2003–04 New Jersey Devils season

The 2003–04 New Jersey Devils season was the team's 22nd season in the National Hockey League since the franchise relocated to New Jersey. The defending Stanley Cup champions, the Devils only allowed 164 goals, the lowest total ever allowed by a team under the 82-game season format. Like the 2001-02 NHL season, the Devils finished 6th in the Eastern Conference and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The Team started the season really impressive, winning 17 of its first thirty games. However, in the 2004 calendar year, they were 24-19-4-1, causing them to finish 6th in the conference, 2nd in the division and lose to one of their their division rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers in 5 games in the quarterfinals. They were also marred by injured defenseman Scott Stevens and Brian Rafalski which also caused them to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
==Regular season==
* March 23, 2004 - In an overtime victory over the Florida Panthers, Martin Brodeur earned his 400th career victory. At the time, he was the youngest goalie to win 400 career games. 
===Final standings===
===Game log===
No.	R	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	T	October 8, 2003 	3–3 OT	@ Boston Bruins (2003–04) 	0–0–1–0
2 	W	October 11, 2003 	2–1 	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04) 	1–0–1–0
3 	T	October 16, 2003 	2–2 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04) 	1–0–2–0
4 	L	October 18, 2003 	2–3 	Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04) 	1–1–2–0
5 	L	October 22, 2003 	1–2 	Florida Panthers (2003–04) 	1–2–2–0
6 	W	October 24, 2003 	2–1 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) 	2–2–2–0
7 	L	October 25, 2003 	2–5 	Boston Bruins (2003–04) 	2–3–2–0
8 	W	October 28, 2003 	4–0 	@ New York Islanders (2003–04) 	3–3–2–0
9 	W	October 30, 2003 	3–2 	Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) 	4–3–2–0
10 	W	November 1, 2003 	4–3 	Colorado Avalanche (2003–04) 	5–3–2–0
11 	W	November 5, 2003 	3–2 OT	San Jose Sharks (2003–04) 	6–3–2–0
12 	T	November 7, 2003 	1–1 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04) 	6–3–3–0
13 	W	November 8, 2003 	1–0 	@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04) 	7–3–3–0
14 	T	November 12, 2003	2–2 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04) 	7–3–4–0
15 	W	November 13, 2003	3–1 	Florida Panthers (2003–04) 	8–3–4–0
16 	W	November 15, 2003	5–0 	New York Rangers (2003–04) 	9–3–4–0
17 	W	November 19, 2003	4–1 	Buffalo Sabres (2003–04) 	10–3–4–0
18 	W	November 21, 2003	2–1 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) 	11–3–4–0
19 	W	November 25, 2003	4–0 	@ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04) 	12–3–4–0
20 	T	November 26, 2003	3–3 OT	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)	12–3–5–0
21 	L	November 28, 2003	0–2 	@ Dallas Stars (2003–04) 	12–4–5–0
22 	T	November 30, 2003	1–1 OT	@ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04) 	12–4–6–0
23 	L	December 2, 2003 	1–3 	Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04) 	12–5–6–0
24 	W	December 4, 2003 	3–0 	Washington Capitals (2003–04) 	13–5–6–0
25 	W	December 6, 2003 	2–1 	@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04) 	14–5–6–0
26 	W	December 10, 2003	1–0 OT	New York Islanders (2003–04) 	15–5–6–0
27 	T	December 12, 2003	3–3 OT	Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) 	15–5–7–0
28 	W	December 13, 2003	2–0 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) 	16–5–7–0
29 	L	December 16, 2003	4–5 	@ New York Islanders (2003–04) 	16–6–7–0
30 	W	December 18, 2003	3–0 	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04) 	17–6–7–0
31 	W	December 19, 2003	5–2 	@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04) 	18–6–7–0
