2002–03 Ottawa Senators season

2002–03 Ottawa Senators
Presidents' Trophy Winners
Northeast Division Champions
Division 1st Northeast
Conference 1st Eastern
2002–03 record 52–22-8
Home record 28–10–3
Road record 24–12–5
Goals for 263
Goals against 182
Team information
General Manager John Muckler
Coach Jacques Martin
Captain Daniel Alfredsson
Alternate captains Zdeno Chara
Curtis Leschyshyn
Wade Redden
Arena Corel Centre
Average attendance 17,198[1]
Team leaders
Goals Marian Hossa (45)
Assists Daniel Alfredsson (51)
Points Marian Hossa (80)
Penalties in minutes Chris Neil (147)
Plus/minus Zdeno Chara (+29)
Wins Patrick Lalime (39)
Goals against average Patrick Lalime (2.16)
<2001–02 2003–04>
Banner at Scotiabank Place

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 Presidents' Trophy, the Northeast Division title and the Eastern Conference title.

After their long history of debt problems, the Senators filed for bankruptcy on January 9, 2003. They continued regular season play after receiving emergency financing from the NHL. Despite the off-ice problems, they had a successful year, compared to their early day woes. The Presidents' Trophy awarded to the Senators made them the first Canadian team to win it since the Calgary Flames in their championship season of 1989, and the first Eastern Conference team to win it since the New York Rangers' title in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. 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 New Jersey Devils.

Regular season

Right winger Marian Hossa led Ottawa in scoring, just eclipsing Yashin's previous record of 44 goals. Without the goaltending issues that had plagued Senators teams of the past, Patrick Lalime showed one of his best seasons, with career bests in goals against average (GAA) and wins.

After a slow start to the season after an even .500 ratio, the Senators turned around their game with a ten-game unbeaten streak. Fans were concerned whether their start was due to off-ice problems. These worries, however, were soon irrelevant to fans when the Senators again clinched a playoff berth. Before the playoffs, the Senators addressed toughness concerns through separate trades to the Buffalo Sabres for grinders Vaclav Varada and Rob Ray respectively, plus two-way forward Bryan Smolinski from the Los Angeles Kings.

Division standings

Northeast Division
No. CR GP W L T OTL GF GA Pts
11Ottawa Senators 82 52 21 8 1 263 182 113
25Toronto Maple Leafs 82 44 28 7 3 236 208 98
37Boston Bruins 82 36 31 11 4 245 237 87
410Montreal Canadiens 82 30 35 8 9 206 234 77
512Buffalo Sabres 82 27 37 10 8 190 219 72

[2]

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[3]
R Div GP W L T OTL GF GA Pts
1 P- Ottawa Senators NE 82 52 21 8 1 263 182 113
2 Y- New Jersey Devils AT 82 46 20 10 6 216 166 108
3 Y- Tampa Bay Lightning SE 82 36 25 16 5 219 210 93
4 X- Philadelphia Flyers AT 82 45 20 13 4 211 166 107
5 X- Toronto Maple Leafs NE 82 44 28 7 3 236 208 98
6 X- Washington Capitals SE 82 39 29 8 6 224 220 92
7 X- Boston Bruins NE 82 36 31 11 4 245 237 87
8 X- New York Islanders AT 82 35 34 11 2 224 231 83
8.5
9 New York Rangers AT 82 32 36 10 4 210 231 78
10 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 30 35 8 9 206 234 77
11 Atlanta Thrashers SE 82 31 39 7 5 226 284 74
12 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 27 37 10 8 190 219 72
13 Florida Panthers SE 82 24 36 13 9 176 237 70
14 Pittsburgh Penguins AT 82 27 44 6 5 189 255 65
15 Carolina Hurricanes SE 82 22 43 11 6 171 240 61

