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2003–04 NHL season

The 2003–04 NHL season was the 87th regular season of the National Hockey League. The thirty teams played 82 games in a new format that increased divisional games from 5 to 6 per team (30 total), conference games from 3 to 4 (32 total), and decreased inter-conference games to at least one per team, with three extra games (18 in total).

2003–04 NHL season
League National Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Duration October 8, 2003 – June 7, 2004
Regular season
Presidents' Trophy Detroit Red Wings
Season MVP Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
Top scorer Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
Playoffs
Eastern champions Tampa Bay Lightning
  Eastern runners-up Philadelphia Flyers
Western champions Calgary Flames
  Western runners-up San Jose Sharks
Playoffs MVP Brad Richards, Tampa Bay Lightning
Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning
  Runners-up Calgary Flames
NHL seasons

← 2002–03

2004–05 →

The Stanley Cup winners were the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the best of seven series 4–3 against the Calgary Flames. This was the first season since the 1969–70 season that teams would wear their dark jerseys at home. For the fourth time in eight years, the all-time record for total shutouts in a season was shattered, as 192 shutouts were recorded. The 2003–04 regular season was also the first one (excluding the lockout-shortened regular season of 1994–95) since 1967–68 in which there was neither a 50-goal scorer, nor a 100-point scorer.

This was the final season that ABC and ESPN televised NHL games. It was also the final NHL season before the 2004–05 NHL lockout, and the final season in which games could end in ties.

Regular season

Final standings

Detroit Red Wings won the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

For rankings in conference, division leaders are automatically ranked 1–3. These three, plus the next five teams in the conference standings, earn playoff berths at the end of the season.

Eastern Conference

Template:2003–04 NHL Atlantic Division standings Template:2003–04 NHL Northeast Division standings Template:2003–04 NHL Southeast Division standings Template:2003–04 NHL Eastern Conference standings

Western Conference

Template:2003–04 NHL Central Division standings Template:2003–04 NHL Northwest Division standings Template:2003–04 NHL Pacific Division standings Template:2003–04 NHL Western Conference standings

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Brad Richards Tampa Bay 23 12 13 25
Martin St. Louis Tampa Bay 23 9 15 24
Jarome Iginla Calgary 26 13 9 22
Fredrik Modin Tampa Bay 23 8 11 19
Craig Conroy Calgary 26 6 11 17
Vincent Lecavalier Tampa Bay 23 9 7 16
Keith Primeau Philadelphia 18 9 7 16
Martin Gelinas Calgary 26 8 6 14
Vincent Damphousse San Jose 17 7 7 14
Alexei Zhamnov Philadelphia 18 4 10 14

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games Played; Mins = Minutes Played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OT = Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against Average

Player Team GP Mins W L T GA SO SV GAA
Martin Brodeur New Jersey 75 4554 38 26 11 154 11 .917 2.03
Marty Turco Dallas 73 4359 37 21 13 144 9 .913 1.98
Ed Belfour Toronto 59 3444 34 19 6 122 10 .918 2.13
Tomas Vokoun Nashville 73 4221 34 29 10 178 3 .909 2.53
Dan Cloutier Vancouver 60 3539 33 21 6 134 5 .914 2.27

Stanley Cup Playoffs

 
The Stanley Cup

Note: All dates in 2004.

The 2004 playoffs were considered to be wide open with no clear favourite. All of the top teams had weaknesses. Tampa Bay and Boston were both young teams with no history of recent postseason success. Detroit, Ottawa, Colorado, and Philadelphia all had major questions in goal. New Jersey was marred by injuries to Scott Stevens and Brian Rafalski, while Vancouver was missing the suspended Todd Bertuzzi.

The first-round Eastern Conference matchups were notable for the number of heated rivalries. The Ottawa Senators met the Toronto Maple Leafs for the fourth time in five years in the always passion-filled Battle of Ontario. The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens met in a resumption of the most common of all NHL playoff series, and one which the Canadiens have thoroughly dominated, including an upset win two years prior. The Philadelphia Flyers also played a hated division rival in the New Jersey Devils. The only non-rivalry was the Tampa Bay-New York Islanders series.

The West saw the resumption of the Vancouver-Calgary rivalry, which had been somewhat dormant as the Flames made the playoffs for the first time since 1996. In a less passionate but still interesting matchup, Detroit played division rival Nashville (whom they had struggled against during the regular season) in Nashville's first ever franchise visit to the playoffs. San Jose met the St. Louis Blues, while the always difficult four-five matchup saw Colorado and Dallas meet.

The Calgary Flames, a sixth seed, defeated three straight division champions, the Canucks, the Red Wings and the Sharks to become the first Canadian team to reach the Stanley Cup Finals in ten years, since the Canucks lost to the Rangers in the Finals in 1994. They faced the Tampa Bay Lightning, who defeated the Islanders in five, swept the Canadiens and defeated the Flyers in seven games.

