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
Number of games	82
Number of teams	30
TV partner(s)	CBC, TSN, RDS (Canada) ESPN, ABC (United States)
Draft
Top draft pick	Marc-Andre Fleury
Picked by	Pittsburgh Penguins
Regular season
Presidents' Trophy	Detroit Red Wings
Season MVP	Martin St. Louis (Lightning)
Top scorer	Martin St. Louis (Lightning)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Brad Richards (Lightning)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Tampa Bay Lightning
Runners-up	Calgary Flames

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

Atlantic Division^[1]

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
1	3	Philadelphia Flyers	82	40	21	15	6	229	186	101
2	6	New Jersey Devils	82	43	25	12	2	213	164	100
3	8	New York Islanders	82	38	29	11	4	237	210	91
4	13	New York Rangers	82	27	40	7	8	206	250	69
5	15	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	23	47	8	4	190	303	58

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Northeast Division^[1]

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Boston Bruins	82	41	19	15	7	209	188	104
2	4	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	45	24	10	3	242	204	103
3	5	Ottawa Senators	82	43	23	10	6	262	189	102
4	7	Montreal Canadiens	82	41	30	7	4	208	192	93
5	9	Buffalo Sabres	82	37	34	7	4	220	221	85

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Southeast Division^[1]

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
1	1	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	46	22	8	6	245	192	106
2	10	Atlanta Thrashers	82	33	37	8	4	214	243	78
3	11	Carolina Hurricanes	82	28	34	14	6	172	209	76
4	12	Florida Panthers	82	28	35	15	4	188	221	75
5	14	Washington Capitals	82	23	46	10	3	186	253	59

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Eastern Conference^[2]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	Z- Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	46	22	8	6	245	192	106
2	Y- Boston Bruins	NE	82	41	19	15	7	209	188	104
3	Y- Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	40	21	15	6	209	188	101
4	X- Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	45	24	10	3	242	204	103
5	X- Ottawa Senators	NE	82	43	23	10	6	262	189	102
6	X- New Jersey Devils	AT	82	43	25	12	2	213	164	100
7	X- Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	41	30	7	4	208	192	93
8	X- New York Islanders	AT	82	38	29	11	4	237	210	91
8.5
9	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	37	34	7	4	220	221	85
10	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	33	37	8	4	214	243	78
11	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	28	34	14	6	172	209	76
12	Florida Panthers	SE	82	28	35	15	4	188	221	75
13	New York Rangers	AT	82	27	40	7	8	206	250	69
14	Washington Capitals	SE	82	23	46	10	3	186	253	59
15	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	23	47	8	4	190	303	58

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

Z- Clinched Conference; Y- Clinched Division; X- Clinched Playoff spot

Western Conference

Central Division^[1]

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Detroit Red Wings	82	48	21	11	2	255	189	109
2	7	St. Louis Blues	82	39	30	11	2	191	198	91
3	8	Nashville Predators	82	38	29	11	4	216	217	91
4	14	Columbus Blue Jackets	82	25	45	8	4	177	238	62
5	15	Chicago Blackhawks	82	20	43	11	8	188	259	59

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Northwest Division^[1]

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
1	3	Vancouver Canucks	82	43	24	10	5	235	194	101
2	4	Colorado Avalanche	82	40	22	13	7	235	198	100
3	6	Calgary Flames	82	42	30	7	3	200	176	94
4	9	Edmonton Oilers	82	36	29	12	5	221	208	89
5	10	Minnesota Wild	82	30	29	20	3	188	183	83

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Pacific Division^[1]

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	San Jose Sharks	82	43	21	12	6	219	183	104
2	5	Dallas Stars	82	41	26	13	2	194	175	97
3	11	Los Angeles Kings	82	28	29	16	9	205	217	81
4	12	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	82	29	35	10	8	184	213	76
5	13	Phoenix Coyotes	82	22	36	18	6	188	245	68

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference^[2]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	P- Detroit Red Wings	CE	82	48	21	11	2	255	189	109
2	Y- San Jose Sharks	PA	82	43	21	12	6	255	183	104
3	Y- Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	43	24	10	5	235	194	101
4	X- Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	40	22	13	7	236	198	100
5	X- Dallas Stars	PA	82	41	26	13	2	194	175	97
6	X- Calgary Flames	NW	82	42	30	7	3	200	176	94
7	X- St. Louis Blues	CE	82	39	30	11	2	191	198	91
8	X- Nashville Predators	CE	82	38	29	11	4	216	217	91
8.5
9	Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	36	29	12	5	221	208	89
10	Minnesota Wild	NW	82	30	29	20	3	188	183	83
11	Los Angeles Kings	PA	82	28	29	16	9	205	217	81
12	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PA	82	29	35	10	8	184	213	76
13	Phoenix Coyotes	PA	82	22	36	18	6	188	245	68
14	Columbus Blue Jackets	CE	82	25	45	8	4	177	238	62
15	Chicago Blackhawks	CE	82	20	43	11	8	188	259	59

Divisions: CE – Central, PA – Pacific, NW – Northwest

P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Martin St. Louis	Tampa Bay	82	38	56	94
Ilya Kovalchuk	Atlanta	81	41	46	87
Joe Sakic	Colorado	81	33	54	87
Markus Naslund	Vancouver	78	35	49	84
Marian Hossa	Ottawa	81	36	46	82
Patrik Elias	New Jersey	82	38	43	81
Daniel Alfredsson	Ottawa	77	32	48	80
Cory Stillman	Tampa Bay	81	25	55	80
Robert Lang	Washington / Detroit	69	30	49	79
Brad Richards	Tampa Bay	82	26	53	79

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

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

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):

• Joffrey Lupul, Anaheim Mighty Ducks
• Kari Lehtonen, Atlanta Thrashers
• Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
• Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres
• Matthew Lombardi, Calgary Flames
• Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
• Tuomo Ruutu, Chicago Blackhawks
• John-Michael Liles, Colorado Avalanche
• Marek Svatos, Colorado Avalanche
• Nikolai Zherdev, Columbus Blue Jackets
• Pascal Leclaire, Columbus Blue Jackets
• Michael Ryder, Montreal Canadiens
• Jordin Tootoo, Nashville Predators
• Marek Zidlicky, Nashville Predators
• Antoine Vermette, Ottawa Senators
• Antero Niittymaki, Philadelphia Flyers
• Joni Pitkanen, Philadelphia Flyers
• Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Tom Preissing, San Jose Sharks
• Alexander Semin, Washington Capitals

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):

• Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche
• Steve Thomas, Detroit Red Wings
• Adam Oates, Edmonton Oilers
• Igor Larionov, New Jersey Devils
• Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils
• Cliff Ronning, New York Islanders
• Mark Messier, New York Rangers
• Vincent Damphousse, San Jose Sharks
• Al MacInnis, St. Louis Blues
• Ron Francis, Toronto Maple Leafs

References

1. "2003-2004 Division Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
2. "2003–2004 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.

• Hockey Database
• NHL Official Website