2003 Stanley Cup Finals
2003 Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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* indicates periods of overtime | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location(s) | East Rutherford: Continental Airlines Arena (1, 2, 5, 7) Anaheim: Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (3, 4, 6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaches | New Jersey: Pat Burns Anaheim: Mike Babcock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Captains | New Jersey: Scott Stevens Anaheim: Paul Kariya | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National anthems | New Jersey: Arlette Roxburgh Anaheim: United States Marines from Camp Pendleton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Referees | Dan Marouelli (1, 3, 4, 6, 7) Brad Watson (1, 4, 6) Bill McCreary (2, 3, 5, 7) Paul Devorski (2, 5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dates | May 27 – June 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Mighty Ducks) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series-winning goal | Michael Rupp (2:22, second, G7) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Networks | ABC (games 3–7), CBC, ESPN (games 1–2), RDS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | (CBC) Bob Cole and Harry Neale (ESPN) Gary Thorne and Bill Clement (ABC) Gary Thorne, Bill Clement, and John Davidson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2003 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2002–03 season, and the culmination of the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs. The second-seeded Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils defeated the seventh-seeded Western Conference champion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in seven games and were awarded the Stanley Cup. It was New Jersey's first appearance since 2001 and third in four years. It was Anaheim's first-ever appearance. The Devils defeated the Mighty Ducks in seven games to win their third Stanley Cup in less than a decade.
The Devils' win was the last in a series of wins they, along with the Colorado Avalanche and the Detroit Red Wings, established in the era from 1995 to 2003. The three teams won a combined eight of nine Stanley Cups during that time. The Devils won in 1995, followed by the Avalanche in 1996, then the Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. The Dallas Stars win in 1999 would be superseded by the Devils in 2000, Colorado in 2001 and Detroit in 2002.
Paths to the Finals[]
The New Jersey Devils were in the Stanley Cup Finals for their fourth time in franchise history, as well as their third appearance in four years. En route to the finals, New Jersey defeated the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning in five games, and the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Finals in a seven-game series. Strong goaltending from future Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur, and strong defense from future Hockey Hall of Fame captain Scott Stevens and future Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Niedermayer led the Devils to the finals. Niedermayer and forward Jamie Langenbrunner led all NHL players in points during the entire playoffs. Forwards John Madden and Jeff Friesen, the latter of whom had been traded to New Jersey from Anaheim during the off-season, also finished among the top scorers in the league during the playoffs.
The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim entered their first Stanley Cup Finals in franchise history after upsetting two heavily favored teams: sweeping the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings and defeating the Dallas Stars in six games. Anaheim also swept the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference Finals, largely due to the stellar goaltending of Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who only allowed one goal during the entire series. Supporting Giguere were future Hockey Hall of Fame members Paul Kariya and Adam Oates as well as forwards Petr Sykora and Rob Niedermayer, brother of then-Devils star defenseman Scott Niedermayer.
This series was considered memorable as two brothers on different teams competed against one another for the Stanley Cup.
Game summaries[]
The 2003 Stanley Cup Finals pitted the second-seeded Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils against the seventh-seeded Western Conference champion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Devils, who finished the season with 108 points, defeated the Mighty Ducks in seven games to win the Stanley Cup. The series opened at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Game one[]
In game one Martin Brodeur kept the Ducks off the scoreboard while the Devils players continually dominated the Ducks. Sergei Brylin scored the winning goal in the second period and the Devils went on to shut out the Mighty Ducks 3–0.
May 27 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 0–3 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
No Scoring | First period | No Scoring | ||||||
No Scoring | Second period | 01:45 – Jeff Friesen (6) | ||||||
No Scoring | Third period | 05:34 – Grant Marshall (5) 19:38 – en – Jeff Friesen (7) | ||||||
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 27 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 16 saves / 16 shots |
Game two[]
In a virtual repeat of game one, Patrik Elias scored the winning goal in the second period and the Devils shut out Anaheim 3–0 again.
