2003–04 Montreal Canadiens season

2003–04 Montreal Canadiens
Division	4th Northeast
Conference	7th Eastern
2003–04 record	41–30–7
Home record	23-13-4-1
Road record	18-17-3-3
Goals for	208
Goals against	192
Team information
General manager	Bob Gainey
Coach	Claude Julien
Captain	Saku Koivu
Arena	Bell Centre
Team leaders
Goals	Richard Zednik (26)
Assists	Mike Ribeiro (45)
Points	Mike Ribeiro (65)
Penalty minutes	Darren Langdon (135)
Plus/minus	Patrice Brisebois (+17)
Wins	Jose Theodore (33)
Goals against average	Jose Theodore Mathieu Garon (2.27)

The 2003–04 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 95th season of play, 87th in the National Hockey League. The Canadiens returned to the playoffs this season and made i to the Eastern Conference semi-finals after winning Conference quarter-finals against Boston Bruins 4 games to 3 before being eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning 4 games to 0.

Regular season

Heritage Classic

The Heritage Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played on November 22, 2003, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens. It was the second NHL outdoor game and the first regular season outdoor game in the history of the National Hockey League, and was modeled after the success of the "cold war" game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University in 2001.

The first NHL game to be played outdoors was in 1991 when the Los Angeles Kings played the New York Rangers in an exhibition game outside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. [1] The event took place in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium in front of a crowd of 57,167, the largest number of people to ever watch a live NHL game, despite temperatures of close to -18 °C, -30 °C (-22 °F) with wind chill. It was held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Edmonton Oilers joining the NHL in 1979.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television broadcast also set the record for most viewers of a single NHL game with 2.747 million nationwide. This was the first NHL game broadcast in HDTV on CBC.

Final standings

Northeast Division

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 losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game log

