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 that teams would wear their white uniform at home . Regular season . " See also : 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs " 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 elite teams of previous years such as the Detroit Red Wings , St . Louis Blues , Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils , were joined by two younger Canadian teams , the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks . The Dallas Stars , which had missed the playoffs the year before , returned as a major power , backed by the record - setting goaltending of Marty Turco . 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 . The season was marked by a great number of coaches being fired , from Bob Hartley in Colorado to Darryl Sutter in San Jose and Bryan Trottier of the New York Rangers . 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 " Scoring leaders . " Note : GP = Games Played , G = Goals , A = Assists , Pts = Points " Stanley Cup Playoffs . " Note : All dates in 2003 . " 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 . Scoring leaders . " Note : GP = Games Played , G = Goals , A = Assists , Pts = Points NHL awards . The NHL Awards presentation took place in Toronto . Debuts . The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2002 - 03 ( listed with their first team ) : 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 ) :