May 29 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 0–3 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
No Scoring | First period | No Scoring | ||||||
No Scoring | Second period | 04:42 – pp – Patrik Elias (3) 12:11 – Scott Gomez (2) | ||||||
No Scoring | Third period | 04:22 – Jeff Friesen (8) | ||||||
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 22 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 16 saves / 16 shots |
Game three[]
Down 2–0 after two games, the series shifted to the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Southern California. Game three was remembered for the clumsy mistake from Martin Brodeur when he accidentally dropped his stick when the puck came to him; the puck deflected off his fallen stick and into the net to give the Ducks a lucky break and a 2–1 lead. The Devils would later tie the game, only to lose in overtime. Over the mistake with his stick, Brodeur later claimed, "It was just one of those once in a lifetime things."
May 31 | New Jersey Devils | 2–3 | OT | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim | Recap | ||
No Scoring | First period | No Scoring | ||||||
Patrik Elias (4) – 14:02 | Second period | 03:39 – Marc Chouinard (1) 14:47 – Sandis Ozolinsh (2) | ||||||
Scott Gomez (3) – 09:11 | Third period | No Scoring | ||||||
No Scoring | First overtime period | 06:59 – Ruslan Salei (2) | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 30 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 29 saves / 31 shots |
Game four[]
Game four had no scoring throughout regulation and was a battle between goaltenders Brodeur and Giguere. But Anaheim again came out on top in overtime, winning 1–0 and tying the series 2–2.
June 2 | New Jersey Devils | 0–1 | OT | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim | Recap | ||
No Scoring | First period | No Scoring | ||||||
No Scoring | Second period | No Scoring | ||||||
No Scoring | Third period | No Scoring | ||||||
No Scoring | First overtime period | 00:39 – Steve Thomas (3) | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 25 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 26 saves / 26 shots |
Game five[]
Game five, returning to the Meadowlands, saw a continual battle for the first half of the game. With the game tied 3–3 in the second period, the Devils took the lead with a deflection goal by Jay Pandolfo that was initially waved off by referees due to an apparent kicking motion with the skates. Video replays, however, showed that there was no distinct kicking motion from the skates, and thus the referees' call was reversed, resulting in a goal. This would prove to deflate the Ducks for the rest of the game, as Jamie Langenbrunner scored two more goals for the Devils to give New Jersey a 6–3 win and a three games to two series lead.
June 5 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 3–6 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
Petr Sykora (3) – 00:42 Steve Rucchin (5) – 12:50 |
First period | 03:35 – Pascal Rheaume (1) 07:45 – pp – Patrik Elias (5) | ||||||
Samuel Pahlsson (2) – 06:35 | Second period | 03:12 – Brian Gionta (1) 09:02 – Jay Pandolfo (5) | ||||||
No Scoring | Third period | 05:39 – Jamie Langenbrunner (10) 12:52 – Jamie Langenbrunner (11) | ||||||
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 31 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 20 saves / 23 shots |
Game six[]
With New Jersey looking to clinch the series, game six in Anaheim saw the Mighty Ducks return the favor of game five to the Devils with complete dominance throughout the game. Quite possibly the most remembered moment of the entire series came when the Ducks were winning 3–1 in the second period. Ducks captain Paul Kariya failed to see Devils captain Scott Stevens approaching after he passed the puck, and he was subsequently checked by the defensemen in a hit similar to the check that knocked out Eric Lindros during the 2000 playoffs and caused Lindros to miss the next season. Kariya was lying motionless for a few minutes, where he was then escorted to the locker room. Kariya, however, unexpectedly returned to the bench minutes later. About 11 minutes after the hit, Kariya fired a slap shot that found the back of the net. This helped the Ducks win the game 5–2 and sent the series to a seventh and final game.
June 7 | New Jersey Devils | 2–5 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim | Recap | |||
No Scoring | First period | 04:26 – Steve Rucchin (6) 13:42 – Steve Rucchin (7) 15:59 – pp – Steve Thomas (4) | ||||||
Jay Pandolfo (6) – 02:18 | Second period | 17:15 – Paul Kariya (6) | ||||||
Grant Marshall (6) – pp – 10:46 | Third period | 03:57 – pp – Petr Sykora (4) | ||||||
Martin Brodeur 17 saves / 22 shots Corey Schwab 2 saves / 2 shots |
Goalie stats | Jean-Sebastien Giguere 26 saves / 28 shots |
Game seven[]
Game seven in New Jersey saw the Devils once more completely dominate the Ducks. The game-winning goal was scored by Michael Rupp. Rupp became the first player in Stanley Cup history to have his first playoff goal be the Stanley Cup winner. Additionally, Jeff Friesen dominated his former Mighty Duck teammates, scoring the game's final two goals to solidify the victory. The 3–0 win gave the Devils their third Stanley Cup victory, as Anaheim cannot complete their Cinderella run. The Mighty Ducks, however, didn't leave empty-handed; for his stellar play throughout the playoffs and Finals, goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player (MVP) of the playoffs. He became only the fifth player, and fourth goaltender, in NHL history to have won the trophy as a member of the losing team, joining Detroit's Roger Crozier (1966), the St. Louis Blues' Glenn Hall (1968), and the Philadelphia Flyers' Reggie Leach (1976, a right winger) and Ron Hextall (1987). He is also the most recent such Smythe winner to date.