The Flames and the Lightning battled hard in the Stanley Cup Finals, eventually pushing the series to seven games. By game 5, the Flames took the 3–2 series lead back to Calgary, and in game six, a puck appeared to have gone into the net, which would have made the game 3–2, but the goal light did not go on, the referee did not signal that a goal had been scored, and play went on, no goal counted. Extensive replays showed the play was inconclusive. The Lightning would win the game in double overtime, and go on to win the Stanley Cup with a 2–1 win in game seven, with two goals from Ruslan Fedotenko. Brad Richards, with a team-high 25 points in the playoffs, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Playoff bracket

  Conference Quarterfinals Conference Semifinals Conference Finals Stanley Cup Finals
                                     
1  Tampa Bay 4  
8  NY Islanders 1  
  1  Tampa Bay 4  
  7  Montreal 0  
2  Boston 3
7  Montreal 4  
  1  Tampa Bay 4  
Eastern Conference
  3  Philadelphia 3  
3  Philadelphia 4  
6  New Jersey 1  
  3  Philadelphia 4
  4  Toronto 2  
4  Toronto 4
5  Ottawa 3  
  E1  Tampa Bay 4
  W6  Calgary 3
1  Detroit 4  
8  Nashville 2  
  1  Detroit 2
  6  Calgary 4  
2  San Jose 4
7  St. Louis 1  
  2  San Jose 2
Western Conference
  6  Calgary 4  
3  Vancouver 3  
6  Calgary 4  
  2  San Jose 4
  4  Colorado 2  
4  Colorado 4
5  Dallas 1  

Conference Quarterfinals

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

Tampa Bay vs. NY Islanders
Date Away Home OT Score
April 8 NY Islanders Tampa Bay 3 – 0
April 10 NY Islanders Tampa Bay 3 – 0
April 12 Tampa Bay NY Islanders 3 – 0
April 14 Tampa Bay NY Islanders 3 – 0
April 16 NY Islanders Tampa Bay OT 3 – 2
Tampa Bay wins series 4–1
Philadelphia vs. New Jersey
Date Away Home Score
April 8 New Jersey Philadelphia 3 – 2
April 10 New Jersey Philadelphia 3 – 2
April 12 Philadelphia New Jersey 4 – 2
April 14 Philadelphia New Jersey 3 – 0
April 17 New Jersey Philadelphia 3 – 1
Philadelphia wins series 4–1
Boston vs. Montreal
Date Away Home OT Score
April 7 Montreal Boston 3 – 0
April 9 Montreal Boston OT 2 – 1
April 11 Boston Montreal 3 – 2
April 13 Boston Montreal 2OT 4 – 3
April 15 Montreal Boston 5 – 1
April 17 Boston Montreal 5 – 2
April 19 Montreal Boston 2 – 0
Montreal wins series 4–3
Toronto vs. Ottawa
Date Away Home OT Score
April 8 Ottawa Toronto 4 – 2
April 10 Ottawa Toronto 2 – 0
April 12 Toronto Ottawa 2 – 0
April 14 Toronto Ottawa 4 – 1
April 16 Ottawa Toronto 2 – 0
April 18 Toronto Ottawa 2OT 2 – 1
April 20 Ottawa Toronto 4 – 1
Toronto wins series 4–3

Western Conference Quarterfinals

Colorado vs. Dallas
Date Away Home OT Score
April 7 Dallas Colorado 3 – 1
April 9 Dallas Colorado 5 – 2
April 12 Colorado Dallas OT 4 – 3
April 14 Colorado Dallas 2OT 3 – 2
April 17 Dallas Colorado 5 – 1
Colorado wins series 4–1
San Jose vs. St. Louis
Date Away Home OT Score
April 8 St. Louis San Jose OT 1 – 0
April 10 St. Louis San Jose 3 – 1
April 12 San Jose St. Louis 4 – 1
April 13 San Jose St. Louis 4 – 3
April 15 St. Louis San Jose 3 – 1
San Jose wins series 4–1
Vancouver vs. Calgary
Date Away Home OT Score
April 7 Calgary Vancouver 5 – 3
April 9 Calgary Vancouver 2 – 1
April 11 Vancouver Calgary 2 – 1
April 13 Vancouver Calgary 4 – 0
April 15 Calgary Vancouver 2 – 1
April 17 Vancouver Calgary 3OT 5 – 4
April 19 Calgary Vancouver OT 3 – 2
Calgary wins series 4–3
Detroit vs. Nashville
Date Away Home Score
April 7 Nashville Detroit 3 – 1
April 10 Nashville Detroit 2 – 1
April 11 Detroit Nashville 3 – 1
April 13 Detroit Nashville 3 – 0
April 15 Nashville Detroit 4 – 1
April 17 Detroit Nashville 2 – 0
Detroit wins series 4–2