32 	T	December 21, 2003	2–2 OT	@ Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04) 	18–6–8–0
33 	L	December 26, 2003	3–4 OT	New York Islanders (2003–04) 	18–6–8–1
34 	W	December 27, 2003	2–0 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) 	19–6–8–1
35 	L	December 29, 2003	1–3 	@ New York Islanders (2003–04) 	19–7–8–1
36 	T	January 1, 2004 	2–2 OT	@ Washington Capitals (2003–04) 	19–7–9–1
37 	L	January 3, 2004 	2–3 	@ Nashville Predators (2003–04) 	19–8–9–1
38 	W	January 5, 2004 	3–2 OT	Edmonton Oilers (2003–04) 	20–8–9–1
39 	L	January 7, 2004 	2–4 	Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) 	20–9–9–1
40 	L	January 9, 2004 	1–4 	Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04) 	20–10–9–1
41 	W	January 10, 2004 	1–0 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04) 	21–10–9–1
42 	L	January 13, 2004 	0–4 	Ottawa Senators (2003–04) 	21–11–9–1
43 	T	January 15, 2004 	3–3 OT	@ New York Rangers (2003–04) 	21–11–10–1
44 	W	January 17, 2004 	2–1 OT	Washington Capitals (2003–04) 	22–11–10–1
45 	W	January 20, 2004 	3–0 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) 	23–11–10–1
46 	L	January 21, 2004 	1–2 	Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04) 	23–12–10–1
47 	W	January 23, 2004 	2–0 	Montreal Canadiens (2003–04) 	24–12–10–1
48 	W	January 25, 2004 	3–2 	Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04) 	25–12–10–1
49 	W	January 27, 2004 	4–3 	@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04) 	26–12–10–1
50 	L	January 29, 2004 	2–5 	@ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04) 	26–13–10–1
51 	W	January 31, 2004 	4–1 	@ St. Louis Blues (2003–04) 	27–13–10–1
52 	W	February 3, 2004 	2–1 	Ottawa Senators (2003–04) 	28–13–10–1
53 	L	February 5, 2004 	0–4 	Vancouver Canucks (2003–04) 	28–14–10–1
54 	L	February 10, 2004	1–4 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) 	28–15–10–1
55 	L	February 11, 2004	1–3 	New York Rangers (2003–04) 	28–16–10–1
56 	W	February 14, 2004	4–1 	Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04) 	29–16–10–1
57 	W	February 15, 2004	3–2 OT	Los Angeles Kings (2003–04) 	30–16–10–1
58 	T	February 17, 2004	4–4 OT	Minnesota Wild (2003–04) 	30–16–11–1
59 	L	February 19, 2004	1–3 	@ Washington Capitals (2003–04) 	30–17–11–1
60 	W	February 21, 2004	7–3 	@ New York Rangers (2003–04) 	31–17–11–1
61 	W	February 22, 2004	3–1 	Calgary Flames (2003–04) 	32–17–11–1
62 	W	February 25, 2004	8–2 	Buffalo Sabres (2003–04) 	33–17–11–1
63 	L	February 27, 2004	2–3 	Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04) 	33–18–11–1
64 	L	February 28, 2004	0–3 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04) 	33–19–11–1
65 	L	March 1, 2004 	1–2 	@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04) 	33–20–11–1
66 	W	March 3, 2004 	5–2 	@ Florida Panthers (2003–04) 	34–20–11–1
67 	L	March 5, 2004 	2–3 OT	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04) 	34–20–11–2
68 	W	March 6, 2004 	4–1 	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04) 	35–20–11–2
69 	L	March 9, 2004 	1–3 	Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) 	35–21–11–2
70 	W	March 11, 2004 	6–4 	Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04) 	36–21–11–2
71 	L	March 13, 2004 	1–2 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) 	36–22–11–2
72 	W	March 15, 2004 	3–1 	@ New York Rangers (2003–04) 	37–22–11–2
73 	W	March 17, 2004 	6–1 	Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) 	38–22–11–2
74 	T	March 19, 2004 	1–1 OT	Montreal Canadiens (2003–04) 	38–22–12–2
75 	L	March 20, 2004 	2–3 	@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04) 	38–23–12–2
76 	W	March 23, 2004 	4–3 OT	@ Florida Panthers (2003–04) 	39–23–12–2
77 	L	March 25, 2004 	1–2 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04) 	39–24–12–2
78 	W	March 26, 2004 	5–0 	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04) 	40–24–12–2
