2003–04 Ottawa Senators season

2003–04 Ottawa Senators
Division 3 Northeast
Conference 5 Eastern
2003–04 record 43–29–10
Home record 23–8–5–5
Road record 20–15–5–1
Goals for 262
Goals against 189
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 17,758 (92.7%)[1]
Team leaders
Goals Marian Hossa (36)
Assists Daniel Alfredsson (48)
Points Marian Hossa (82)
Penalties in minutes Chris Neil (194)
Plus/minus Zdeno Chara (+33)
Wins Patrick Lalime (25)
Goals against average Martin Prusek (2.12)
<2002–03 2004–05>

The 2003–04 Ottawa Senators season would see the Senators again finish with over 100 points, finishing with 102, but this was good for only third in the tightly-contested division, as the Bruins would have 104 and the Leafs 103. Ottawa would meet Toronto in the first-round of the playoffs, meeting Toronto for the fourth time. Toronto would win the series 4–3 to end the Senators playoff hopes. Ottawa would fire head coach Jacques Martin after the playoff round.

Offseason

In the off-season, Eugene Melnyk would purchase the club to bring financial stability. Another change was in the General Manager position. Marshall Johnston resigned and was replaced by John Muckler on June 3, 2003. Muckler had been a candidate for the positions of Ottawa coach or GM back in 1992, but had chosen to sign on with the Buffalo Sabres instead.

On June 21, 2003, assistant coach Roger Neilson died after four years of battling cancer. The Senators would wear a patch on their jerseys with an illustration of his signature and a necktie. Mr. Neilson would often wear distinctive neckties and the necktie became associated with him, and also became the symbol for "Roger's House", a residence for the use of families with a family member fighting cancer while in hospital, established by him and the Senators.

Regular season

Marian Hossa lead the club in scoring with 82 points, good enough for sixth overall in the league, which had become low-scoring.

Highlights

On February 5, 2004, the Senators were playing the Toronto Maple Leafs and were leading 4–0 in the second period. The flu started affecting players on the Senators leading the team to be down to only 15 skaters by the end of the game. The Maple Leafs took full advantage and won the game 5–4 in overtime.[2]

On March 5, 2004, in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, a record was set for the most penalty minutes in a game by both teams at 419 minutes. Five brawls broke out in the last two minutes of the game. It took the officials until 90 minutes after the game was over to sort out the penalties. By the end of the game Philadelphia had 213 penalty minutes and seven men left on the bench, while Ottawa finished with 203 penalty minutes and six men left.

Division standings

Northeast Division
No. CR GP W L T OTL GF GA Pts
1 2 Boston Bruins 82 41 19 15 7 209 188 104
2 4 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 45 24 10 3 242 204 103
3 5 Ottawa Senators 82 43 23 10 6 262 189 102
4 7 Montreal Canadiens 82 41 30 7 4 208 192 93
5 9 Buffalo Sabres 82 37 34 7 4 220 221 85

[3] 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.

Game log

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

[4]

Playoffs

In the first round of the 2004 playoffs, the Senators would lose again to the Maple Leafs for the fourth straight time. By now, Ottawa had developed a strong rivalry with their Ontario cousins and there was a great deal of pressure on the team to finally defeat the Leafs. Two days after the Senators' loss, coach Jacques Martin was fired, and goaltender Patrick Lalime was later traded to the St. Louis Blues.

Mr. Martin had been coach of the Senators for eight and a half years. He was well respected, earned a 341–255–96 regular season record with the Senators, had led the team to eight consecutive playoff appearances, and was widely credited with changing the team into a league leader. He also won the Jack Adams Trophy in 1999. However, after losing eight of twelve playoff series, including all four series in five years versus the Leafs, team management felt that a new coach was required for playoff success.

On June 8, 2004, Bryan Murray of nearby town Shawville, Quebec, became the team's fifth head coach, leaving the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim where he had been general manager.

