2003–04 New Jersey Devils season

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2003–04 New Jersey Devils
Division2nd Atlantic
Conference6th Eastern
2003–04 record43–25–12–2
Home record22–13–5–1
Road record21–12–7–1
Goals for213
Goals against164
Team information
General managerLou Lamoriello
CoachPat Burns
CaptainScott Stevens
Scott Niedermayer
(Jan–Apr) interim
Alternate captainsPatrik Elias
John Madden (Jan–Apr) interim
Scott Niedermayer
ArenaContinental Airlines Arena
Average attendance15,059
Team leaders
GoalsPatrik Elias (38)
AssistsScott Gomez (56)
PointsPatrik Elias (81)
Penalty minutesColin White (96)
Plus/minusPatrik Elias (+26)
WinsMartin Brodeur (38)
Goals against averageMartin Brodeur (2.03)

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.

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 their first 30 games. However, in the 2004 calendar year, they were 24–19–4–1, causing them to finish sixth in the conference, second in the division and lose to one of their division rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers in five 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.

Pre-season[]

Date Score Opponent Location
September 19 6 - 1 Philadelphia Flyers Wachovia Center
September 23 3 - 0 Philadelphia Flyers Sovereign Bank Arena
September 24 2 - 1 New York Islanders Continental Airlines Arena
September 26 4 - 5 (OT) Philadelphia Flyers Wachovia Center
September 27 4 - 2 Philadelphia Flyers Continental Airlines Arena
September 30 1 - 0 Boston Bruins Dunkin' Donuts Center
October 1 4 - 2 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
October 3 2 - 0 New York Rangers Continental Airlines Arena
October 4 5 - 1 New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum



Regular season[]

The defending Stanley Cup champions, the Devils only allowed 164 goals, the lowest total ever allowed by a team under the 82-game regular-season format. The Devils also shut out their opponents 14 times, a league-high. Furthermore, they were the most disciplined team in the League, finishing with the regular season with the fewest power-play opportunities against (266) and the fewest power-play goals allowed (39).[1][2]

  • 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. [3]

Final standings[]

Atlantic Division[4]
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.

Eastern Conference[5]
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


Schedule and results[]

