2002–03 NHL season

The **2002–03 NHL season** was the 86th regular season of the National Hockey League. Thirty teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the New Jersey Devils, who won the best of seven series 4–3 against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. This was the last season before the NHL switched home and away jerseys.

### Final standings

***Note:** W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points_

#### Eastern Conference

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Atlantic Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|OTL|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PTS|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|New Jersey Devils(2)|46|20|10|6|216|166|108|||||||||
|Philadelphia Flyers(4)|45|20|13|4|211|166|107|||||||||
|New York Islanders (8)|35|34|11|2|224|231|83|||||||||
|New York Rangers|32|36|10|4|210|231|78|||||||||
|Pittsburgh Penguins|27|44|6|5|189|255|65|||||||||

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Northeast Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|OTL|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PTS|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Ottawa Senators(1)|52|21|8|1|263|182|113|||||||||
|Toronto Maple Leafs(5)|44|28|7|3|236|208|98|||||||||
|Boston Bruins(7)|36|31|11|4|245|237|87|||||||||
|Montreal Canadiens|30|35|8|9|206|234|77|||||||||
|Buffalo Sabres|27|37|10|8|190|219|72|||||||||

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Southeast Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|OTL|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PTS|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Tampa Bay Lightning(3)|36|25|16|5|219|210|93|||||||||
|Washington Capitals(6)|39|29|8|6|224|220|92|||||||||
|Atlanta Thrashers|31|39|7|5|226|284|74|||||||||
|Florida Panthers|24|36|13|9|176|237|70|||||||||
|Carolina Hurricanes|22|43|11|6|171|240|61|||||||||

#### Western Conference

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Central Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|OTL|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PTS|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Detroit Red Wings(2)|48|20|10|4|269|203|110|||||||||
|St. Louis Blues(5)|41|24|11|6|253|222|99|||||||||
|Chicago Blackhawks|30|33|13|6|207|226|79|||||||||
|Nashville Predators|27|35|13|7|183|206|74|||||||||
|Columbus Blue Jackets|29|42|8|3|213|263|69|||||||||

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Northwest Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|OTL|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PTS|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Colorado Avalanche(3)|42|19|13|8|251|194|105|||||||||
|Vancouver Canucks(4)|45|23|13|1|264|208|104|||||||||
|Minnesota Wild (6)|42|29|10|1|198|178|95|||||||||
|Edmonton Oilers(8)|36|26|11|9|231|230|92|||||||||
|Calgary Flames|29|36|13|4|186|228|75|||||||||

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Pacific Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|OTL|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PTS|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Dallas Stars(1)|46|17|15|4|245|169|111|||||||||
|Mighty Ducks of Anaheim(7)|40|27|9|6|203|193|95|||||||||
|Los Angeles Kings|33|37|6|6|203|221|78|||||||||
|Phoenix Coyotes|31|35|11|5|204|230|78|||||||||
|San Jose Sharks|28|37|9|8|214|239|73|||||||||

### Scoring leaders

***Note:** GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points_
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="125"|Player|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50"|Team|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="25"|GP|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="25"|G|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="25"|A|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="25"|Pts|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Peter Forsberg|Colorado|75|29|77|106|||||||
|Markus Naslund|Vancouver|82|48|56|104|||||||
|Joe Thornton|Boston|77|36|65|101|||||||
|Milan Hejduk|Colorado|82|50|48|98|||||||
|Todd Bertuzzi|Vancouver|82|46|51|97|||||||
|Pavol Demitra|St. Louis|78|36|57|93|||||||
|Glen Murray|Boston|82|44|48|92|||||||
|Mario Lemieux|Pittsburgh|67|28|63|91|||||||
|Dany Heatley|Atlanta|77|41|48|89|||||||
|Zigmund Palffy|Los Angeles|76|37|48|85|||||||

## Stanley Cup Playoffs

***Note:** All dates in 2003._

#### Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

|bgcolor="#DDDDDD" colspan="4"|Ottawa vs. NY Islanders||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"||||
|April 9|**NY Islanders 3**|0 Ottawa|||
|April 12|NY Islanders 0|**3 Ottawa**|||
|April 14|**Ottawa 3**|2 NY Islanders|2OT||
|April 16|**Ottawa 3**|NY Islanders 1|||
|April 17|NY Islanders 1|**3 Ottawa**|||
|colspan="4"|***Ottawa wins series 4–1***|}|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"|
|April 9|Boston 1|**2 New Jersey**|||
|April 11|Boston 2|**4 New Jersey**|||
|April 13|**New Jersey 3**|0 Boston|||
|April 15|New Jersey 1|**5 Boston**|||
|April 17|Boston 0|**3 New Jersey**|||
|colspan="4"|***New Jersey wins series 4–1***|}|||
|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"||||
|April 10|**Washington 3**|0 Tampa Bay|||
|April 12|**Washington 6**|3 Tampa Bay|||
|April 15|**Tampa Bay 4**|3 Washington|OT||
|April 16|**Tampa Bay 3**|1 Washington|||
|April 18|Washington 1|**2 Tampa Bay**|||
|April 20|**Tampa Bay 2**|1 Washington|3OT||
|colspan="4"|***Tampa Bay wins series 4–2***|}|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"|
|April 9|**Toronto 5**|3 Philadelphia|||
|April 11|Toronto 1|**4 Philadelphia**|||
|April 14|Philadelphia 3|**4 Toronto**|2OT||
|April 16|**Philadelphia 3**|2 Toronto|3OT<sup>1</sup>||
|April 19|Toronto 1|**4 Philadelphia**|||
|April 21|Philadelphia 1|**2 Toronto**|2OT||
|April 22|Toronto 1|**6 Philadelphia**|||
|colspan="4"|***Philadelphia wins series 4–3***|}|||
<sup>1</sup><small>As of 2008, 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.</small>

