2002–03 Ottawa Senators season

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The 2002–03 Ottawa Senators season saw the Senators reach the highest point in the playoffs until the 2006–07 season. They were eliminated by the New Jersey Devils, the eventual Stanley Cup winning team in the Eastern Conference final. On top of their larger success, with their total 113 points they won the President's Trophy, the Northeast Division title and the Eastern Conference title.
thumb|left|Banner at Scotiabank Place
After their long history of debt problems, the Senators filed for bankruptcy on January 9, 2003. Fortunately, they continued regular season play after getting some emergency financing from the NHL. Despite the off-ice problems, they had a successful year, compared to their early day woes. The President's Trophy awarded to the Senators making them the first Canadian team to win it since the Calgary Flames in 1989. In the playoffs they defeated their former teammate Alexei Yashin and his New York Islanders, then the Philadelphia Flyers before coming within one game of making it into the finals, falling to the Devils.
==Regular season==
Right winger Marian Hossa lead the scoring for Ottawa with a huge gap over the rest of the roster, just passing Yashin's past record of 44. Without a goaltending situation, Patrick Lalime showed one of his best years, with career bests in GAA and wins.
Despite a slow start to the season after an even .500 ratio, the Senators turned around their game with a 10–game unbeaten streak. Fans were cornerened if their start was with the off-ice problems however this was soon irrelevant to the fans when they again made a playoff berth. Before the playoffs, the Senators explained they need more grit, so two separate trades to Buffalo included tough guys Vaclav Varada and Rob Ray respectively, plus two-way forward Bryan Smolinski from the Los Angeles Kings.
===Division standings===
===Game log===
Regular season schedule	Regular season schedule	Regular season schedule	Regular season schedule	Regular season schedule 	Regular season schedule
No. 	R 	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	L 	October 10, 2002 	1–2 	New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 	0–1–0–0
2 	W 	October 12, 2002 	2–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 	1–1–0–0
3 	W 	October 15, 2002 	2–1 	Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03) 	2–1–0–0
4 	W 	October 23, 2002 	4–1 	Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 	3–1–0–0
5 	T 	October 24, 2002 	2–2 OT 	@ Boston Bruins (2002–03) 	3–1–1–0
6 	L 	October 26, 2002 	3–5 	@ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 	3–2–1–0
7 	L 	October 29, 2002 	1–2 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 	3–3–1–0
8 	L 	October 30, 2002 	1–4 	Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 	3–4–1–0
9 	W 	November 2, 2002 	5–2 	Detroit Red Wings (2002–03) 	4–4–1–0
10 	W 	November 6, 2002 	5–2 	@ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03) 	5–4–1–0
11 	L 	November 8, 2002 	2–3 	Los Angeles Kings (2002–03) 	5–5–1–0
12 	L 	November 9, 2002 	1–7 	@ Boston Bruins (2002–03) 	5–6–1–0
13 	W 	November 12, 2002 	5–3 	@ New York Islanders (2002–03) 	6–6–1–0
14 	W 	November 14, 2002 	3–2 OT 	Florida Panthers (2002–03) 	7–6–1–0
15 	W 	November 16, 2002 	4–1 	Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 	8–6–1–0
16 	T 	November 19, 2002 	4–4 OT 	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 	8–6–2–0
17 	W 	November 21, 2002 	3–2 	Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 	9–6–2–0
18 	W 	November 23, 2002 	5–2 	Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03) 	10–6–2–0
19 	W 	November 25, 2002 	2–0 	Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 	11–6–2–0
20 	T 	November 27, 2002 	2–2 OT 	@ New York Islanders (2002–03) 	11–6–3–0
21 	W 	November 29, 2002 	6–2 	@ Washington Capitals (2002–03) 	12–6–3–0
22 	W 	November 30, 2002 	4–2 	New York Islanders (2002–03) 	13–6–3–0
23 	L 	December 4, 2002 	0–1 	@ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03) 	13–7–3–0
24 	T 	December 5, 2002 	2–2 OT 	@ St. Louis Blues (2002–03) 	13–7–4–0
25 	W 	December 7, 2002 	5–2 	Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 	14–7–4–0
26 	W 	December 10, 2002 	4–2 	@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 	15–7–4–0
27 	W 	December 12, 2002 	5–2 	@ Boston Bruins (2002–03) 	16–7–4–0
28 	W 	December 14, 2002 	4–3 OT 	New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 	17–7–4–0
29 	L 	December 16, 2002 	2–3 	Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 	17–8–4–0
30 	W 	December 18, 2002 	3–0 	@ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 	18–8–4–0
31 	W 	December 19, 2002 	9–3 	San Jose Sharks (2002–03) 	19–8–4–0