79 	W	March 28, 2004 	3–2 	New York Islanders (2003–04) 	41–24–12–2
80 	W	March 30, 2004 	5–0 	New York Rangers (2003–04) 	42–24–12–2
81 	W	April 3, 2004 	5–2 	@ Boston Bruins (2003–04) 	43–24–12–2
82 	L	April 4, 2004 	1–3 	Boston Bruins (2003–04) 	43–25–12–2
==Playoffs==
==Player stats==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	LW 	82	38	43	81 	44 	26 	9 	3 	9
 	C 	80	14	56	70 	70 	18 	3 	0 	1
 	D 	81	14	40	54 	44 	20 	9 	0 	3
 	LW 	81	17	20	37 	26 	8 	5 	0 	4
 	D 	69	6 	30	36 	24 	6 	2 	0 	1
 	C 	80	12	23	35 	22 	7 	1 	1 	1
 	LW 	82	14	19	33 	20 	10 	7 	0 	1
 	RW 	75	21	8 	29 	36 	19 	0 	0 	8
 	RW 	61	14	13	27 	76 	0 	4 	0 	2
 	LW 	82	13	13	26 	14 	5 	1 	2 	4
 	RW 	53	10	16	26 	43 	9 	1 	2 	2
 	D 	70	6 	18	24 	4 	12 	2 	0 	2
 	RW 	65	8 	7 	15 	67 	-9 	5 	0 	2
 	LW/C	69	7 	6 	13 	41 	5 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	75	2 	11	13 	96 	10 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	38	3 	9 	12 	22 	3 	1 	0 	1
 	C 	51	6 	5 	11 	41 	-1 	1 	0 	1
 	C 	49	1 	10	11 	20 	3 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	13	1 	6 	7 	10 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	11	2 	4 	6 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	23	2 	3 	5 	4 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	45	1 	3 	4 	4 	7 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	65	0 	4 	4 	72 	12 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	39	0 	3 	3 	44 	5 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	11	0 	3 	3 	4 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	8 	1 	0 	1 	22 	1 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	12	0 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	3 	0 	1 	1 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	75	0 	0 	0 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	2 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T/OT	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	4555	75	38	26	11 	154	2.03	11	1845	1691	.917
 	238 	4 	3 	1 	0 	4 	1.01	2 	84 	80 	.952
 	187 	3 	2 	0 	1 	2 	0.64	1 	68 	66 	.971
Team: 	4980	82	43	27	12 	160	1.93	14	1997	1837	.920
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	5 	0	6	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	3	2	5 	2 	1 	0 	1
 	RW 	5 	2	3	5 	0 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	2	0	2 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	1	1	2 	4 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	0	2	2 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW/C	5 	0	2	2 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	1	0	1 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	4 	0	1	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	1	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	2 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	5 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	0	0	0 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	4 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	2 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	0	0 	4 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	298	5 	1	4	13	2.62	0 	133	120	.902
Team: 	298	5 	1	4	13	2.62	0 	133	120	.902
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; 
==Awards and records==
==Transactions==
==Draft picks==
The Devils' draft picks at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Rd #	Pick #	Player 	Nat 	Pos 	Team (League) 	Notes 	 	 	
1 	17 	Zach Parise 	 	C 	University of North Dakota (WCHA) 	The Devils acquired the 2003 first-round pick from Edmonton for St. Louis' 2003 first-round pick (used on Marc-Antoine Pouliot) and the Devils' 2003 second-round pick (used on Jean-Francois Jacques) on June 21, 2003. The Devils had traded their original 2003 first-round draft pick (used on Shawn Belle) to St. Louis for the Blues' first-round pick.	 	 	