Conference Semifinals

Eastern Conference Semifinals

Tampa Bay vs. Montreal
Date Away Home OT Score
April 23 Montreal Tampa Bay 4 – 0
April 25 Montreal Tampa Bay 3 – 1
April 27 Tampa Bay Montreal OT 4 – 3
April 29 Tampa Bay Montreal 3 – 1
Tampa Bay wins series 4–0
Philadelphia vs. Toronto
Date Away Home OT Score
April 22 Toronto Philadelphia 3 – 1
April 25 Toronto Philadelphia 2 – 1
April 28 Philadelphia Toronto 4 – 1
April 30 Philadelphia Toronto 3 – 1
May 2 Toronto Philadelphia 7 – 2
May 4 Philadelphia Toronto OT 3 – 2
Philadelphia wins series 4–2

Western Conference Semifinals

Detroit vs. Calgary
Date Away Home OT Score
April 22 Calgary Detroit OT 2 – 1
April 24 Calgary Detroit 2 – 5
April 27 Detroit Calgary 2 – 3
April 29 Detroit Calgary 4 – 2
May 1 Calgary Detroit 1 – 0
May 3 Detroit Calgary OT 0 – 1
Calgary wins series 4–2
San Jose vs. Colorado
Date Away Home OT Score
April 22 Colorado San Jose 2 – 5
April 24 Colorado San Jose 1 – 4
April 26 San Jose 1 0 Colorado 1 – 0
April 28 San Jose Colorado OT 0 – 1
May 1 Colorado San Jose OT 2 – 1
May 4 San Jose Colorado 3 – 1
San Jose wins series 4–2

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference
Tampa Bay vs. Philadelphia
Date Away Home  
May 8 Philadelphia 1 3 Tampa Bay  
May 10 Philadelphia 6 2 Tampa Bay  
May 13 Tampa Bay 4 1 Philadelphia  
May 15 Tampa Bay 2 3 Philadelphia  
May 18 Philadelphia 2 4 Tampa Bay  
May 20 Tampa Bay 4 5 Philadelphia OT
May 22 Philadelphia 1 2 Tampa Bay  
Tampa Bay wins series 4–3
and Prince of Wales Trophy
Western Conference
San Jose vs. Calgary
Date Away Home  
May 9 Calgary 4 3 San Jose OT
May 11 Calgary 4 1 San Jose  
May 13 San Jose 3 0 Calgary  
May 15 San Jose 4 2 Calgary  
May 17 Calgary 3 0 San Jose  
May 19 San Jose 1 3 Calgary  
Calgary wins series 4–2 and
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl

Finals

Tampa Bay vs. Calgary
Date Away Home  
May 25 Calgary 4 1 Tampa Bay  
May 27 Calgary 1 4 Tampa Bay  
May 29 Tampa Bay 0 3 Calgary  
May 31 Tampa Bay 1 0 Calgary  
June 3 Calgary 3 2 Tampa Bay OT
June 5 Tampa Bay 3 2 Calgary 2OT
June 7 Calgary 1 2 Tampa Bay  
Tampa Bay wins series
4–3 and Stanley Cup
Brad Richards (Tampa Bay)
wins Conn Smythe Trophy

NHL awards

The NHL Awards presentation took place in Toronto.

Presidents' Trophy: Detroit Red Wings
Prince of Wales Trophy: Tampa Bay Lightning
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: Calgary Flames
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Bryan Berard, Chicago Blackhawks
Calder Memorial Trophy: Andrew Raycroft, Boston Bruins
Conn Smythe Trophy: Brad Richards, Tampa Bay Lighting
Frank J. Selke Trophy: Kris Draper, Detroit Red Wings
Hart Memorial Trophy: Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
Jack Adams Award: John Tortorella, Tampa Bay Lightning
James Norris Memorial Trophy: Scott Niedermayer, New Jersey Devils
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Brad Richards, Tampa Bay Lightning
Lester B. Pearson Award: Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
Lester Patrick Trophy: Mike Emrick, John Davidson, Ray Miron
Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy: Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames;
Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers;
Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets
NHL Plus/Minus Award: Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning;
Marek Malik, Vancouver Canucks
Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award: Dwayne Roloson, Minnesota Wild
Vezina Trophy: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
William M. Jennings Trophy: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils

All-Star teams

First Team   Position   Second Team
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils G Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers
Scott Niedermayer, New Jersey Devils D Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues
Zdeno Chara, Ottawa Senators D Bryan McCabe, Toronto Maple Leafs
Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche C Mats Sundin, Toronto Maple Leafs
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning RW Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
Markus Naslund, Vancouver Canucks LW Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers

First games

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2003–04 (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 2003–04 (listed with their last team):

References


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