Eastern Conference Quarter-finals

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
April 8 Ottawa 4 Toronto 2
April 10 Ottawa 0 Toronto 2
April 12 Toronto 2 Ottawa 0
April 14 Toronto 1 Ottawa 4
April 16 Ottawa 0 Toronto 2
April 18 Toronto 1 Ottawa 2 2OT
April 20 Ottawa 1 Toronto 4
Toronto wins series 4–3

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Hossa, MarianMarian Hossa RW 81 36 46 82 46 4 14 1 5
Alfredsson, DanielDaniel Alfredsson RW 77 32 48 80 24 12 9 0 5
Havlat, MartinMartin Havlat RW 68 31 37 68 46 12 13 0 7
Spezza, JasonJason Spezza C 78 22 33 55 71 22 5 0 3
Smolinski, BryanBryan Smolinski C 80 19 27 46 49 22 4 0 3
Bonk, RadekRadek Bonk C 66 12 32 44 66 2 6 0 1
Redden, WadeWade Redden D 81 17 26 43 65 21 12 0 3
Chara, ZdenoZdeno Chara D 79 16 25 41 147 33 7 0 3
Schaefer, PeterPeter Schaefer LW 81 15 24 39 26 22 2 2 3
White, ToddTodd White C 53 9 20 29 22 12 1 1 2
Phillips, ChrisChris Phillips D 82 7 16 23 46 15 0 0 1
Langfeld, JoshJosh Langfeld RW 38 7 10 17 16 6 2 0 2
Rachunek, KarelKarel Rachunek D 60 1 16 17 29 17 0 0 0
Neil, ChrisChris Neil RW 82 8 8 16 194 13 0 0 1
Vermette, AntoineAntoine Vermette C 57 7 7 14 16 5 0 1 0
Bondra, PeterPeter Bondra RW 23 5 9 14 16 1 2 0 1
Van Allen, ShaunShaun Van Allen C 73 2 10 12 80 6 0 1 0
Varada, VaclavVaclav Varada RW 30 5 5 10 26 2 0 0 1
Fisher, MikeMike Fisher C 24 4 6 10 39 -3 1 0 0
Pothier, BrianBrian Pothier D 55 2 6 8 24 6 1 0 1
Schastlivy, PetrPetr Schastlivy LW 43 2 4 6 14 -1 1 0 1
Leschyshyn, CurtisCurtis Leschyshyn D 56 1 4 5 16 13 0 0 0
Hnidy, ShaneShane Hnidy D 37 0 5 5 72 2 0 0 0
Volchenkov, AntonAnton Volchenkov D 19 1 2 3 8 1 0 0 0
Lalime, PatrickPatrick Lalime G 57 0 2 2 17 0 0 0 0
Ray, RobRob Ray RW 6 1 0 1 14 0 0 0 0
de Vries, GregGreg de Vries D 13 0 1 1 6 0 0 0 0
Payer, SergeSerge Payer C 5 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0
Prusek, MartinMartin Prusek G 29 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Simpson, ToddTodd Simpson D 16 0 1 1 47 -1 0 0 0
Emery, RayRay Emery G 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Hamel, DenisDenis Hamel LW 5 0 0 0 0 -3 0 0 0
Hull, JodyJody Hull RW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kelly, ChrisChris Kelly C/LW 4 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Laich, BrooksBrooks Laich C 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Vauclair, JulienJulien Vauclair D 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T/OT GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Lalime, PatrickPatrick Lalime 3324 57 25 23 7 127 2.29 5 1334 1207 .905
Prusek, MartinMartin Prusek 1528 29 16 6 3 54 2.12 3 651 597 .917
Emery, RayRay Emery 126 3 2 0 0 5 2.38 0 52 47 .904
Team: 4978 82 43 29 10 186 2.24 8 2037 1851 .909

