As always the regular season saw several surprises. The San Jose Sharks, who many felt would be one of the elite teams in the West, stumbled early and badly and disassembled much of the team. The two-year-old Minnesota Wild, on the other hand, got out to an early start and held onto their first ever playoff berth throughout the season, winning coach Jacques Lemaire the Jack Adams Award.
The most surprising team was perhaps the Tampa Bay Lightning, which many had predicted to finish last, contesting for the Southeast Division title and making the playoffs for the first time in seven years. The most disappointing teams, other than the Sharks, were the New York Rangers, who finished out of the playoffs again despite bearing the league's leading payroll, and the Carolina Hurricanes, who finished last overall after a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Finals the year before.
At the midpoint of the season the Canucks lead the Western Conference, and Ottawa lead the East. Vancouver stumbled somewhat over the stretch and lost the Northwest Division title to Colorado and the Western Conference one to Dallas. Ottawa continued to dominate, having the best season in franchise history and winning both the Eastern Conference and the Presidents' Trophy.
The season was also marred by financial difficulties. Despite their success the Ottawa Senators were in bankruptcy protection for almost all of 2003, and at one point could not pay the players. Owner Rod Bryden tried a variety of innovative financing strategies, but these all failed and the team was purchased by billionaire Eugene Melnyk. The Buffalo Sabres also entered bankruptcy protection before being saved by New York businessman Tom Golisano. The financial struggles of the Pittsburgh Penguins continued as the team continued to unload its most expensive players.
Worries over the decline in scoring and the neutral zone trap continued. The season began with an attempted crack down on obstruction and interference, but by the midpoint of the season this effort had petered out. The expansion teams in the southern United States began to suffer financially, with many empty seats to be found in each arena. Most teams lost money on the season. The one bright spot was the increasing value of the Canadian dollar, which made the six Canadian teams more competitive than they had been in years.
Final standings[]
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
The Stanley Cup playoffs was one of shocking upsets in the Western Conference and hard fought battles in the Eastern Conference.
The most closely watched series in the first round was that between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers. Two teams built around physical play with high salary and front-page trade deadline acquisitions. The series did not disappoint and the Flyers ousted the Leafs in seven games. The Senators easily dispatched the New York Islanders, who had traded away their starting goaltender (Chris Osgood) before the playoffs. Despite losing the first two games, Tampa Bay rallied and defeated their division rival the Washington Capitals. New Jersey easily defeated the Boston Bruins, effectively shutting down star player Joe Thornton.
In the west, the first round was one of unmitigated shock to all hockey watchers. The defending champions and perennial cup favourite Detroit Red Wings were swept by the underdog Mighty Ducks of Anaheim behind the goaltending of Jean-Sebastien Giguere. After losing three out of the first four games, the Minnesota Wild came back and defeated the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche in game seven. Vancouver also lost three of its first four games with the St. Louis Blues, but then rallied and won game seven. The only round that surprised no one was round seven of the Dallas Stars-Edmonton Oilers grudge match that saw the first place Stars oust the Oilers with only some difficulty.
The second round in the west brought more upsets. The Minnesota Wild again fell 3–1 behind while playing Vancouver, but rallied and defeated them in seven games. Giguere's stellar goaltending continued to triumph as the Ducks ousted the Stars in six games. The Western Conference final was a meeting of two dark horse teams, but the superb goaltending of Giguere and the Ducks triumphed over the tight checking of the Minnesota Wild.
The east was far more predictable as Tampa Bay's youth showed when playing the grizzled veterans of the New Jersey Devils and the Ottawa Senators dispatched a tired Flyers team for the second year in a row. The Eastern Conference finals were a contrast of styles between the offensively explosive Senators and the defense minded Devils. The Devils came out to an early lead in the series, Ottawa rallied, winning games five and six on the energizing play of rookie Jason Spezza, but then the Devils regained their form as goaltender Martin Brodeur helped them win game seven and advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the third time in four years.