This was only the third time in NHL history, after 1955 and 1965, that the home team won every Finals game.[1]
June 9 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 0–3 | New Jersey Devils | Continental Airlines Arena | Recap | |||
No Scoring | First period | No Scoring | ||||||
No Scoring | Second period | 02:22 – Michael Rupp (1) 12:18 – Jeff Friesen (9) | ||||||
No Scoring | Third period | 16:16 – Jeff Friesen (10) | ||||||
Jean-Sebastien Giguere 22 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Martin Brodeur 24 saves / 24 shots |
Team rosters[]
Years indicated in boldface under the "Finals appearance" column signify that the player won the Stanley Cup in the given year.
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim[]
# | Nat | Player | Position | Hand | Acquired | Place of birth | Finals appearance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
21 | ![]() |
Dan Bylsma | RW | L | 2000–01 | Grand Haven, Michigan | first |
3 | ![]() |
Keith Carney – A | D | L | 2001–02 | Providence, Rhode Island | first |
23 | ![]() |
Stanislav Chistov | LW | R | 2001 | Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union | first |
11 | ![]() |
Marc Chouinard | C | R | 1995–96 | Charlesbourg, Quebec | first |
29 | ![]() |
Martin Gerber | G | L | 2002–03 | Burgdorf, Switzerland | first |
35 | ![]() |
Jean-Sebastien Giguere | G | L | 2000–01 | Montreal, Quebec | first |
28 | ![]() |
Niclas Havelid | D | L | 1999 | Stockholm, Sweden | first |
9 | ![]() |
Paul Kariya – C | LW | L | 1993 | North Vancouver, British Columbia | first |
10 | ![]() |
Jason Krog | C | R | 2002–03 | Fernie, British Columbia | first |
12 | ![]() |
Mike Leclerc | LW | L | 1995 | Winnipeg, Manitoba | first |
44 | ![]() |
Rob Niedermayer | LW | L | 2002–03 | Cassiar, British Columbia | second (1996) |
77 | ![]() |
Adam Oates | C | R | 2002–03 | Weston, Ontario | second (1998) |
2 | ![]() |
Fredrik Olausson | D | R | 2002–03 | Nybro, Sweden | second (2002) |
8 | ![]() |
Sandis Ozolinsh | D | L | 2002–03 | Riga, Soviet Union | second (1996) |
26 | ![]() |
Samuel Pahlsson | C | L | 2000–01 | Ånge, Sweden | first |
20 | ![]() |
Steve Rucchin – (A) | C | L | 1994 | Thunder Bay, Ontario | first |
24 | ![]() |
Ruslan Salei | D | L | 1996 | Minsk, Soviet Union | first |
34 | ![]() |
Kurt Sauer | D | R | 2000 | St. Cloud, Minnesota | first |
22 | ![]() |
Alexei Smirnov | LW | L | 2000 | Kalinin, Soviet Union | first |
39 | ![]() |
Petr Sykora | RW | L | 2002–03 | Plzeň, Czechoslovakia | third (2000, 2001) |
32 | ![]() |
Steve Thomas | RW | L | 2002–03 | Stockport, England | first |
5 | ![]() |
Vitaly Vishnevskiy | D | L | 1998 | Kharkiv, Soviet Union | first |
New Jersey Devils[]
# | Nat | Player | Position | Hand | Acquired | Place of birth | Finals appearance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | ![]() |
Tommy Albelin | D | L | 2001–02 | Stockholm, Sweden | second (1995) |
9 | ![]() |
Jiri Bicek | RW | L | 1997 | Košice, Czechoslovakia | first |
30 | ![]() |
Martin Brodeur | G | L | 1990 | Montreal, Quebec | fourth (1995, 2000, 2001) |
18 | ![]() |
Sergei Brylin | LW | L | 1992 | Moscow, Soviet Union | fourth (1995, 2000, 2001) |
3 | ![]() |
Ken Daneyko | D | L | 1982 | Windsor, Ontario | fourth (1995, 2000, 2001) |
26 | ![]() |
Patrik Elias – A | LW | L | 1994 | Třebíč, Czechoslovakia | third (2000, 2001) |
12 | ![]() |
Jeff Friesen | LW | L | 2002–03 | Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan | first |