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

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

Schedule and results

Regular season schedule
No. R Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
1LOctober 10, 20021–2 New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 0–1–0–016,865
2WOctober 12, 20022–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 1–1–0–019,198
3WOctober 15, 20022–1 Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03) 2–1–0–013,816
4WOctober 23, 20024–1 Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 3–1–0–014,847
5TOctober 24, 20022–2 OT @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) 3–1–1–017,565
6LOctober 26, 20023–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 3–2–1–020,812
7LOctober 29, 20021–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 3–3–1–019,077
8LOctober 30, 20021–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 3–4–1–017,987
9WNovember 2, 20025–2 Detroit Red Wings (2002–03) 4–4–1–018,210
10WNovember 6, 20025–2 @ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03) 5–4–1–018,007
11LNovember 8, 20022–3 Los Angeles Kings (2002–03) 5–5–1–016,926
12LNovember 9, 20021–7 @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) 5–6–1–013,954
13WNovember 12, 20025–3 @ New York Islanders (2002–03) 6–6–1–012,659
14WNovember 14, 20023–2 OT Florida Panthers (2002–03) 7–6–1–013,323
15WNovember 16, 20024–1 Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 8–6–1–015,298
16TNovember 19, 20024–4 OT @ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 8–6–2–011,044
17WNovember 21, 20023–2 Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 9–6–2–016,010
18WNovember 23, 20025–2 Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03) 10–6–2–015,684
19WNovember 25, 20022–0 Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 11–6–2–018,035
20TNovember 27, 20022–2 OT @ New York Islanders (2002–03) 11–6–3–014,887
21WNovember 29, 20026–2 @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) 12–6–3–015,822
22WNovember 30, 20024–2 New York Islanders (2002–03) 13–6–3–015,121
23LDecember 4, 20020–1 @ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03) 13–7–3–012,137
24TDecember 5, 20022–2 OT @ St. Louis Blues (2002–03) 13–7–4–017,189
25WDecember 7, 20025–2 Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 14–7–4–015,328
26WDecember 10, 20024–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 15–7–4–09,966
27WDecember 12, 20025–2 @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) 16–7–4–011,893
28WDecember 14, 20024–3 OT New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 17–7–4–017,284
29LDecember 16, 20022–3 Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 17–8–4–016,807
30WDecember 18, 20023–0 @ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 18–8–4–011,876
31WDecember 19, 20029–3 San Jose Sharks (2002–03) 19–8–4–014,848
32WDecember 21, 20023–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 20–8–4–019,543
33TDecember 23, 20022–2 OT Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 20–8–5–017,787
34WDecember 26, 20023–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 21–8–5–012,677
35WDecember 27, 20023–2 OT Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 22–8–5–018,500
36LDecember 30, 20022–3 @ Nashville Predators (2002–03) 22–9–5–011,584
37WDecember 31, 20026–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 23–9–5–014,452
38WJanuary 2, 20038–1 Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 24–9–5–018,026
39OTLJanuary 4, 20031–2 OT Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 24–9–5–116,406
40WJanuary 6, 20035–2 @ New York Rangers (2002–03) 25–9–5–118,200
41LJanuary 8, 20034–6 @ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03) 25–10–5–118,422
42WJanuary 9, 20031–0 @ Calgary Flames (2002–03) 26–10–5–116,058
43WJanuary 11, 20032–0 @ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03) 27–10–5–116,839
44WJanuary 14, 20037–0 Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 28–10–5–118,500
45WJanuary 16, 20033–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03) 29–10–5–118,034
46WJanuary 18, 20035–2 Washington Capitals (2002–03) 30–10–5–118,500
47LJanuary 20, 20032–6 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 30–11–5–112,022
48WJanuary 22, 20032–1 @ Florida Panthers (2002–03) 31–11–5–113,944
49TJanuary 23, 20033–3 OT @ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 31–11–6–110,805
50WJanuary 25, 20034–3 OT Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 32–11–6–118,241
51LJanuary 27, 20033–5 @ Dallas Stars (2002–03) 32–12–6–118,532
52LJanuary 29, 20032–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03) 32–13–6–113,230
53LJanuary 30, 20030–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03) 32–14–6–116,518
54WFebruary 5, 20035–3 @ New York Rangers (2002–03) 33–14–6–118,200
55TFebruary 6, 20032–2 OT Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 33–14–7–116,599
56WFebruary 8, 20033–1 Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 34–14–7–118,371
57WFebruary 12, 20033–0 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 35–14–7–114,197
58WFebruary 13, 20032–0 Edmonton Oilers (2002–03) 36–14–7–118,115
59LFebruary 15, 20031–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 36–15–7–119,415
60WFebruary 17, 20033–2 New York Rangers (2002–03) 37–15–7–118,094
61WFebruary 19, 20035–3 @ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 38–15–7–112,298
62LFebruary 20, 20033–4 Florida Panthers (2002–03) 38–16–7–115,250
63WFebruary 22, 20034–0 Nashville Predators (2002–03) 39–16–7–117,971
64LFebruary 25, 20030–3 Minnesota Wild (2002–03) 39–17–7–117,371
65WFebruary 27, 20033–2 OT Dallas Stars (2002–03) 40–17–7–118,500
66LMarch 1, 20031–2 Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 40–18–7–118,033
67WMarch 4, 20034–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 41–18–7–118,500
68WMarch 8, 20035–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 42–18–7–114,354
69WMarch 9, 20034–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 43–18–7–118,500
70WMarch 11, 20034–3 OT Boston Bruins (2002–03) 44–18–7–118,230
71WMarch 13, 20033–2 OT New York Rangers (2002–03) 45–18–7–118,011
72LMarch 15, 20032–5 New York Islanders (2002–03) 45–19–7–1 18,349
73LMarch 16, 20032–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03) 45–20–7–120,058
74WMarch 18, 20036–5 @ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 46–20–7–116,531
75WMarch 21, 20035–1 @ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 47–20–7–116,114
76WMarch 22, 20033–1 @ Florida Panthers (2002–03) 48–20–7–118,613
77TMarch 25, 20032–2 OT Colorado Avalanche (2002–03) 48–20–8–118,036
78LMarch 28, 20032–3 Washington Capitals (2002–03) 48–21–8–118,311
79WMarch 29, 20033–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 49–21–8–121,273
80WApril 1, 20033–2 Boston Bruins (2002–03) 50–21–8–118,500
81WApril 3, 20035–1 @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) 51–21–8–115,784
82WApril 5, 20033–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 52–21–8–119,445