#### Western Conference Quarterfinals

|bgcolor="#DDDDDD" colspan="4"|Dallas vs. Edmonton||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"||||
|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|||
|colspan="4"|***Dallas wins series 4–2***|}|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"|
|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||
|colspan="4"|***Anaheim wins series 4–0***|}|||
|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"||||
|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||
|colspan="4"|***Minnesota wins series 4–3***|}|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"|
|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**|||
|colspan="4"|***Vancouver wins series 4–3***|}|||

#### Eastern Conference Semifinals

|bgcolor="#DDDDDD" colspan="4"|Ottawa vs. Philadelphia||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"||||
|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|||
|colspan="4"|***Ottawa wins series 4–2***|}|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"|
|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||
|colspan="4"|***New Jersey wins series 4–1***|}|||

#### Western Conference Semifinals

|bgcolor="#DDDDDD" colspan="4"|Dallas vs. Anaheim||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"||||
|April 24|**Anaheim 4**|3 Dallas|5OT<sup>2</sup>||
|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**|||
|colspan="4"|***Anaheim wins series 4–2***|}|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"|
|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|||
|colspan="4"|***Minnesota wins series 4–3***|}|||
<sup>2</sup><small>As 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.</small>

### Conference Finals

|bgcolor="#DDDDDD" colspan="4"|_Eastern Conference_ Ottawa vs. New Jersey||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"||||
|May 10|New Jersey 2|**3 Ottawa**|OT||
|May 13|**New Jersey 4**|1 Ottawa|||
|May 15|Ottawa 0|**1 New Jersey**|||
|May 17|Ottawa 2|**5 New Jersey**|||
|May 19|New Jersey 1|**3 Ottawa**|||
|May 21|**Ottawa 2**|1 New Jersey|OT||
|May 23|**New Jersey 3**|2 Ottawa|||
|colspan="4"|***New Jersey wins series 4–3 and Prince of Wales Trophy***|}|valign="top"|{| cellpadding="3" border="1"|
|May 10|**Anaheim 1**|0 Minnesota|2OT||
|May 12|**Anaheim 2**|0 Minnesota|||
|May 14|Minnesota 0|**4 Anaheim**|||
|May 16|Minnesota 1|**2 Anaheim**|||
|colspan="4"|***Anaheim wins series 4–0 and Clarence S. Campbell Bowl***|}|||

### Finals

|bgcolor="#DDDDDD" colspan="4"|Anaheim vs. New Jersey|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|May 27|Anaheim 0|**3 New Jersey**||
|May 29|Anaheim 0|**3 New Jersey**||
|May 31|New Jersey 2|**3 Anaheim**|OT|
|June 2|New Jersey 0|**1 Anaheim**|OT|
|June 5|Anaheim 3|**6 New Jersey**||
|June 7|New Jersey 2|**5 Anaheim**||
|June 9|Anaheim 0|**3 New Jersey**||
|colspan="4"|***New Jersey wins series 4–3 and Stanley Cup***|||
|colspan="4"|***J.S. Giguère (Anaheim) wins Conn Smythe Trophy***|||

### Scoring leaders

***Note:**_ GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30%"|Player|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30%"|Team|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GP|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|G|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|A|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|Pts|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Jamie Langenbrunner|New Jersey Devils|24|11|7|18|||||||
|Scott Niedermayer|New Jersey Devils|24|2|16|18|||||||
|Marian Gaborik|Minnesota Wild|18|9|8|17|||||||
|John Madden|New Jersey Devils|24|6|10|16|||||||
|Marian Hossa|Ottawa Senators|18|5|11|16|||||||
|Mike Modano|Dallas Stars|12|5|10|15|||||||
|Jeff Friesen|New Jersey Devils|24|10|4|14|||||||
|Markus Naslund|Vancouver Canucks|14|5|9|14|||||||
|Sergei Zubov|Dallas Stars|12|4|10|14|||||||
|Andrew Brunette|Minnesota Wild|18|7|6|13|||||||
|Wes Walz|Minnesota Wild|18|7|6|13|||||||