32 	W 	December 21, 2002 	3–1 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 	20–8–4–0
33 	T 	December 23, 2002 	2–2 OT 	Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 	20–8–5–0
34 	W 	December 26, 2002 	3–2 	@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 	21–8–5–0
35 	W 	December 27, 2002 	3–2 OT 	Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 	22–8–5–0
36 	L 	December 30, 2002 	2–3 	@ Nashville Predators (2002–03) 	22–9–5–0
37 	W 	December 31, 2002 	6–3 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 	23–9–5–0
38 	W 	January 2, 2003 	8–1 	Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 	24–9–5–0
39 	L 	January 4, 2003 	1–2 OT 	Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 	24–9–5–1
40 	W 	January 6, 2003 	5–2 	@ New York Rangers (2002–03) 	25–9–5–1
41 	L 	January 8, 2003 	4–6 	@ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03) 	25–10–5–1
42 	W 	January 9, 2003 	1–0 	@ Calgary Flames (2002–03) 	26–10–5–1
43 	W 	January 11, 2003 	2–0 	@ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03) 	27–10–5–1
44 	W 	January 14, 2003 	7–0 	Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 	28–10–5–1
45 	W 	January 16, 2003 	3–1 	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03) 	29–10–5–1
46 	W 	January 18, 2003 	5–2 	Washington Capitals (2002–03) 	30–10–5–1
47 	L 	January 20, 2003 	2–6 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 	30–11–5–1
48 	W 	January 22, 2003 	2–1 	@ Florida Panthers (2002–03) 	31–11–5–1
49 	T 	January 23, 2003 	3–3 OT 	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 	31–11–6–1
50 	W 	January 25, 2003 	4–3 OT 	Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 	32–11–6–1
51 	L 	January 27, 2003 	3–5 	@ Dallas Stars (2002–03) 	32–12–6–1
52 	L 	January 29, 2003 	2–3 	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)	32–13–6–1
53 	L 	January 30, 2003 	0–3 	@ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03) 	32–14–6–1
54 	W 	February 5, 2003 	5–3 	@ New York Rangers (2002–03) 	33–14–6–1
55 	T 	February 6, 2003 	2–2 OT 	Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 	33–14–7–1
56 	W 	February 8, 2003 	3–1 	Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 	34–14–7–1
57 	W 	February 12, 2003 	3–0 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 	35–14–7–1
58 	W 	February 13, 2003 	2–0 	Edmonton Oilers (2002–03) 	36–14–7–1
59 	L 	February 15, 2003 	1–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 	36–15–7–1
60 	W 	February 17, 2003 	3–2 	New York Rangers (2002–03) 	37–15–7–1
61 	W 	February 19, 2003 	5–3 	@ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 	38–15–7–1
62 	L 	February 20, 2003 	3–4 	Florida Panthers (2002–03) 	38–16–7–1
63 	W 	February 22, 2003 	4–0 	Nashville Predators (2002–03) 	39–16–7–1
64 	L 	February 25, 2003 	0–3 	Minnesota Wild (2002–03) 	39–17–7–1
65 	W 	February 27, 2003 	3–2 OT 	Dallas Stars (2002–03) 	40–17–7–1
66 	L 	March 1, 2003 	1–2 	Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 	40–18–7–1
67 	W 	March 4, 2003 	4–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 	41–18–7–1
68 	W 	March 8, 2003 	5–1 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 	42–18–7–1
69 	W 	March 9, 2003 	4–2 	Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 	43–18–7–1
70 	W 	March 11, 2003 	4–3 OT 	Boston Bruins (2002–03) 	44–18–7–1
71 	W 	March 13, 2003 	3–2 OT 	New York Rangers (2002–03) 	45–18–7–1
72 	L 	March 15, 2003 	2–5 	New York Islanders (2002–03) 	45–19–7–1
73 	L 	March 16, 2003 	2–6 	@ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03) 	45–20–7–1
74 	W 	March 18, 2003 	6–5 	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 	46–20–7–1
75 	W 	March 21, 2003 	5–1 	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 	47–20–7–1
76 	W 	March 22, 2003 	3–1 	@ Florida Panthers (2002–03) 	48–20–7–1
77 	T 	March 25, 2003 	2–2 OT 	Colorado Avalanche (2002–03) 	48–20–8–1
78 	L 	March 28, 2003 	2–3 	Washington Capitals (2002–03) 	48–21–8–1
79 	W 	March 29, 2003 	3–1 	@ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 	49–21–8–1
80 	W 	April 1, 2003 	3–2 	Boston Bruins (2002–03) 	50–21–8–1
81 	W 	April 3, 2003 	5–1 	@ Washington Capitals (2002–03) 	51–21–8–1
82 	W 	April 5, 2003 	3–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 	52–21–8–1
==Playoffs==
In the first round of the playoffs the team played the New York Islanders, facing former team captain Alexei Yashin for the first time in the playoffs. Yashin played well in the first game and the Islanders won the first game at the Corel Centre 3–0. The loss by the Senators was attributed to paying too much attention to stopping Yashin and not enough on the rest of the Islanders. The Senators adjusted their play for the next game winning it and the next three games in a row to win the series 4–1.