[4]

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.[5]

Conference Quarter-final

Date Visiting Team Score Home Team Score Notes Attendance
April 9 NY Islanders 3 Ottawa 0 18,273
April 12 NY Islanders 0 Ottawa 3 18,500
April 14 Ottawa 3 NY Islanders 2 2:25 OT 16,234
April 16 Ottawa 3 NY Islanders 1 16,234
April 17 NY Islanders 1 Ottawa 4 18,500

Ottawa Senators win series 4 games to 1

Eastern Conference Semi-final

Date Visiting Team Score Home Team Score Notes Attendance
April 25 Philadelphia 2 Ottawa 4 18,197
April 27 Philadelphia 2 Ottawa 0 18,500
April 29 Ottawa 3 Philadelphia 2 6:43 OT 19,680
May 1 Ottawa 0 Philadelphia 1 19,842
May 3 Philadelphia 2 Ottawa 5 18,500
May 5 Ottawa 5 Philadelphia 1 19,454

Ottawa Senators win series 4 games to 2

Eastern Conference Final

Date Visiting Team Score Home Team Score Notes Attendance
May 10 New Jersey 2 Ottawa 3 3:08 OT 18,500
May 13 New Jersey 4 Ottawa 1 18,500
May 15 Ottawa 0 New Jersey 1 19,040
May 17 Ottawa 2 New Jersey 5 19,040
May 19 New Jersey 1 Ottawa 3 18,500
May 21 Ottawa 2 New Jersey 1 15:51 OT 19,040
May 23 New Jersey 3 Ottawa 2 18,500

