The 2003 Stanley Cup Final 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 for the third and most recent time in franchise history. For the first time since 1965, all seven games were won by the home team. To date, this is the last Stanley Cup Final in which that has occurred.
The Devils' win was the last in an era of dominance that 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 The Dallas Stars win in 1999 would be superseded by the Devils in 2000, Colorado in 2001 and Detroit in 2002.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 Final
New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils were in the Stanley Cup Final for their fourth time in franchise history, as well as their third appearance in four years. En route to the Final, 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 Final. 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.
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim entered their first Stanley Cup Final 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. Carol Niedermayer, the mother of Rob and Scott, said she hoped Rob would win because Scott had already won Stanley Cups in 1995 and 2000. Scott said of his mother's statement: "That made sense to me."
Game summaries Number in parentheses represents the player's total in goals or assists to that point of the entire four rounds of the playoffs
The 2003 Stanley Cup Final 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 made 16 saves to hold 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, with Martin Brodeur recording his fifth shoutout of the postseason. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd NJ Jeff Friesen (6) Sergei Brylin (2) and Brian Gionta (4) 01:45 1–0 NJ 3rd NJ Grant Marshall (5) Patrik Elias (6) and Scott Gomez (7) 05:34 2–0 NJ NJ Jeff Friesen (7) – en Colin White (6) and Martin Brodeur (1) 05:34 3–0 NJ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NJ Jim McKenzie Charging 09:17 2:00 NJ Colin White Cross-checking 14:01 2:00 ANA Keith Carney Roughing 18:10 2:00 2nd None 3rd None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 4 6 8 16 6 15 9 30
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. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd NJ Patrik Elias (3) – pp Oleg Tverdovsky (2) and Scott Gomez (4) 04:42 1–0 NJ NJ Scott Gomez (2) Oleg Tverdovsky (3) and Patrik Elias (6) 12:11 2–0 NJ 3rd NJ Jeff Friesen (8) Brian Gionta (5) and Scott Niedermayer (12) 04:22 3–0 NJ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st ANA Samuel Pahlsson Interference – Obstruction 06:10 2:00 ANA Mike Leclerc Hooking 18:24 2:00 2nd NJ Patrik Elias Holding the stick 02:23 2:00 ANA Petr Sykora Holding 03:19 2:00 3rd ANA Keith Carney High-sticking 00:27 2:00 NJ Jim McKenzie Interference 08:29 2:00 NJ Scott Stevens Holding 19:19 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 7 2 7 16 7 6 12 25
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." Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd ANA Marc Chouinard (1) Sandis Ozolins (5) 03:39 1–0 ANA NJ Patrik Elias (4) Jamie Langenbrunner (7) and Brian Rafalski (7) 14:02 1–1 ANA Sandis Ozolins (2) Jean-Sebastien Giguere (1) 14:47 2–1 ANA 3rd NJ Scott Gomez (3) Grant Marshall (2) and Patrik Elias (7) 09:11 2–2 OT ANA Ruslan Salei (2) Adam Oates (7) 06:59 3–2 ANA Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st ANA Steve Thomas Cross-checking 00:15 2:00 ANA Mike Leclerc Boarding 07:49 2:00 ANA Ruslan Salei Hooking – Obstruction 08:04 4:00 NJ Sergei Brylin Holding the stick 08:04 2:00 NJ Brian Rafalski Hooking 08:04 2:00 2nd ANA Petr Sykora Hooking 19:31 2:00 3rd ANA Ruslan Salei Hooking 07:49 2:00 NJ Brian Gionta Slashing 10:35 2:00 OT None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT Total 8 12 8 3 31 9 9 10 5 33
