2002 - 03 Detroit Red Wings season The 2002 – 03 Detroit Red Wings season was the 77th National Hockey League season in Detroit , Michigan . The Wings scored 110 points , winning the Central Division , but just one point behind the Dallas Stars for the Western Conference ' s first seed . Coming off their latest Stanley Cup victory , the Red Wings started looking towards the future . Dominik Hasek and Scotty Bowman had retired over the summer and captain Steve Yzerman was out for the first 66 games of the regular season . The weight of the team fell on Sergei Fedorov and veteran Brett Hull , who helped the Red Wings score the most goals of any team in the regular season . As newly acquired goaltender Curtis Joseph held steady in net , two more pieces of the Stanley Cup team would be traded over the course of the year . Maxim Kuznetsov and Sean Avery left in a trade for Los Angeles ' s Mathieu Schneider right before the trade deadline in an effort to push the Wings towards the playoffs . However , the pieces didn ' t fit as the Wings met the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the first round and shocked everyone by being swept in four games . Three Red Wings were named to the roster for the 2003 All Star Game : defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom , center Sergei Fedorov and head coach Dave Lewis . It was Lidstrom ' s seventh appearance at the all - star game , Fedorov ' s sixth , and Lewis ' s first appearance as a coach . The Red Wings sold out all 41 home games in 2002 – 03 as 20 , 058 fans packed Joe Louis Arena for every regular season and playoff game played in Detroit . Regular season . Season standings . " For complete final standings , see 2002 – 03 NHL season " Game log . October . Record : 6 – 3 – 1 – 0 ; Home : 3 – 1 – 1 – 0 ; Road : 3 – 2 – 0 – 0 November . Record : 6 – 4 – 2 – 1 ; Home : 4 – 1 – 1 – 1 ; Road : 2 – 3 – 1 – 0 December . Record : 10 – 1 – 4 – 0 ; Home : 7 – 1 – 1 – 0 ; Road : 3 – 0 – 3 – 0 January . Record : 5 – 7 – 1 – 1 ; Home : 1 – 2 – 1 – 0 ; Road : 4 – 5 – 0 – 1 February . Record : 7 – 2 – 1 – 1 ; Home : 5 – 1 – 1 – 1 ; Road : 2 – 1 – 0 – 0 March . Record : 13 – 3 – 0 – 0 ; Home : 7 – 0 – 0 – 0 ; Road : 6 – 3 – 0 – 0 April . Record : 1 – 0 – 1 – 1 ; Home : 1 – 0 – 0 – 0 ; Road : 0 – 0 – 1 – 1 Playoffs . The Detroit Red Wings ended the 2002 – 03 regular season as the Western Conference ' s second seed and played Anaheim in the first round . Anaheim upset Detroit in a four - game sweep . The Mighty Ducks would advance and reach the Stanley Cup Finals , losing in Game 7 to the New Jersey Devils . Western Conference Quarter - finals : vs . ( 7 ) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim . Anaheim wins series 4 – 0 Player stats . Skaters . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / - = Plus / minus ; PIM = Penalty minutes " Goaltending . " Note : GP = Games played ; TOI = Time on ice ( minutes ) ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; OTL = Overtime losses ; GA = Goals against ; SO = Shutouts ; SV % = Save percentage ; GAA = Goals against average " Awards and records . Milestones . Brett Hull scored his 700th career goal , February 10 , 2003 . Transactions . The Red Wings were involved in the following transactions during the 2002 – 03 season . Draft picks . Detroit ' s picks at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto , Ontario , Canada . The Red Wings were slated to pick 30th overall but traded their first pick to the Atlanta Thrashers . Farm teams . Grand Rapids Griffins . The Griffins were Detroit ' s top affiliate in the American Hockey League in 2002 – 03 . Toledo Storm . The Storm were the Red Wings ' ECHL affiliate for the 2002 – 03 season . References . < div class = " references - small " >