Playoffs

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Hossa, MarianMarian Hossa RW 7 3 1 4 0 2 1 0 2
Alfredsson, DanielDaniel Alfredsson RW 7 1 2 3 2 0 0 0 0
Havlat, MartinMartin Havlat RW 7 0 3 3 2 -1 0 0 0
Chara, ZdenoZdeno Chara D 7 1 1 2 8 3 0 0 0
Smolinski, BryanBryan Smolinski C 7 1 1 2 4 -2 0 0 0
Varada, VaclavVaclav Varada RW 7 1 1 2 4 0 0 0 0
Bonk, RadekRadek Bonk C 7 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 0
Schaefer, PeterPeter Schaefer LW 7 0 2 2 4 1 0 0 0
Fisher, MikeMike Fisher C 7 1 0 1 4 0 0 0 1
Phillips, ChrisChris Phillips D 7 1 0 1 12 2 1 0 0
Redden, WadeWade Redden D 7 1 0 1 2 -5 1 0 0
White, ToddTodd White C 7 1 0 1 4 -1 0 0 0
de Vries, GregGreg de Vries D 7 0 1 1 8 -2 0 0 0
Neil, ChrisChris Neil RW 7 0 1 1 19 0 0 0 0
Vermette, AntoineAntoine Vermette C 4 0 1 1 4 -1 0 0 0
Bondra, PeterPeter Bondra RW 7 0 0 0 6 -4 0 0 0
Lalime, PatrickPatrick Lalime G 7 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Leschyshyn, CurtisCurtis Leschyshyn D 2 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Pothier, BrianBrian Pothier D 7 0 0 0 6 -2 0 0 0
Prusek, MartinMartin Prusek G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Spezza, JasonJason Spezza C 3 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0
Volchenkov, AntonAnton Volchenkov D 5 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Lalime, PatrickPatrick Lalime 398 7 3 4 13 1.96 0 139 126 .906
Prusek, MartinMartin Prusek 40 1 0 0 1 1.50 0 15 14 .933
Team: 438 7 3 4 14 1.92 0 154 140 .909

[5]

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

September 10, 2003 To Florida Panthers
2004 draft ninth-round pick
To Ottawa Senators
Serge Payer
October 5, 2003 To Washington Capitals
future considerations
To Ottawa Senators
LW Denis Hamel
December 29, 2003 To Florida Panthers
D Wade Brookbank
To Ottawa Senators
future considerations
January 6, 2004 To Atlanta Thrashers
C Daniel Corso
To Ottawa Senators
RW Brad Tapper
January 23, 2004 To Colorado Avalanche
RW Dennis Bonvie
To Ottawa Senators
C/RW Charlie Stephens
February 4, 2004 To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
LW Petr Schastlivy
To Ottawa Senators
D Todd Simpson
February 18, 2004 To Washington Capitals
C Brooks Laich
Second-round draft choice, 2005 draft
future considerations
To Ottawa Senators
RW Peter Bondra
March 9, 2004 To Nashville Predators
D Shane Hnidy
To Ottawa Senators
Colorado Avalanche third-round pick in 2004 draft (Peter Regin Jensen)

Waivers

October 3, 2003 To Nashville Predators
Wade Brookbank
October 3, 2003 To Washington Capitals
Denis Hamel
December 19, 2003 From Vancouver Canucks
Wade Brookbank

Source: Ottawa Senators 2008–09 Media Guide. Ottawa Senators. 2008. pp. 189–190. 

Roster

2003-04 Ottawa Senators
Goaltenders

Defencemen

Wingers

Centres

Sources:

Draft picks

Ottawa's draft picks from the 2003 NHL Entry Draft held on June 21 and June 22, 2003 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team (League)
1 29 Patrick Eaves  United States Boston College (NCAA)
2 67 Igor Mirnov  Russia Moscow Dynamo (Russia)
3 100 Philippe Seydoux  Switzerland Kloten (Swiss.)
4 135 Matt Karlsson  Sweden Brynäs IF (SEL)
5 142 Tim Cook  United States River City Lancers (USHL)
5 166 Sergei Gimayev  Russia Severstal Cherepovets (Russia)
7 228 Will Colbert  Canada Ottawa 67's (OHL)
8 269 Ossi Louhivaara  Finland Kookoo (Finland)
9 291 Brian Elliott  Canada University of Wisconsin–Madison (NCAA)

Farm teams

See also

References

  1. ^ "NHL Attendance - 2004". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?year=2004. Retrieved 2009-12-01. 
  2. ^ Panzeri, Allen (February 6, 2004). "Senators sick over loss". National Post: p. S1 
  3. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed (2009). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2010. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 162. 
  4. ^ "2003–04 Ottawa Senators Games". Hockey-reference.com. http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/OTT/2004_games.html. Retrieved 2009-06-17. 
  5. ^ "2003-04 Ottawa Senators Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/OTT/2004.html. Retrieved 2009-06-17.