New Jersey Devils win series 4 games to 3

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Hossa, MarianMarian Hossa RW 80 45 35 80 34814010
Alfredsson, DanielDaniel Alfredsson RW 78 27 51 78 4215906
White, ToddTodd White C 80 25 35 60 2819815
Havlat, MartinMartin Havlat RW 67 24 35 59 3020904
Bonk, RadekRadek Bonk C 70 22 32 54 3661104
Redden, WadeWade Redden D 76 10 35 45 7023403
Chara, ZdenoZdeno Chara D 74 9 30 39 11629302
Fisher, MikeMike Fisher C 74 18 20 38 5413513
Arvedson, MagnusMagnus Arvedson LW 80 16 21 37 4813204
Van Allen, ShaunShaun Van Allen C 78 12 20 32 6617223
Rachunek, KarelKarel Rachunek D 58 4 25 29 3023301
Schaefer, PeterPeter Schaefer LW 75 6 17 23 3211001
Spezza, JasonJason Spezza C 33 7 14 21 8-3300
Schastlivy, PetrPetr Schastlivy LW 33 9 10 19 43502
Phillips, ChrisChris Phillips D 78 3 16 19 717201
Volchenkov, AntonAnton Volchenkov D 57 3 13 16 40-4000
Hull, JodyJody Hull RW 70 3 8 11 14-3001
Neil, ChrisChris Neil RW 68 6 4 10 1478000
Smolinski, BryanBryan Smolinski C 10 3 5 8 21000
Varada, VaclavVaclav Varada RW 11 2 6 8 83100
Hnidy, ShaneShane Hnidy D 67 0 8 8 130-1000
Leschyshyn, CurtisCurtis Leschyshyn D 54 1 6 7 1811000
Pothier, BrianBrian Pothier D 14 2 4 6 611001
Martins, SteveSteve Martins C 14 2 3 5 103000
Smyth, BradBrad Smyth RW 12 3 1 4 15-2200
Kwiatkowski, JoelJoel Kwiatkowski D 20 0 2 2 62000
Dahlman, ToniToni Dahlman RW 12 1 0 1 0-1001
Lalime, PatrickPatrick Lalime G 67 0 1 1 60000
Langfeld, JoshJosh Langfeld RW 12 0 1 1 42000
Bonvie, DennisDennis Bonvie RW 12 0 0 0 29-1000
Emery, RayRay Emery G 3 0 0 0 00000
Prusek, MartinMartin Prusek G 18 0 0 0 00000
Ray, RobRob Ray RW 5 0 0 0 40000
Tetarenko, JoeyJoey Tetarenko RW 2 0 0 0 50000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T/OT GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Lalime, PatrickPatrick Lalime 3943 67 39 20 7 142 2.16 815911449.911
Prusek, MartinMartin Prusek 935 18 12 2 1 37 2.37 0415378.911
Emery, RayRay Emery 85 3 1 0 0 2 1.41 02624.923
Team: 4963 82 52 22 8 181 2.19 820321851.911