Regular season results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 9, 2003	2–5	@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	0–1–0–0
2	W	October 11, 2003	4–0	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	1–1–0–0
3	W	October 14, 2003	5–1	Washington Capitals (2003–04)	2–1–0–0
4	W	October 16, 2003	4–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)	3–1–0–0
5	L	October 18, 2003	0–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	3–2–0–0
6	W	October 20, 2003	2–1	Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)	4–2–0–0
7	W	October 23, 2003	3–0	New York Islanders (2003–04)	5–2–0–0
8	L	October 25, 2003	2–6	Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	5–3–0–0
9	L	October 27, 2003	0–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)	5–4–0–0
10	L	October 28, 2003	0–2	Boston Bruins (2003–04)	5–5–0–0
11	W	October 30, 2003	1–0 OT	@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)	6–5–0–0
12	L	November 1, 2003	1–5	New York Rangers (2003–04)	6–6–0–0
13	L	November 4, 2003	2–4	Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)	6–7–0–0
14	L	November 7, 2003	1–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)	6–8–0–0
15	W	November 8, 2003	3–0	Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)	7–8–0–0
16	T	November 11, 2003	1–1 OT	Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)	7–8–1–0
17	L	November 13, 2003	1–3	@ New York Islanders (2003–04)	7–9–1–0
18	W	November 15, 2003	3–2	@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	8–9–1–0
19	L	November 18, 2003	4–5 OT	@ Vancouver Canucks (2003–04)	8–9–1–1
20	L	November 20, 2003	1–2	@ Calgary Flames (2003–04)	8–10–1–1
21	W	November 22, 2003	4–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)	9–10–1–1
22	L	November 25, 2003	2–5	Vancouver Canucks (2003–04)	9–11–1–1
23	W	November 28, 2003	5–3	@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)	10–11–1–1
24	T	November 29, 2003	1–1 OT	Florida Panthers (2003–04)	10–11–2–1
25	W	December 2, 2003	3–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)	11–11–2–1
26	T	December 5, 2003	1–1 OT	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)	11–11–3–1
27	W	December 6, 2003	3–1	Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)	12–11–3–1
28	L	December 8, 2003	2–3	Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)	12–12–3–1
29	W	December 10, 2003	2–1	@ New York Rangers (2003–04)	13–12–3–1
30	L	December 12, 2003	2–4	@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)	13–13–3–1
31	W	December 13, 2003	5–2	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)	14–13–3–1
32	T	December 16, 2003	1–1 OT	Boston Bruins (2003–04)	14–13–4–1
33	W	December 18, 2003	5–4 OT	Nashville Predators (2003–04)	15–13–4–1
34	L	December 20, 2003	2–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	15–14–4–1
35	W	December 22, 2003	4–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)	16–14–4–1
36	L	December 23, 2003	2–3	@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)	16–15–4–1
37	L	December 27, 2003	1–2 OT	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)	16–15–4–2
38	W	December 29, 2003	2–1	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)	17–15–4–2
39	T	December 31, 2003	1–1 OT	@ Dallas Stars (2003–04)	17–15–5–2
40	W	January 3, 2004	5–1	Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)	18–15–5–2
41	W	January 4, 2004	4–1	Washington Capitals (2003–04)	19–15–5–2
42	W	January 6, 2004	3–1	Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)	20–15–5–2
43	L	January 8, 2004	1–4	Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)	20–16–5–2
44	W	January 10, 2004	8–0	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)	21–16–5–2
45	W	January 13, 2004	5–2	St. Louis Blues (2003–04)	22–16–5–2
46	W	January 14, 2004	2–1	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)	23–16–5–2
47	T	January 17, 2004	2–2 OT	New York Rangers (2003–04)	23–16–6–2
48	W	January 20, 2004	4–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)	24–16–6–2
49	L	January 23, 2004	0–2	@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)	24–17–6–2
50	L	January 24, 2004	1–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	24–18–6–2
51	L	January 27, 2004	1–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)	24–19–6–2
52	W	January 29, 2004	3–2 OT	@ Minnesota Wild (2003–04)	25–19–6–2
53	L	January 31, 2004	0–1	Boston Bruins (2003–04)	25–20–6–2
54	W	February 1, 2004	6–4	Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)	26–20–6–2
55	W	February 3, 2004	4–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)	27–20–6–2
56	W	February 5, 2004	2–1	New York Islanders (2003–04)	28–20–6–2
57	L	February 10, 2004	1–2	@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)	28–21–6–2
58	L	February 12, 2004	3–5	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)	28–22–6–2
59	L	February 14, 2004	2–5	@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	28–23–6–2
60	L	February 17, 2004	1–4	Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)	28–24–6–2
61	W	February 19, 2004	4–1	Calgary Flames (2003–04)	29–24–6–2
62	L	February 21, 2004	4–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	29–25–6–2
63	W	February 23, 2004	4–1	@ New York Rangers (2003–04)	30–25–6–2
64	W	February 24, 2004	4–2	Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	31–25–6–2
65	W	February 26, 2004	3–2 OT	@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)	32–25–6–2
66	W	February 28, 2004	1–0 OT	Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)	33–25–6–2
67	W	March 1, 2004	2–1	New Jersey Devils (2003–04)	34–25–6–2
68	L	March 3, 2004	3–4	@ San Jose Sharks (2003–04)	34–26–6–2
69	W	March 5, 2004	4–3	@ Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)	35–26–6–2
70	W	March 6, 2004	4–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)	36–26–6–2
71	W	March 8, 2004	5–2	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)	37–26–6–2
72	L	March 11, 2004	2–3 OT	Florida Panthers (2003–04)	37–26–6–3
73	W	March 13, 2004	4–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	38–26–6–3
74	W	March 16, 2004	4–2	Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)	39–26–6–3
75	T	March 19, 2004	1–1 OT	@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)	39–26–7–3
76	W	March 20, 2004	3–2	New Jersey Devils (2003–04)	40–26–7–3
77	L	March 24, 2004	1–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)	40–27–7–3
78	L	March 25, 2004	0–4	Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	40–28–7–3
79	L	March 27, 2004	2–3 OT	@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)	40–28–7–4
80	L	March 31, 2004	1–5	@ New York Islanders (2003–04)	40–29–7–4
81	L	April 1, 2004	0–2	Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)	40–30–7–4
82	W	April 3, 2004	6–3	Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)	41–30–7–4

