2003 Stanley Cup Finals The 2003 Stanley Cup Final matched the Eastern Conference champion , the second - seeded New Jersey Devils , against the Western Conference champion , the seventh - seeded Mighty Ducks of Anaheim . It was New Jersey ' s first appearance since 2001 and third in four years . It was Anaheim ' s first - ever appearance . The Devils defeated the Mighty Ducks in seven games to win their third Stanley Cup in less than a decade . Over 20 years earlier , in the Devils ' first season in New Jersey , the Devils were defeated by Wayne Gretzky ' s Edmonton Oilers , after which Gretzky called the New Jersey Devils a " Mickey Mouse organization " . In this Final the Mighty Ducks were owned by the Disney Company . The Devils win was the last in a series of wins established by the Devils , Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings in the era from 1995 to 2003 , as the three teams won a combined eight Stanley Cups during that time . The Devils won in 1995 , followed by the Avalanche in 1996 , then the Red Wings in 1997 and 1998 . After the Dallas Stars won in 1999 , the four - year cycle repeated as the Devils started it again in 2000 , followed by Colorado in 2001 and Detroit in 2002 . This is the last Finals that would have the home team wearing white jerseys and the visitors wearing colored jerseys . Paths to the Final . The New Jersey Devils were in the finals for their fourth time after defeating the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning in five games , and beating the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games . Strong goaltending from Martin Brodeur , and strong defense from captain Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer led the way . The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim entered their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history after upsetting two heavily favored teams : sweeping the defending Stanley Cup Champions , the Detroit Red Wings , defeating the Dallas Stars in six games , plus sweeping the upstart Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference Finals thanks to the stellar goaltending of Jean - Sebastien Giguere , only allowing one goal during the entire series . Backing up Giguere were players such as Paul Kariya , Petr Sykora , Adam Oates , plus Rob Niedermayer , brother of then - Devils star defenceman Scott Niedermayer . This series was memorable for two brothers on different teams competing for the same prize . The series . This was the third coast - to - coast Stanley Cup Final , after 1982 and 1994 . Both times , the Vancouver Canucks had runs halted by New York teams : in 1982 by the Islanders , being swept , and in 1994 by the Rangers , losing in 7 , though they overcame a 3 - 1 series deficit in that series . However , this was the first coast - to - coast final played entirely in the United States . Game one . Martin Brodeur kept the Ducks off the score board while the Devils players continually dominated the Ducks . The Devils shut out Anaheim 3 - 0 . Game two . Like in Game one , Brodeur kept the Ducks off the scoreboard and shut out the Ducks 3 - 0 . Game three . Game three was remembered for the clumsy mistake from Martin Brodeur when he accidentally dropped his stick when the puck came to him , the puck deflected off his fallen stick and into the net to give the Ducks a lucky break and a 2 – 1 lead . The Devils would later tie the game , but lose in overtime . Over the mistake with his stick , Brodeur later claimed , " It was just one of those once in a lifetime things . " Game four . Game four had no scoring throughout regulation and was a battle between goaltenders Brodeur and Giguere . But Anaheim again came out on top in overtime , winning 1 – 0 and tying the series . Game five . Game five , at the Meadowlands saw a continual battle for the first half the game . With the game tied 3 – 3 in the second period , the Devils took the lead with a deflection goal by Jay Pandolfo that was initially waved off by referees due to a kicking motion dispute with the skates , but replays showed there was no distinct kicking motion from the skates , thus the goal counted . This would prove to deflate the Ducks for the rest of the game , as Jamie Langenbrunner scored two more goals for the Devils to give New Jersey a 6 – 3 win and a 3 – 2 series lead . Game six . With New Jersey looking to clinch the series , game six at Anaheim saw the Mighty Ducks return the favor of game five to the Devils with complete dominance throughout the game . Quite possibly the most remembered moment of the entire series came when the Ducks were winning 3 – 1 in the second period . Ducks captain Paul Kariya didn ' t see Scott Stevens coming after he passed the puck and was leveled by the Devils captain in a hit similar to the check that knocked out Eric Lindros during the 2000 playoffs and caused Lindros to miss the next season . Kariya was lying motionless for a few minutes , then was escorted to the locker room . Kariya unexpectedly returned to the bench minutes later . When he did , CBC broadcaster Bob Cole said , " Paul Kariya is back ! " About eleven minutes after the hit , fired a slap shot that found the back of the net . The crowd at the Arrowhead Pond erupted as ABC broadcaster Gary Thorne said , " Off the floor , on the board ! " This helped the Ducks win the game 5 – 2 and now put the Ducks within one game of clinching . Game seven . Game seven on New Jersey home ice saw the Devils once more completely dominate the Ducks . The game winning goal was scored by Michael Rupp . Rupp become the first player in Stanley Cup history to have his first playoff goal be the Stanley Cup winning goal . Jeff Friesen dominated his former teammates with two goals . The 3 – 0 win gave the Devils their third Stanley Cup victory as Anaheim could not complete their Cinderella run . However , the Mighty Ducks wouldn ' t leave empty handed ; for his stellar play throughout the playoffs and finals , Jean - Sebastien Giguere for the Ducks was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs . He became only the fifth player , and fourth goaltender , in NHL history to have won the trophy as a member of the losing team . Many were surprised by the Conn Smythe trophy being awarded to the losing team . However , many experts felt that the Devils votes were distributed among many players who had played well in the series . This was the first time since 1965 that all the games in the finals were won by the home team . The New Jersey Nets were in the 2003 NBA Finals for the second year in a row at the same time the Devils won the Stanley Cup , but lost to the San Antonio Spurs in 6 . New Jersey Devils 2003 Stanley Cup champions . Won all three Stanley Cups with New Jersey . Martin Brodeur , Sergei Brylin , Ken Daneyko , Scott Niedermayer , Scott Stevens ( 5 players ) , Bobby Carpenter Jr . ( 1 player - non player ) , Lou Lamoriello , Larry Robinson , Jacques Caron , Claude Carrie , David Conte , Milt Fisher , Dan Labraaten , Marcel Provonost , Mike Vasalani , Peter McMullen ( left cup in 2003 ) ( 10 Non - players ) .