No. R Date Score Opponent Record Points
1 T October 8, 2003 3–3 OT @ Boston Bruins (2003–04) 0–0–1–0 1
2 W October 11, 2003 2–1 @ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04) 1–0–1–0 3
3 T October 16, 2003 2–2 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04) 1–0–2–0 4
4 L October 18, 2003 2–3 Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04) 1–1–2–0 4
5 L October 22, 2003 1–2 Florida Panthers (2003–04) 1–2–2–0 4
6 W October 24, 2003 2–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) 2–2–2–0 6
7 L October 25, 2003 2–5 Boston Bruins (2003–04) 2–3–2–0 6
8 W October 28, 2003 4–0 @ New York Islanders (2003–04) 3–3–2–0 8
9 W October 30, 2003 3–2 Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) 4–3–2–0 10
10 W November 1, 2003 4–3 Colorado Avalanche (2003–04) 5–3–2–0 12
11 W November 5, 2003 3–2 OT San Jose Sharks (2003–04) 6–3–2–0 14
12 T November 7, 2003 1–1 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04) 6–3–3–0 15
13 W November 8, 2003 1–0 @ Ottawa Senators (2003–04) 7–3–3–0 17
14 T November 12, 2003 2–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04) 7–3–4–0 18
15 W November 13, 2003 3–1 Florida Panthers (2003–04) 8–3–4–0 20
16 W November 15, 2003 5–0 New York Rangers (2003–04) 9–3–4–0 22
17 W November 19, 2003 4–1 Buffalo Sabres (2003–04) 10–3–4–0 24
18 W November 21, 2003 2–1 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) 11–3–4–0 26
19 W November 25, 2003 4–0 @ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04) 12–3–4–0 28
20 T November 26, 2003 3–3 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04) 12–3–5–0 29
21 L November 28, 2003 0–2 @ Dallas Stars (2003–04) 12–4–5–0 29
22 T November 30, 2003 1–1 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04) 12–4–6–0 30
23 L December 2, 2003 1–3 Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04) 12–5–6–0 30
24 W December 4, 2003 3–0 Washington Capitals (2003–04) 13–5–6–0 31
25 W December 6, 2003 2–1 @ Ottawa Senators (2003–04) 14–5–6–0 33
26 W December 10, 2003 1–0 OT New York Islanders (2003–04) 15–5–6–0 35
27 T December 12, 2003 3–3 OT Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) 15–5–7–0 36
28 W December 13, 2003 2–0 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) 16–5–7–0 38
29 L December 16, 2003 4–5 @ New York Islanders (2003–04) 16–6–7–0 38
30 W December 18, 2003 3–0 @ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04) 17–6–7–0 40
31 W December 19, 2003 5–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04) 18–6–7–0 42
32 T December 21, 2003 2–2 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04) 18–6–8–0 43
33 OTL December 26, 2003 3–4 OT New York Islanders (2003–04) 18–6–8–1 44
34 W December 27, 2003 2–0 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) 19–6–8–1 46
35 L December 29, 2003 1–3 @ New York Islanders (2003–04) 19–7–8–1 46
36 T January 1, 2004 2–2 OT @ Washington Capitals (2003–04) 19–7–9–1 47
37 L January 3, 2004 2–3 @ Nashville Predators (2003–04) 19–8–9–1 47
38 W January 5, 2004 3–2 OT Edmonton Oilers (2003–04) 20–8–9–1 49
39 L January 7, 2004 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) 20–9–9–1 49
40 L January 9, 2004 1–4 Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04) 20–10–9–1 49
41 W January 10, 2004 1–0 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04) 21–10–9–1 51
42 L January 13, 2004 0–4 Ottawa Senators (2003–04) 21–11–9–1 51
43 T January 15, 2004 3–3 OT @ New York Rangers (2003–04) 21–11–10–1 52
44 W January 17, 2004 2–1 OT Washington Capitals (2003–04) 22–11–10–1 54
45 W January 20, 2004 3–0 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) 23–11–10–1 56
46 L January 21, 2004 1–2 Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04) 23–12–10–1 56
47 W January 23, 2004 2–0 Montreal Canadiens (2003–04) 24–12–10–1 58
48 W January 25, 2004 3–2 Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04) 25–12–10–1 61
49 W January 27, 2004 4–3 @ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04) 26–12–10–1 63
50 L January 29, 2004 2–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04) 26–13–10–1 63
51 W January 31, 2004 4–1 @ St. Louis Blues (2003–04) 27–13–10–1 65
52 W February 3, 2004 2–1 Ottawa Senators (2003–04) 28–13–10–1 67
53 L February 5, 2004 0–4 Vancouver Canucks (2003–04) 28–14–10–1 67
54 L February 10, 2004 1–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) 28–15–10–1 67
55 L February 11, 2004 1–3 New York Rangers (2003–04) 28–16–10–1 67
56 W February 14, 2004 4–1 Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04) 29–16–10–1 69
57 W February 15, 2004 3–2 OT Los Angeles Kings (2003–04) 30–16–10–1 71
58 T February 17, 2004 4–4 OT Minnesota Wild (2003–04) 30–16–11–1 72
59 L February 19, 2004 1–3 @ Washington Capitals (2003–04) 30–17–11–1 72
60 W February 21, 2004 7–3 @ New York Rangers (2003–04) 31–17–11–1 74
61 W February 22, 2004 3–1 Calgary Flames (2003–04) 32–17–11–1 76
62 W February 25, 2004 8–2 Buffalo Sabres (2003–04) 33–17–11–1 78
63 L February 27, 2004 2–3 Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04) 33–18–11–1 78
64 L February 28, 2004 0–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04) 33–19–11–1 78
65 L March 1, 2004 1–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04) 33–20–11–1 78
66 W March 3, 2004 5–2 @ Florida Panthers (2003–04) 34–20–11–1 80
67 OTL March 5, 2004 2–3 OT @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04) 34–20–11–2 81
68 W March 6, 2004 4–1 @ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04) 35–20–11–2 83
69 L March 9, 2004 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) 35–21–11–2 83
70 W March 11, 2004 6–4 Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04) 36–21–11–2 85
71 L March 13, 2004 1–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) 36–22–11–2 85
72 W March 15, 2004 3–1 @ New York Rangers (2003–04) 37–22–11–2 87
73 W March 17, 2004 6–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) 38–22–11–2 89
74 T March 19, 2004 1–1 OT Montreal Canadiens (2003–04) 38–22–12–2 90
75 L March 20, 2004 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04) 38–23–12–2 90
76 W March 23, 2004 4–3 OT @ Florida Panthers (2003–04) 39–23–12–2 92
77 L March 25, 2004 1–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04) 39–24–12–2 92
78 W March 26, 2004 5–0 @ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04) 40–24–12–2 94
79 W March 28, 2004 3–2 New York Islanders (2003–04) 41–24–12–2 96
80 W March 30, 2004 5–0 New York Rangers (2003–04) 42–24–12–2 98
81 W April 3, 2004 5–2 @ Boston Bruins (2003–04) 43–24–12–2 100
82 L April 4, 2004 1–3 Boston Bruins (2003–04) 43–25–12–2 100

Playoffs[]

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals[]

(E6) New Jersey Devils vs. (E3) Philadelphia Flyers[]

The series opened at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, and the Flyers won both games 1 and 2 3-2 over New Jersey. Games three and four were played at Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey. The Devils won game three 4-2, but the Flyers were victorious in game four by a score of 3-0. Game five was played back in Philadelphia, and the Flyers won that game 3-1 and won the series 4 games to 1.


Media[]

Television coverage was still on Fox Sports Net New York with commentators Mike Emrick and Chico Resch as usual with Matt Loughlin hosting in the studio. Radio coverage remained on WABC 770 with John Hennessy calling the play-by-play with Randy Velischek providing color commentary.

