at New Jersey Devils        L  0 – 1 5/17/2003 at New Jersey Devils        L  2 – 5 5/19/2003 New Jersey Devils           W  3 – 1 5/21/2003 at New Jersey Devils        W  2 – 1 5/23/2003 New Jersey Devils           L  2 – 3



Regular season

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Playoffs

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T/OT = Ties/Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

 * Molson Cup - Daniel Alfredsson
 * President's Trophy

Waivers
Source:

Roster
Sources:

Draft picks
Ottawa's draft picks from the 2002 NHL Entry Draft held on June 22 and June 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

Farm teams

 * Binghamton Senators (American Hockey League)