14 | ![]() |
Brian Gionta | RW | R | 1998 | Rochester, New York | first |
23 | ![]() |
Scott Gomez | C | L | 1998 | Anchorage, Alaska | third (2000, 2001) |
15 | ![]() |
Jamie Langenbrunner | RW | R | 2001–02 | Cloquet, Minnesota | third (1999, 2000) |
11 | ![]() |
John Madden | C | L | 1997–98 | Toronto, Ontario | third (2000, 2001) |
29 | ![]() |
Grant Marshall | RW | R | 2002–03 | Port Credit, Ontario | third (1999, 2000) |
19 | ![]() |
Jim McKenzie | LW | L | 2000–01 | Gull Lake, Saskatchewan | second (2001) |
27 | ![]() |
Scott Niedermayer – A | D | L | 1991 | Edmonton, Alberta | fourth (1995, 2000, 2001) |
25 | ![]() |
Joe Nieuwendyk | C | L | 2001–02 | Oshawa, Ontario | fourth (1989, 1999 2000) |
20 | ![]() |
Jay Pandolfo | LW | L | 1993 | Winchester, Massachusetts | third (2000, 2001) |
28 | ![]() |
Brian Rafalski | D | R | 1999–2000 | Dearborn, Michigan | third (2000, 2001) |
21 | ![]() |
Pascal Rheaume | C | L | 2002–03 | Quebec City, Quebec | first |
16 | ![]() |
Michael Rupp | RW | R | 2000 | Cleveland, Ohio | first |
35 | ![]() |
Corey Schwab | G | L | 2002–03 | North Battleford, Saskatchewan | first |
2 | ![]() |
Richard Smehlik | D | L | 2002–03 | Ostrava, Czechoslovakia | second (1999) |
4 | ![]() |
Scott Stevens – C | D | L | 1991–92 | Kitchener, Ontario | fourth (1995, 2000, 2001) |
24 | ![]() |
Turner Stevenson | RW | R | 2000–01 | Prince George, British Columbia | second (2001) |
10 | ![]() |
Oleg Tverdovsky | D | L | 2002–03 | Donetsk, Soviet Union | first |
5 | ![]() |
Colin White | D | L | 1996 | New Glasgow, Nova Scotia | third (2000, 2001) |
Stanley Cup engraving[]
The 2003 Stanley Cup was presented to Devils captain Scott Stevens by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman following the Devils 3–0 win over the Mighty Ducks in game seven
The following Devils players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup
2002–03 New Jersey Devils
Players
- Centres
- 11 John Madden
- 18 Sergei Brylin
- 21 Pascal Rheaume
- 25 Joe Nieuwendyk
- 26 Patrik Elias (A)
- Wingers
- 9 Jiri Bicek
- 12 Jeff Friesen
- 14 Brian Gionta
- 15 Jamie Langenbrunner
- 16 Michael Rupp
- 19 Jim McKenzie
- 20 Jay Pandolfo
- 23 Scott Gomez
- 24 Turner Stevenson
- 29 Grant Marshall
- 4 Scott Stevens (Captain)
- 2 Richard Smehlik
- 3 Ken Daneyko
- 5 Colin White
- 6 Tommy Albelin
- 10 Oleg Tverdovsky
- 27 Scott Niedermayer (A)
- 28 Brian Rafalski
- Goaltenders
- 30 Martin Brodeur
- 35 Corey Schwab
Coaching and administrative staff
- Ray Chambers (Owner/Governor), Lewis Katz (Owner), Peter Simon (Chairman), Lou Lamoriello (Chief Executive Officer/President/General Manager)
- Pat Burns (Head Coach), Bobby Carpenter Jr. (Assistant Coach), John MacLean (Assistant Coach), Jacques Caron (Goaltending Coach), Larry Robinson (Special Assignment Coach)
- David Conte (Director-Scouting), Claude Carrier (Assistant Director-Scouting), Chris Lamoriello (Scout/AHL GM), Milt Fisher (Scout), Dan Labraaten (Scout)
- Marcel Pronovost (Scout), Bob Hoffmeyer (Scout), Jan Ludvig (Scout), Dr. Barry Fisher (Head Team Physician)
- Chris Modrzynski (Vice President), Terry Farmer (Vice President-Ticket Operations), Vladimir Bure (Fitness Consultant), Taran Singleton (Director-Hockey Operations/Video Coordinator),
- Bill Murray (Medical Trainer), Michael Vasalani (Strength-Conditioning Coordinator), Rich Matthews (Equipment Manager),
- Juergen Merz (Massage Therapists), Alex Abasto (Asst. Equipment), Joe Murray (Equipment asst.)