Playoffs

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Hossa, MarianMarian Hossa RW 18 5 11 16 6-1301
Bonk, RadekRadek Bonk C 18 6 5 11 102200
Havlat, MartinMartin Havlat RW 18 5 6 11 144102
Smolinski, BryanBryan Smolinski C 18 2 7 9 64000
Redden, WadeWade Redden D 18 1 8 9 101001
Alfredsson, DanielDaniel Alfredsson RW 18 4 4 8 12-3401
Chara, ZdenoZdeno Chara D 18 1 6 7 143000
White, ToddTodd White C 18 5 1 6 6-1112
Phillips, ChrisChris Phillips D 18 2 4 6 123001
Varada, VaclavVaclav Varada RW 18 2 4 6 184000
Arvedson, MagnusMagnus Arvedson LW 18 1 5 6 16-4000
Schaefer, PeterPeter Schaefer LW 16 2 3 5 63010
Fisher, MikeMike Fisher C 18 2 2 4 16-1011
Rachunek, KarelKarel Rachunek D 17 1 3 4 14-5000
Spezza, JasonJason Spezza C 3 1 1 2 01100
Van Allen, ShaunShaun Van Allen C 18 1 1 2 12-1001
Volchenkov, AntonAnton Volchenkov D 17 1 1 2 43001
Neil, ChrisChris Neil RW 15 1 0 1 241000
Leschyshyn, CurtisCurtis Leschyshyn D 18 0 1 1 100000
Hnidy, ShaneShane Hnidy D 1 0 0 0 00000
Hull, JodyJody Hull RW 2 0 0 0 00000
Lalime, PatrickPatrick Lalime G 18 0 0 0 00000
Pothier, BrianBrian Pothier D 1 0 0 0 20000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Lalime, PatrickPatrick Lalime 1122 18 11 7 34 1.82 1449415.924
Team: 1122 18 11 7 34 1.82 1449415.924

[6]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Transactions

Trades

June 23, 2002 To Tampa Bay Lightning
Seventh-round pick in 2002 draft
To Ottawa Senators
Josef Boumedienne
June 29, 2002 To Atlanta Thrashers
Shawn McEachern
Sixth-round pick in 2004 draft
To Ottawa Senators
Brian Pothier
September 21, 2002 To Vancouver Canucks
Sami Salo
To Ottawa Senators
Peter Schaefer
October 1, 2002 To Florida Panthers
Jani Hurme
To Ottawa Senators
Greg Watson,
Billy Thompson
December 16, 2002 To Washington Capitals
Josef Boumedienne
To Ottawa Senators
Dean Melanson
January 15, 2003 To Washington Capitals
Joel Kwiatkowski
To Ottawa Senators
Ninth-round pick in 2003 draft.
This pick returned to Washington for future considerations.
February 25, 2003 To Buffalo Sabres
Jakub Klepis
To Ottawa Senators
Vaclav Varada
Fifth-round pick in 2003 NHL Entry Draft (Tim Cook)
March 4, 2003 To Florida Panthers
Simon Lajeunesse
To Ottawa Senators
Joey Tetarenko
March 10, 2003 To Buffalo Sabres
future considerations
To Ottawa Senators
Rob Ray
March 10, 2003 To Nashville Predators
future considerations
To Ottawa Senators
Bob Wren
March 11, 2003 To Los Angeles Kings
Tim Gleason
Future considerations
To Ottawa Senators
Bryan Smolinski

Waivers

January 15, 2003 To St. Louis Blues
Steve Martins

Source: Ottawa Senators 2007–08 Media Guide. Ottawa Senators. 2007. p. 185. 

Roster

2002-03 Ottawa Senators
Goaltenders

Defencemen

Wingers

Centres

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)
116 Jakub Klepis  Czech Republic Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
247 Alexei Kaigorodov  Russia Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RSL)
375 Arttu Luttinen  Finland HIFK (SM-liiga)
4113 Scott Dobben  Canada Erie Otters (OHL)
4125 Johan Bjork  Sweden Malmo IF (Elitserien)
5150 Brock Hooton  Canada Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)
8246 Josef Vavra  Czech Republic HC Vsetin (Czech Extraliga)
9276 Vitaly Atyushov  Russia Molot-Prikamye Perm (RSL)

Farm teams

See also

References

  1. "NHL Attendance - 2003". ESPN. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
  2. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2009). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2010. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 163.
  3. "2002–2003 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  4. "2002–03 Ottawa Senators Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  5. "Ottawa Senators". Chris Robinson. pp. 74–91.
  6. "2002-03 Ottawa Senators Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
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