2002–03 Ottawa Senators season


The 2002–03 Ottawa Senators season was the 11th season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. This 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, 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 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

Schedule and results

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, Ottawa got out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Magnus Arvedson. The Devils would score the next two on goals in the second period by Jamie Langenbrunner. Going into the third down 2-1 the Sens tied it on a goal by Radek Bonk and dominated play in the third, 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.
Conference Quarter-final
DateVisiting TeamScoreHome TeamScoreNotesAttendance
April 9NY Islanders3Ottawa018,273
April 12NY Islanders0Ottawa318,500
April 14Ottawa3NY Islanders22:25 OT16,234
April 16Ottawa3NY Islanders116,234
April 17NY Islanders1Ottawa418,500

Ottawa Senators win series 4 games to 1
Eastern Conference Semi-final
DateVisiting TeamScoreHome TeamScoreNotesAttendance
April 25Philadelphia2Ottawa418,197
April 27Philadelphia2Ottawa018,500
April 29Ottawa3Philadelphia26:43 OT19,680
May 1Ottawa0Philadelphia119,842
May 3Philadelphia2Ottawa518,500
May 5Ottawa5Philadelphia119,454

Ottawa Senators win series 4 games to 2
Eastern Conference Final
DateVisiting TeamScoreHome TeamScoreNotesAttendance
May 10New Jersey2Ottawa33:08 OT18,500
May 13New Jersey4Ottawa118,500
May 15Ottawa0New Jersey119,040
May 17Ottawa2New Jersey519,040
May 19New Jersey1Ottawa318,500
May 21Ottawa2New Jersey115:51 OT19,040
May 23New Jersey3Ottawa218,500

New Jersey Devils win series 4 games to 3

Player statistics

Regular season

;Scoring
PlayerPosGPGAPtsPIM+/-PPGSHGGWG
RW8045358034814010
RW782751784215906
C802535602819815
RW672435593020904
C702232543661104
D761035457023403
D749303911629302
C741820385413513
LW801621374813204
C781220326617223
D58425293023301
LW75617233211001
C33714218-3300
LW339101943502
D7831619717201
D573131640-4000
RW70381114-3001
RW6864101478000
C1035821000
RW1126883100
D67088130-1000
D541671811000
D14246611001
C14235103000
RW1231415-2200
D2002262000
RW121010-1001
G6701160000
RW1201142000
RW1200029-1000
G300000000
G1800000000
RW500040000
RW200050000

;Goaltending
PlayerMINGPWLT/OTGAGAASOSASVSV%
394367392071422.16815911449.911
935181221372.370415378.911
85310021.4102624.923
Team:496382522281812.19820321851.911

Playoffs

;Scoring
PlayerPosGPGAPtsPIM+/-PPGSHGGWG
RW18511166-1301
C186511102200
RW185611144102
C1827964000
D18189101001
RW1844812-3401
D18167143000
C185166-1112
D18246123001
RW18246184000
LW1815616-4000
LW1623563010
C1822416-1011
D1713414-5000
C311201100
C1811212-1001
D1711243001
RW15101241000
D18011100000
D100000000
RW200000000
G1800000000
D100020000

;Goaltending
PlayerMINGPWLGAGAASOSASVSV%
112218117341.821449415.924
Team:112218117341.821449415.924

Awards and records

Trades

Waivers

Source:

Roster

Sources:
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#PlayerNationalityCollege/Junior/Club Team
116Jakub KlepisPortland Winter Hawks
247Alexei KaigorodovRussiaMetallurg Magnitogorsk
375Arttu LuttinenHIFK
4113Scott DobbenCanadaErie Otters
4125Johan BjorkSwedenMalmö IF
5150Brock HootonCanadaQuesnel Millionaires
8246Josef VavraHC Vsetín
9276Vitaly AtyushovRussiaMolot-Prikamye Perm

Farm teams