Stanley Cup engraving
- Marcel Pronovost won his eighth Stanley Cup – five as a player with Detroit in 1950, 1952, 1954–55 and Toronto in 1967, as well as three championships as a scout for New Jersey in 1995, 2000 and 2003. He set the record for years between his first and last Stanley Cup wins with 53 years.
- Christian Berglund(LW) played 38 games for New Jersey. His name was left off the Cup because he was sent to the minors before the trade deadline.
- Jeff Friesen was the first player engraved on the Stanley Cup with a full middle name, as "JEFF DARYL FRIESEN." Some players in the past had their middle initial included along with their first name on the Stanley Cup. The 2003 New Jersey team included nine other players who were listed with an initial and 2 full names.
- When Louis St. Jacques engraved the Replica Stanley Cup she realized she had left too much space between winning teams. So in order to make sure there was enough room on the Stanley Cup for 2004 winning team 2 names were changed Jacques J.Caron was changed to J.J.Caron, and Larry Robinson has changed L.Robinson (See 2004 Stanley Cup Finals)
Three Stanley Cups with New Jersey[]
New Jersey won three Stanley Cups in short succession: 1995, 2000 and 2003. These players and staff were members of all three Stanley Cup Championships.
Martin Brodeur, Sergei Brylin, Ken Daneyko, Scott Niedermayer, Scott Stevens, Bobby Carpenter Jr. (one as a player, two as an assistant coach), Lou Lamoriello, Larry Robinson, Jacques Caron, Claude Carrier, David Conte, Milt Fisher, Dan Labraaten, Marcel Provonost, Mike Vasalani, Peter McMullen (left Cup in 2003).
Broadcasting[]
In the United States, the Disney-owned networks ESPN and ABC aired the Finals. Gary Thorne, and Bill Clement called the entire series, with John Davidson joining them for the ABC games. ESPN aired the first two games while ABC broadcast the rest of the series.
In Canada, Bob Cole and Harry Neale were in the broadcast booth for CBC. One of the CBC's owned and operated Station's in New Brunswick (CBAT-TV) decided to preempt game seven of the Final in order to broadcast the New Brunswick general election returns.[2] This would also be the first finals televised by RDS, replacing SRC as the Canadian French-language broadcaster.
For the radio coverage, Devils team broadcaster John Hennessy called the series on WABC–AM 770 in New York City.
Quotes[]
Into the zone Sykora kicked in out, got it back, near side Kariya. Kariya the fans want one. SCORE! OFF THE FLOOR, ON THE BOARD! PAUL KARIYA!
— Gary Thorne calling Paul Kariya's second goal of Game 6, after Kariya had been knocked out by Scott Stevens earlier in the game.
The celebration starts, the New Jersey Devils! For the third time in their history, have won the Stanley Cup! The Devils 3, the Ducks, nothing! Devils, Stanley Cup Champions!
— Thorne calling the final seconds of game seven
References[]
- ^ Allen, Kevin (June 10, 2003). "Devils down Ducks for third Cup". USA Today. p. 1C.
This series marked the first time since...1965 that the home team has won all seven games of a Stanley Cup Finals.
- ^ "Tory star hit hard by voters - the Globe and Mail". Archived from the original on 2017-02-06.
- Diamond, Dan (2008). Total Stanley Cup (PDF). Dan Diamond & Associates, Inc. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. pp. 12, 50. ISBN 1-55168-261-3.
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