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Ribeiro, MikeMike Ribeiro	C	81	20	45	65	34	15	7	0	5
Ryder, MichaelMichael Ryder	RW	81	25	38	63	26	10	10	0	4
Koivu, SakuSaku Koivu	C	68	14	41	55	52	-5	5	0	3
Zednik, RichardRichard Zednik	RW	81	26	24	50	63	5	7	0	9
Souray, SheldonSheldon Souray	D	63	15	20	35	104	4	6	1	3
Perreault, YanicYanic Perreault	C	69	16	15	31	40	-10	5	0	3
Brisebois, PatricePatrice Brisebois	D	71	4	27	31	22	17	2	0	0
Bulis, JanJan Bulis	C	72	13	17	30	30	-8	1	1	4
Markov, AndreiAndrei Markov	D	69	6	22	28	20	-2	2	0	0
Dagenais, PierrePierre Dagenais	RW	50	17	10	27	24	15	4	0	3
Sundstrom, NiklasNiklas Sundstrom	RW	66	8	12	20	18	3	0	0	2
Bouillon, FrancisFrancis Bouillon	D	73	2	16	18	70	1	0	0	0
Begin, SteveSteve Begin	C	52	10	5	15	41	6	0	1	1
Juneau, JoeJoe Juneau	C	70	5	10	15	20	-4	2	1	1
Ward, JasonJason Ward	RW	53	5	7	12	21	3	2	0	1
Dackell, AndreasAndreas Dackell	RW	60	4	8	12	10	8	0	0	0
Rivet, CraigCraig Rivet	D	80	4	8	12	98	-1	2	0	1
Audette, DonaldDonald Audette	RW	23	3	5	8	16	-4	0	0	0
Quintal, StephaneStephane Quintal	D	73	3	5	8	82	10	0	0	0
Dowd, JimJim Dowd	C	14	3	2	5	6	6	0	1	0
Kilger, ChadChad Kilger	LW	36	2	2	4	14	2	0	0	0
Komisarek, MikeMike Komisarek	D	46	0	4	4	34	4	0	0	0
Kovalev, AlexAlex Kovalev	RW	12	1	2	3	12	-4	0	0	1
Langdon, DarrenDarren Langdon	LW	64	0	3	3	135	-2	0	0	0
Theodore, JoseJose Theodore	G	67	0	3	3	4	0	0	0	0
Hainsey, RonRon Hainsey	D	11	1	1	2	4	3	0	0	0
Hossa, MarcelMarcel Hossa	LW	15	1	1	2	8	-3	0	0	0
Gratton, BenoitBenoit Gratton	C	4	0	1	1	4	0	0	0	0
Balej, JozefJozef Balej	RW	4	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Dwyer, GordieGordie Dwyer	LW	2	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	0
Dykhuis, KarlKarl Dykhuis	D	9	0	0	0	2	-2	0	0	0
Garon, MathieuMathieu Garon	G	19	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Higgins, ChristopherChristopher Higgins	C	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Plekanec, TomasTomas Plekanec	LW	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T/OT	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Theodore, JoseJose Theodore	3961	67	33	28	5	150	2.27	6	1860	1710	.919
Garon, MathieuMathieu Garon	1003	19	8	6	2	38	2.27	0	480	442	.921
Team:	4964	82	41	34	7	188	2.27	6	2340	2152	.920

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Koivu, SakuSaku Koivu	C	11	3	8	11	10	2	0	0
Kovalev, AlexAlex Kovalev	RW	11	6	4	10	8	1	0	1
Zednik, RichardRichard Zednik	RW	11	3	3	6	2	0	0	1
Markov, AndreiAndrei Markov	D	11	1	4	5	8	0	0	1
Rivet, CraigCraig Rivet	D	11	1	4	5	2	1	0	0
Perreault, YanicYanic Perreault	C	9	2	2	4	0	0	0	1
Brisebois, PatricePatrice Brisebois	D	11	2	1	3	4	1	0	0
Ribeiro, MikeMike Ribeiro	C	11	2	1	3	18	0	0	0
Ryder, MichaelMichael Ryder	RW	11	1	2	3	4	0	0	0
Bulis, JanJan Bulis	C	11	1	1	2	4	0	0	0
Dowd, JimJim Dowd	C	11	0	2	2	2	0	0	0
Souray, SheldonSheldon Souray	D	11	0	2	2	39	0	0	0
Theodore, JoseJose Theodore	G	11	0	2	2	0	0	0	0
Ward, JasonJason Ward	RW	5	0	2	2	2	0	0	0
Langdon, DarrenDarren Langdon	LW	9	1	0	1	6	0	0	0
Sundstrom, NiklasNiklas Sundstrom	RW	4	1	0	1	2	0	0	0
Begin, SteveSteve Begin	C	9	0	1	1	10	0	0	0
Dagenais, PierrePierre Dagenais	RW	8	0	1	1	6	0	0	0
Juneau, JoeJoe Juneau	C	11	0	1	1	4	0	0	0
Bouillon, FrancisFrancis Bouillon	D	11	0	0	0	7	0	0	0
Garon, MathieuMathieu Garon	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Komisarek, MikeMike Komisarek	D	7	0	0	0	8	0	0	0
Quintal, StephaneStephane Quintal	D	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Theodore, JoseJose Theodore	678	11	4	7	27	2.39	1	333	306	.919
Garon, MathieuMathieu Garon	12	1	0	0	0	0.00	0	6	6	1.000
Team:	690	11	4	7	27	2.35	1	339	312	.920

Note: 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;

Draft picks

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team
1	10	Andrei Kostitsyn (RW)	Belarus	CSKA Moscow (RUS)
2	40	Cory Urquhart (C)	Canada	Montreal Rocket (QMJHL)
2	61	Maxim Lapierre (C)	Canada	Montreal Rocket (QMJHL)
3	79	Ryan O'Byrne (D)	Canada	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)

See also

• 2003–04 NHL season

References

• Canadiens on Hockey Database
• Canadiens on NHL Reference