## NHL awards

The **NHL Awards** presentation took place in Toronto.
|Presidents' Trophy:|Ottawa Senators|
| --- | --- |
|Prince of Wales Trophy:|New Jersey Devils|
|Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:|Mighty Ducks of Anaheim|
|Art Ross Memorial Trophy:|Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche|
|Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:|Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings|
|Calder Memorial Trophy:|Barret Jackman, St. Louis Blues|
|Conn Smythe Trophy:|Jean-Sébastien Giguère, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim|
|Frank J. Selke Trophy:|Jere Lehtinen, Dallas Stars|
|Hart Memorial Trophy:|Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche|
|Jack Adams Award:|Jacques Lemaire, Minnesota Wild|
|James Norris Memorial Trophy:|Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings|
|King Clancy Memorial Trophy:|Brendan Shanahan, Detroit Red Wings|
|Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:|Alexander Mogilny, Toronto Maple Leafs|
|Lester B. Pearson Award:|Markus Naslund, Vancouver Canucks|
|Lester Patrick Trophy:|Willie O'Ree, Raymond Bourque, Ron DeGregorio|
|Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy:|Milan Hejduk, Colorado Avalanche|
|NHL Plus/Minus Award:|Peter Forsberg & Milan Hejduk, Colorado Avalanche|
|Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award:|Marty Turco, Dallas Stars|
|Vezina Trophy:|Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils|
|William M. Jennings Trophy:|Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils; Roman Cechmanek & Robert Esche, Philadelphia Flyers|

### All-Star teams

|First Team|Position|Second Team||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils|align=center|G|Marty Turco, Dallas Stars|
|Al MacInnis, St. Louis Blues|align=center|D|Sergei Gonchar, Washington Capitals|
|Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings|align=center|D|Derian Hatcher, Dallas Stars|
|Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche|align=center|C|Joe Thornton, Boston Bruins|
|Todd Bertuzzi, Vancouver Canucks|align=center|RW|Milan Hejduk, Colorado Avalanche|
|Markus Naslund, Vancouver Canucks|align=center|LW|Paul Kariya, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim|

## First games

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2002–03 (listed with their first team):
- Martin Gerber, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
- Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
- Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
- Jordan Leopold, Calgary Flames
- Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Steve Ott, Dallas Stars
- Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings
- Ales Hemsky, Edmonton Oilers
- Fernando Pisani, Edmonton Oilers
- Jarret Stoll, Edmonton Oilers
- Marc-Andre Bergeron, Edmonton Oilers
- Jay Bouwmeester, Florida Panthers
- Alexander Frolov, Los Angeles Kings
- Cristobal Huet, Los Angeles Kings
- Joe Corvo, Los Angeles Kings
- Mike Cammalleri, Los Angeles Kings
- Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Minnesota Wild
- Francois Beauchemin, Montreal Canadiens
- Vernon Fiddler, Nashville Predators
- Anton Volchenkov, Ottawa Senators
- Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators
- Ray Emery, Ottawa Senators
- Jonathan Cheechoo, San Jose Sharks
- Christian Backman, St. Louis Blues
- Petr Cajanek, St. Louis Blues

## Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 2002–03 (listed with their last team):
- Theoren Fleury, Chicago Blackhawks
- Claude Lemieux, Dallas Stars
- Mike Richter, New York Rangers
- Pavel Bure, New York Rangers
- Adam Graves, San Jose Sharks
- Phil Housley, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Doug Gilmour, Toronto Maple Leafs

## References

- Hockey Database
- NHL Official Website

## Infobox (sports season)

- **title**: 2002–03 NHL season
- **league**: National Hockey League
- **sport**: Ice hockey
- **duration**: October 9, 2002 – June 9, 2003
- **draft**: Draft
- **draft link**: 2002 NHL Entry Draft
- **top pick link**: List of first overall NHL draft picks
- **top pick**: Rick Nash
- **picked by**: Columbus Blue Jackets
- **season**: Regular season
- **season champ name**: Presidents' Trophy
- **season champs**: Ottawa Senators
- **mvp**: Peter Forsberg (Colorado Avalanche, Avalanche)
- **mvp link**: Hart Memorial Trophy
- **top scorer**: Peter Forsberg (Avalanche)
- **top scorer link**: Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy
- **playoffs**: Playoffs
- **playoffs link**: 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs
- **finals**: Stanley Cup
- **finals link**: 2003 Stanley Cup Finals
- **finals champ**: New Jersey Devils
- **finals runner-up**: Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
- **playoffs mvp**: Jean-Sébastien Giguère, Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Mighty Ducks)
- **playoffs mvp link**: Conn Smythe Trophy
- **nextseason year**: 2003–04 NHL season, 2003–04
- **prevseason year**: 2001–02 NHL season, 2001–02
- **no of games**: 82
- **no of teams**: 30
- **tv**: Hockey Night in Canada, CBC, TSN Hockey, TSN, NHL on RDS, RDS (Canada)
NHL on ESPN, ESPN, NHL on ABC, ABC (United States)