Player statistics[]

Regular season[]

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Patrik Elias LW 82 38 43 81 44 26 9 3 9
Scott Gomez C 80 14 56 70 70 18 3 0 1
Scott Niedermayer D 81 14 40 54 44 20 9 0 3
Jeff Friesen LW 81 17 20 37 26 8 5 0 4
Brian Rafalski D 69 6 30 36 24 6 2 0 1
John Madden C 80 12 23 35 22 7 1 1 1
Sergei Brylin LW 82 14 19 33 20 10 7 0 1
Brian Gionta RW 75 21 8 29 36 19 0 0 8
Turner Stevenson RW 61 14 13 27 76 0 4 0 2
Jay Pandolfo LW 82 13 13 26 14 5 1 2 4
Jamie Langenbrunner RW 53 10 16 26 43 9 1 2 2
Paul Martin D 70 6 18 24 4 12 2 0 2
Grant Marshall RW 65 8 7 15 67 -9 5 0 2
Erik Rasmussen LW/C 69 7 6 13 41 5 0 0 0
Colin White D 75 2 11 13 96 10 0 0 0
Scott Stevens D 38 3 9 12 22 3 1 0 1
Mike Rupp C 51 6 5 11 41 -1 1 0 1
Igor Larionov C 49 1 10 11 20 3 0 0 0
Jan Hrdina C 13 1 6 7 10 4 0 0 0
Viktor Kozlov C 11 2 4 6 2 0 0 0 0
Christian Berglund LW 23 2 3 5 4 -4 0 0 0
Tommy Albelin D 45 1 3 4 4 7 0 0 0
David Hale D 65 0 4 4 72 12 0 0 0
Sean Brown D 39 0 3 3 44 5 0 0 0
Raymond Giroux D 11 0 3 3 4 -3 0 0 0
Rob Skrlac LW 8 1 0 1 22 1 0 0 1
Jiri Bicek RW 12 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Corey Schwab G 3 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Martin Brodeur G 75 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Scott Clemmensen G 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Craig Darby C 2 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Tuomas Pihlman LW 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Alexander Suglobov RW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T/OT GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Martin Brodeur 4555 75 38 26 11 154 2.03 11 1845 1691 .917
Scott Clemmensen 238 4 3 1 0 4 1.01 2 84 80 .952
Corey Schwab 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
Scott Gomez C 5 0 6 6 0 0 0 0
Patrik Elias LW 5 3 2 5 2 1 0 1
Brian Gionta RW 5 2 3 5 0 1 0 0
Jan Hrdina C 5 2 0 2 2 0 0 0
Paul Martin D 5 1 1 2 4 1 0 0
Jamie Langenbrunner RW 5 0 2 2 2 0 0 0
Erik Rasmussen LW/C 5 0 2 2 2 0 0 0
Scott Niedermayer D 5 1 0 1 6 0 0 0
Tommy Albelin D 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Brian Rafalski D 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Jiri Bicek RW 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Martin Brodeur G 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sean Brown D 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Sergei Brylin LW 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jeff Friesen LW 5 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Raymond Giroux D 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
David Hale D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Viktor Kozlov C 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Igor Larionov C 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
John Madden C 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jay Pandolfo LW 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Turner Stevenson RW 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Colin White D 5 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Martin Brodeur 298 5 1 4 13 2.62 0 133 120 .902
Team: 298 5 1 4 13 2.62 0 133 120 .902

[6]

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[]

Awards[]

Regular Season
Player Award Awarded
Martin Brodeur Vezina Trophy End of regular season
Martin Brodeur William Jennings Trophy End of regular season
Martin Brodeur NHL First All-Star Team - Goaltender End of regular season
Scott Niedermayer James Norris Memorial Trophy End of regular season
Scott Niedermayer NHL First All-Star Team - Defense End of regular season

Nominations[]

Regular Season
Player Award Place
Martin Brodeur Hart Memorial Trophy Finalist
John Madden Frank J. Selke Trophy Runner-Up

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  United States C University of North Dakota (WCHA) [7]
2 42 Petr Vrana  Czech Republic C Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
3 93 Ivan Khomutov  Russia C (Vysshaya Liga) [8]
4 136 No fourth-round pick[9]
5 167 Zach Tarkir  United States D Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL)
6 197 Jason Smith  Canada G Lennoxville Cougars (LHJAAAQ)
7 229 No seventh-round pick[10]
8 261 Joey Tenute  Canada C Sarnia Sting (OHL)
9 292 Arseny Bondarev  Russia LW Yaroslavl Jrs. (Russia)

See also[]

References[]

  • Game log: "2003–04 New Jersey Devils Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  • Team standings: [1] on espn.com
  1. ^ "2003-04 NHL Summary".
  2. ^ "2003-04 NHL Schedule and Results".
  3. ^ "Brodeur youngest goalie to win 400 career games". 24 March 2004.
  4. ^ "2003-2004 Division Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  5. ^ "2003–2004 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  6. ^ "2003-04 New Jersey Devils Statistics – Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  7. ^ 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-François 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ The 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.
  10. ^ The Devils traded the 2003 seventh-round pick (used on Stephen Dixon) to Pittsburgh for Stephane Richer on March 19, 2002.
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