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.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score1stNone2ndNone3rdNoneOT ANA Steve Thomas (3) Samuel Pahlsson (13) and Sandis Ozolins (6) 00:39 1–0 ANA Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st ANA Kurt Sauer Interference 05:54 2:00 NJ Scott Niedermayer Holding 07:15 2:00 ANA Dan Bylsma Goaltender interference 05:54 2:00 2nd ANA Rob Niedermayer Hooking 08:50 2:00 3rd None OT None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT Total 10 8 7 1 26 7 8 9 2 26
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. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st ANA Petr Sykora (3) Adam Oates (8) 00:42 1–0 ANA NJ Pascal Rheaume (1) Turner Stevenson (1) and Sergei Brylin (3) 03:35 1–1 NJ Patrik Elias (5) – pp Brian Rafalski (8) and Scott Gomez (9) 07:45 2–1 NJ ANA Steve Rucchin (5) Petr Sykora (7) and Paul Kariya (4) 12:50 2–2 2nd NJ Brian Gionta (1) Jay Pandolfo (6) and Scott Niedermayer (13) 03:12 3–2 NJ ANA Samuel Pahlsson (2) Rob Niedermayer (6) and Keith Carney (3) 06:35 3–3 NJ Jay Pandolfo (5) Brian Gionta (6) and Scott Stevens (5) 09:02 4–3 NJ 3rd NJ Jamie Langenbrunner (10) Mike Rupp (1) and Scott Niedermayer (14) 05:39 5–3 NJ NJ Jamie Langenbrunner (11) Brian Gionta (7) 12:52 6–3 NJ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st ANA Adam Oates Roughing 04:34 2:00 NJ Scott Niedermayer Roughing 04:34 2:00 ANA Keith Carney Tripping 07:03 2:00 NJ Turner Stevenson Roughing 14:34 2:00 ANA Mike Leclerc Roughing 17:50 2:00 2nd ANA Adam Oates High-sticking 00:18 2:00 ANA Stanislav Chistov High-sticking 06:39 2:00 3rd ANA Ruslan Salei Roughing 11:52 2:00 NJ Grant Marshall Roughing 11:52 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 12 7 4 23 11 13 13 37
Game six
With New Jersey looking to clinch the series and win the Stanley Cup in Anaheim, game six 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. The hit gave Kariya a severe concussion, and he laid motionless on the ice 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 slapshot that got past Martin Brodeur. After Petr Sykora scored a power play goal three minutes and fifty-seven seconds into the third, New Jersey head coach Pat Burns was prompted to replace Brodeur with backup goaltender Corey Schwab. The Ducks won the game 5–2 and sent the series to a seventh and final game.
Years later, Paul Kariya said that he has no memory of the rest of the series following the hit he suffered at the hands of Scott Stevens in game 6. This is despite the fact that he returned to play in game 6 (where he scored his famous goal) and game 7. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st ANA Steve Rucchin (6) Paul Kariya (5) and Petr Sykora (8) 04:26 1–0 ANA ANA Steve Rucchin (7) Mike Leclerc (9) and Rob Niedermayer (7) 13:42 2–0 ANA ANA Steve Thomas (5) – pp Paul Kariya (6) and Keith Carney (9) 15:59 3–0 ANA 2nd NJ Jay Pandolfo (6) John Madden (10) and Brian Gionta (8) 02:18 3–1 ANA ANA Paul Kariya (6) Petr Sykora (9) and Adam Oates (9) 17:15 4–1 ANA 2nd ANA Petr Sykora (4) – pp Stanislav Chistov (10) and Niclas Havelid (4) 03:57 5–1 ANA NJ Grant Marshall (6) – pp Brian Rafalski (9) and Patrik Elias (8) 10:46 5–2 ANA Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NJ Patrik Elias Interference – Obstruction 08:55 2:00 ANA Ruslan Salei Roughing 14:24 2:00 NJ Jamie Langenbrunner Roughing – double minor 14:24 4:00 NJ Paul Kariya Tripping 18:39 2:00 2nd NJ Jamie Langenbrunner Hooking 06:26 2:00 NJ Turner Stevenson Slashing 18:27 2:00 3rd NJ Turner Stevenson Roughing – double minor 01:15 4:00 ANA Jason Krog High-sticking 06:26 2:00 ANA Samuel Pahlsson Tripping 09:32 2:00 NJ Pascal Rheaume Clipping 14:45 2:00 NJ Grant Marshall Tripping – Obstruction 18:51 2:00 ANA Steve Thomas Roughing 19:59 2:00 NJ Colin White Roughing 19:59 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 9 10 9 28 9 10 5 24
Game seven