In the second round, the team faced the Philadelphia Flyers who had defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. The Senators won the series on the basis of their strong defence, holding the Flyers to only ten goals in the six games, advancing to the Eastern Conference final series against the New Jersey Devils to decide the Prince of Wales Trophy.
The first two games of the series were in Ottawa and the wins were split between the Senators and Devils. In New Jersey, the Devils won both games to put the Senators at the brink of elimination. However, the Senators came back, winning the fifth game at home and the sixth game in New Jersey to force a seventh and deciding game at home.
In the seventh game, New Jersey took the lead twice, only to see Ottawa tie twice. The game was tied 2–2, when with two minutes remaining, Devils' forward Jeff Friesen deked out Patrick Lalime and shot over his leg pad, into the net, to score the series-winning goal.
===Eastern Conference Quarter-final vs. (8) New York Islanders===
 Date Opponent W-L Score 
 4/9/2003 New York Islanders L 0 – 3 
 4/12/2003 New York Islanders W 3 – 0 
 4/14/2003 at New York Islanders W 3 – 2 
 4/16/2003 at New York Islanders W 3 – 1 
 4/17/2003 New York Islanders W 4 – 1
===Eastern Conference Semi-final vs. (4) Philadelphia Flyers===
 4/25/2003 Philadelphia Flyers W 4 – 2 
 4/27/2003 Philadelphia Flyers L 0 – 2 
 4/29/2003 at Philadelphia Flyers W 3 – 2 
 5/1/2003 at Philadelphia Flyers L 0 – 1 
 5/3/2003 Philadelphia Flyers W 5 – 2 
 5/5/2003 at Philadelphia Flyers W 5 – 1
===Eastern Conference Final vs. (2) New Jersey Devils===
 5/10/2003 New Jersey Devils W 3 – 2 
 5/13/2003 New Jersey Devils L 1 – 4 
 5/15/2003 at New Jersey Devils L 0 – 1 
 5/17/2003 at New Jersey Devils L 2 – 5 
 5/19/2003 New Jersey Devils W 3 – 1 
 5/21/2003 at New Jersey Devils W 2 – 1 
 5/23/2003 New Jersey Devils L 2 – 3
==Player stats==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	RW 	80	45	35	80 	34 	8 	14 	0 	10
 	RW 	78	27	51	78 	42 	15 	9 	0 	6
 	C 	80	25	35	60 	28 	19 	8 	1 	5
 	RW 	67	24	35	59 	30 	20 	9 	0 	4
 	C 	70	22	32	54 	36 	6 	11 	0 	4
 	D 	76	10	35	45 	70 	23 	4 	0 	3
 	D 	74	9 	30	39 	116	29 	3 	0 	2
 	C 	74	18	20	38 	54 	13 	5 	1 	3
 	LW 	80	16	21	37 	48 	13 	2 	0 	4
 	C 	78	12	20	32 	66 	17 	2 	2 	3
 	D 	58	4 	25	29 	30 	23 	3 	0 	1
 	LW 	75	6 	17	23 	32 	11 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	33	7 	14	21 	8 	-3 	3 	0 	0
 	LW 	33	9 	10	19 	4 	3 	5 	0 	2
 	D 	78	3 	16	19 	71 	7 	2 	0 	1
 	D 	57	3 	13	16 	40 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	70	3 	8 	11 	14 	-3 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	68	6 	4 	10 	147	8 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	10	3 	5 	8 	2 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	11	2 	6 	8 	8 	3 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	67	0 	8 	8 	130	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	54	1 	6 	7 	18 	11 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	14	2 	4 	6 	6 	11 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	14	2 	3 	5 	10 	3 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	12	3 	1 	4 	15 	-2 	2 	0 	0
 	D 	20	0 	2 	2 	6 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	12	1 	0 	1 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	1
 	G 	67	0 	1 	1 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	12	0 	1 	1 	4 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	12	0 	0 	0 	29 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	18	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	0 	0 	0 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	2 	0 	0 	0 	5 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T/OT	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	3943	67	39	20	7 	142	2.16	8 	1591	1449	.911
 	935 	18	12	2 	1 	37 	2.37	0 	415 	378 	.911
 	85 	3 	1 	0 	0 	2 	1.41	0 	26 	24 	.923
Team: 	4963	82	52	22	8 	181	2.19	8 	2032	1851	.911