The Stanley Cup finals were a duel between two elite goaltenders, but after seven games the Devils triumphed to win their third Cup in seven years. The series also saw Scott Stevens land one of his prototypical crushing hits on Anaheim captain Paul Kariya, similar to the one that had knocked out Eric Lindros, then of the Flyers in the 2000 Playoffs. Unlike Lindros, Kariya returned to the game only ten minutes later and scored.
1As of 2007, this playoff game is the 19th longest NHL overtime game ever. 53 minutes and 34 seconds of overtime were played before Mark Recchi scored the game-winning goal.
Western Conference Quarterfinals[]
Dallas vs. Edmonton
Date
Away
Home
April 9
Edmonton 2
1 Dallas
April 12
Edmonton 1
6 Dallas
April 13
Dallas 2
3 Edmonton
April 15
Dallas 3
1 Edmonton
April 17
Edmonton 2
5 Dallas
April 19
Dallas 3
2 Edmonton
Dallas wins series 4–2
Detroit vs. Anaheim
Date
Away
Home
April 10
Anaheim 2
1 Detroit
3OT
April 12
Anaheim 3
2 Detroit
April 14
Detroit 1
2 Anaheim
April 16
Detroit 2
3 Anaheim
OT
Anaheim wins series 4–0
Colorado vs. Minnesota
Date
Away
Home
April 10
Minnesota 4
2 Colorado
April 12
Minnesota 2
3 Colorado
April 14
Colorado 3
0 Minnesota
April 16
Colorado 3
1 Minnesota
April 19
Minnesota 3
2 Colorado
April 21
Colorado 2
3 Minnesota
OT
April 22
Minnesota 3
2 Colorado
OT
Minnesota wins series 4–3
Vancouver vs. St. Louis
Date
Away
Home
April 10
St. Louis 6
0 Vancouver
April 12
St. Louis 1
2 Vancouver
April 14
Vancouver 1
3 St. Louis
April 16
Vancouver 1
4 St. Louis
April 18
St. Louis 3
5 Vancouver
April 20
Vancouver 4
3 St. Louis
April 22
St. Louis 1
4 Vancouver
Vancouver wins series 4–3
Conference Semifinals[]
Eastern Conference Semifinals[]
Ottawa vs. Philadelphia
Date
Away
Home
April 25
Philadelphia 2
4 Ottawa
April 27
Philadelphia 2
0 Ottawa
April 29
Ottawa 3
2 Philadelphia
OT
May 1
Ottawa 0
1 Philadelphia
May 3
Philadelphia 2
5 Ottawa
May 5
Ottawa 5
1 Philadelphia
Ottawa wins series 4–2
New Jersey vs. Tampa Bay
Date
Away
Home
April 24
Tampa Bay 0
3 New Jersey
April 26
Tampa Bay 2
3 New Jersey
OT
April 28
New Jersey 3
4 Tampa Bay
April 30
New Jersey 3
1 Tampa Bay
May 2
Tampa Bay 1
2 New Jersey
3OT
New Jersey wins series 4–1
Western Conference Semifinals[]
Dallas vs. Anaheim
Date
Away
Home
April 24
Anaheim 4
3 Dallas
5OT2
April 26
Anaheim 3
2 Dallas
OT
April 28
Dallas 2
1 Anaheim
April 30
Dallas 0
1 Anaheim
May 3
Anaheim 1
4 Dallas
May 5
Dallas 3
4 Anaheim
Anaheim wins series 4–2
Vancouver vs. Minnesota
Date
Away
Home
April 25
Minnesota 3
4 Vancouver
OT
April 27
Minnesota 3
2 Vancouver
April 29
Vancouver 3
2 Minnesota
May 2
Vancouver 3
2 Minnesota
OT
May 5
Minnesota 7
2 Vancouver
May 7
Vancouver 1
5 Minnesota
May 8
Minnesota 4
2 Vancouver
Minnesota wins series 4–3
2As of 2006, this playoff game is the 4th longest NHL overtime game. 80 minutes and 48 seconds of overtime were played before Petr Sykora scored the game-winning goal.