2 	42 	Petr Vrana 	 	C 	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) 	 	 	 	
3 	93 	Ivan Khomutov 	 	C 	Elektrostal Elemash (Vysshaya Liga) 	The Devils acquired the 2003 third-round pick from St. Louis for Mike Danton and the Devils' 2003 third-round pick (used on Konstantin Zakharov) on June 21, 2003. 	 	 	
4 	136 	No fourth-round pickThe Devils traded their 2003 fourth-round pick (used on Michael Vanelli) to Atlanta for Richard Smehlik and a conditional 2004 draft pick on March 10, 2003.	No fourth-round pickThe Devils traded their 2003 fourth-round pick (used on Michael Vanelli) to Atlanta for Richard Smehlik and a conditional 2004 draft pick on March 10, 2003.	No fourth-round pickThe Devils traded their 2003 fourth-round pick (used on Michael Vanelli) to Atlanta for Richard Smehlik and a conditional 2004 draft pick on March 10, 2003.	No fourth-round pickThe Devils traded their 2003 fourth-round pick (used on Michael Vanelli) to Atlanta for Richard Smehlik and a conditional 2004 draft pick on March 10, 2003.	No fourth-round pickThe Devils traded their 2003 fourth-round pick (used on Michael Vanelli) to Atlanta for Richard Smehlik and a conditional 2004 draft pick on March 10, 2003. 	No fourth-round pickThe Devils traded their 2003 fourth-round pick (used on Michael Vanelli) to Atlanta for Richard Smehlik and a conditional 2004 draft pick on March 10, 2003.	No fourth-round pickThe Devils traded their 2003 fourth-round pick (used on Michael Vanelli) to Atlanta for Richard Smehlik and a conditional 2004 draft pick on March 10, 2003.	No fourth-round pickThe Devils traded their 2003 fourth-round pick (used on Michael Vanelli) to Atlanta for Richard Smehlik and a conditional 2004 draft pick on March 10, 2003.
5 	167 	Zach Tarkir 	 	D 	Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL) 	 	 	 	
6 	197 	Jason Smith 	 	G 	Lennoxville Cougars (LHJAAAQ) 	 	 	 	
7 	229 	No seventh-round pickThe Devils traded the 2003 seventh-round pick (used on Stephen Dixon) to Pittsburgh for Stephane Richer on March 19, 2002. 	No seventh-round pickThe Devils traded the 2003 seventh-round pick (used on Stephen Dixon) to Pittsburgh for Stephane Richer on March 19, 2002. 	No seventh-round pickThe Devils traded the 2003 seventh-round pick (used on Stephen Dixon) to Pittsburgh for Stephane Richer on March 19, 2002. 	No seventh-round pickThe Devils traded the 2003 seventh-round pick (used on Stephen Dixon) to Pittsburgh for Stephane Richer on March 19, 2002. 	No seventh-round pickThe Devils traded the 2003 seventh-round pick (used on Stephen Dixon) to Pittsburgh for Stephane Richer on March 19, 2002. 	No seventh-round pickThe Devils traded the 2003 seventh-round pick (used on Stephen Dixon) to Pittsburgh for Stephane Richer on March 19, 2002. 	No seventh-round pickThe Devils traded the 2003 seventh-round pick (used on Stephen Dixon) to Pittsburgh for Stephane Richer on March 19, 2002. 	No seventh-round pickThe Devils traded the 2003 seventh-round pick (used on Stephen Dixon) to Pittsburgh for Stephane Richer on March 19, 2002.
8 	261 	Joey Tenute 	 	C 	Sarnia Sting (OHL) 	 	 	 	
9 	292 	Arseny Bondarev 	 	LW 	Yaroslavl Jrs. (Russia) 	 	 	 	
==See also==
*2003–04 NHL season
==References==
*Game log: 
*Team standings: on espn.com
Category:New Jersey Devils seasons
Category:2003 in hockey
Category:2004 in hockey