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	RW 	18	5	11	16 	6 	-1 	3 	0 	1
 	C 	18	6	5 	11 	10 	2 	2 	0 	0
 	RW 	18	5	6 	11 	14 	4 	1 	0 	2
 	C 	18	2	7 	9 	6 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	18	1	8 	9 	10 	1 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	18	4	4 	8 	12 	-3 	4 	0 	1
 	D 	18	1	6 	7 	14 	3 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	18	5	1 	6 	6 	-1 	1 	1 	2
 	D 	18	2	4 	6 	12 	3 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	18	2	4 	6 	18 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	18	1	5 	6 	16 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	16	2	3 	5 	6 	3 	0 	1 	0
 	C 	18	2	2 	4 	16 	-1 	0 	1 	1
 	D 	17	1	3 	4 	14 	-5 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	3 	1	1 	2 	0 	1 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	18	1	1 	2 	12 	-1 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	17	1	1 	2 	4 	3 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	15	1	0 	1 	24 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	18	0	1 	1 	10 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	2 	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	18	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L	GA	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	1122	18	11	7	34	1.82	1 	449	415	.924
Team: 	1122	18	11	7	34	1.82	1 	449	415	.924
Note: Pos = Position; 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==
* Molson Cup - Daniel Alfredsson
* President's Trophy
==Transactions==
===Trades===
June 23, 2002 	To Tampa Bay LightningSeventh-round pick in 2002 draft 	To Ottawa SenatorsJosef Boumedienne
June 29, 2002 	To Atlanta ThrashersShawn McEachernSixth-round pick in 2004 draft	To Ottawa SenatorsBrian Pothier
September 21, 2002	To Vancouver CanucksSami Salo 	To Ottawa SenatorsPeter Schaefer
October 1, 2002 	To Florida PanthersJani Hurme 	To Ottawa SenatorsGreg Watson,Billy Thompson
December 16, 2002 	To Washington CapitalsJosef Boumedienne 	To Ottawa SenatorsDean Melanson
January 15, 2003 	To Washington CapitalsJoel Kwiatkowski 	To Ottawa SenatorsNinth-round pick in 2003 draft.This pick returned to Washington for future considerations.
February 25, 2003 	To Buffalo Sabres Jakub Klepis 	To Ottawa SenatorsVaclav VaradaFifth-round pick in 2003 NHL Entry Draft (Tim Cook)
March 4, 2003 	To Florida Panthers Simon Lajeunesse 	To Ottawa SenatorsJoey Tetarenko
March 10, 2003 	To Buffalo Sabres future considerations 	To Ottawa SenatorsRob Ray
March 10, 2003 	To Nashville Predators future considerations 	To Ottawa SenatorsBob Wren
March 11, 2003 	To Los Angeles Kings Tim GleasonFuture considerations 	To Ottawa Senators Bryan Smolinski
===Waivers===
January 15, 2003	To St. Louis BluesSteve Martins
Source: 
==Roster==
						
Goaltenders
* 
* 
*		
Defensemen
* 
* - A
* 
* - A
* - A
* 
* 
* 
*	
Wingers
* 
* 
* - C
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
*		
Centres
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
*GM: John Muckler
*Coach: Jacques Martin	
Sources:
* 
==Draft picks==
Ottawa's draft picks from the 2002 NHL Entry Draft held on June 22 and June 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.
Round	# 	Player 	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 	16 	Jakub Klepis 	 	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
2 	47 	Alexei Kaigorodov	 	Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Russia)
3 	75 	Arttu Luttinen 	 	HIFK (SM-liiga)
4 	113	Scott Dobben 	 	Erie Otters (OHL)
4 	125	Johan Bjork 	 	Malmö IF (Sweden)
5 	150	Brock Hooton 	 	Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)
8 	246	Josef Vavra 	 	Vsetin HC (Czech.)
9 	276	Vitaly Atyushov 	 	Molot-Prikamye Perm (Russia)
==Farm teams==
* Binghamton Senators (American Hockey League)
==See also==
* 2002–03 NHL season
==References==
Category:Ottawa Senators
Category:Ottawa Senators seasons
Ottawa Senators season
Ottawa Senators season