2002–03 Montreal Canadiens season

The 2002–03 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 94th season of play. The club struggled through the season, made a coaching change and did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Regular season

Before the start of the season, many predicted a strong showing from the Canadiens due to the team possessing a healthy Saku Koivu as well as last season's Hart Memorial Trophy winner, Jose Theodore. The team was .500 for the first two months of the season and showed little improvement in December. Players such as Mariusz Czerkawski, added to the lineup during the summer, and Donald Audette were slow to produce offence for the team, and the two forwards were both sent down for brief stints in the minors. For his part, Jose Theodore’s performance is not up to par with his dream season of a year earlier. Despite the strong seasons from Koivu, Richard Zednik and Yanic Perreault, the Canadiens slid to 11th place in the Eastern Conference in mid-January. This losing streak prompted General Manager Andre Savard to fire Head Coach Michel Therrien and replace him with Claude Julien, who filled the same role behind the bench of the Habs’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Despite Julien’s arrival as head coach, the team was unable to improve its situation. The Habs saw their playoff hopes evaporate with a nine-game winless streak that ended in early March. Despite Saku Koivu's 71 points and Richard Zednik's 31 goals, the Canadiens missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. The Canadiens ended with a record of 30–35–9–8, and former MVP Theodore had a disappointing season with a record of 20–31–6.

The Canadiens finished the regular season tying the Nashville Predators for the fewest short-handed goals scored, with just two.^[1]

Final standings

Northeast Division
No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Ottawa Senators	82	52	21	8	1	263	182	113
2	5	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	44	28	7	3	236	208	98
3	7	Boston Bruins	82	36	31	11	4	245	237	87
4	10	Montreal Canadiens	82	30	35	8	9	206	234	77
5	12	Buffalo 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 results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 11, 2002	4–1	@ New York Rangers (2002–03)	1–0–0–0
2	L	October 12, 2002	1–6	Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)	1–1–0–0
3	L	October 15, 2002	2–6	Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)	1–2–0–0
4	W	October 17, 2002	3–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)	2–2–0–0
5	T	October 19, 2002	2–2 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)	2–2–1–0
6	T	October 22, 2002	3–3 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)	2–2–2–0
7	L	October 24, 2002	2–6	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)	2–3–2–0
8	W	October 26, 2002	5–3	Ottawa Senators (2002–03)	3–3–2–0
9	T	October 29, 2002	2–2 OT	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)	3–3–3–0
10	T	November 1, 2002	2–2 OT	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)	3–3–4–0
11	W	November 2, 2002	5–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)	4–3–4–0
12	L	November 5, 2002	2–5	St. Louis Blues (2002–03)	4–4–4–0
13	W	November 7, 2002	3–0	New York Islanders (2002–03)	5–4–4–0
14	W	November 9, 2002	3–1	Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)	6–4–4–0
15	L	November 12, 2002	2–4	Dallas Stars (2002–03)	6–5–4–0
16	L	November 15, 2002	1–5	@ New Jersey Devils (2002–03)	6–6–4–0
17	W	November 16, 2002	3–1	New Jersey Devils (2002–03)	7–6–4–0
18	W	November 18, 2002	5–4 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)	8–6–4–0
19	W	November 20, 2002	3–2 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)	9–6–4–0
20	L	November 21, 2002	2–3	@ Ottawa Senators (2002–03)	9–7–4–0
21	L	November 23, 2002	3–7	Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)	9–8–4–0
22	W	November 26, 2002	3–2	Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)	10–8–4–0
23	L	November 29, 2002	2–4	@ Boston Bruins (2002–03)	10–9–4–0
24	L	November 30, 2002	1–2 OT	Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)	10–9–4–1
25	L	December 4, 2002	1–5	@ Dallas Stars (2002–03)	10–10–4–1
26	L	December 6, 2002	6–7 OT	@ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)	10–10–4–2
27	W	December 7, 2002	4–2	@ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)	11–10–4–2
28	W	December 10, 2002	4–2	@ Boston Bruins (2002–03)	12–10–4–2
29	L	December 12, 2002	2–3	Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)	12–11–4–2
30	W	December 14, 2002	4–2	Boston Bruins (2002–03)	13–11–4–2
31	W	December 16, 2002	3–2	@ Ottawa Senators (2002–03)	14–11–4–2
32	L	December 17, 2002	1–3	San Jose Sharks (2002–03)	14–12–4–2
33	W	December 19, 2002	3–1	@ New York Rangers (2002–03)	15–12–4–2
34	W	December 21, 2002	6–2	Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)	16–12–4–2
35	L	December 23, 2002	1–3	@ New York Islanders (2002–03)	16–13–4–2
36	L	December 27, 2002	2–3 OT	@ Ottawa Senators (2002–03)	16–13–4–3
37	L	December 28, 2002	2–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)	16–14–4–3
38	T	December 31, 2002	1–1 OT	@ Calgary Flames (2002–03)	16–14–5–3
39	L	January 2, 2003	2–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)	16–15–5–3
40	L	January 4, 2003	4–5 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)	16–15–5–4
41	L	January 7, 2003	2–3	@ New Jersey Devils (2002–03)	16–16–5–4
42	W	January 9, 2003	3–2	New York Rangers (2002–03)	17–16–5–4
43	L	January 11, 2003	2–3	Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)	17–17–5–4
44	W	January 13, 2003	4–2	Calgary Flames (2002–03)	18–17–5–4
45	L	January 15, 2003	0–1	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)	18–18–5–4
46	L	January 16, 2003	1–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)	18–19–5–4
47	L	January 18, 2003	2–3 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)	18–19–5–5
48	W	January 20, 2003	3–2	@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)	19–19–5–5
49	T	January 22, 2003	2–2 OT	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)	19–19–6–5
50	T	January 25, 2003	1–1 OT	Washington Capitals (2002–03)	19–19–7–5
51	W	January 26, 2003	4–3	Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03)	20–19–7–5
52	W	January 28, 2003	6–3	Florida Panthers (2002–03)	21–19–7–5
53	L	January 30, 2003	1–3	@ New York Islanders (2002–03)	21–20–7–5
54	L	February 4, 2003	3–4	Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)	21–21–7–5
55	L	February 6, 2003	3–6	@ Boston Bruins (2002–03)	21–22–7–5
56	L	February 8, 2003	1–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)	21–23–7–5
57	W	February 9, 2003	2–0	@ Washington Capitals (2002–03)	22–23–7–5
58	W	February 11, 2003	3–1	Boston Bruins (2002–03)	23–23–7–5
59	L	February 13, 2003	1–2 OT	Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)	23–23–7–6
60	W	February 15, 2003	3–2	Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)	24–23–7–6
61	L	February 18, 2003	0–3	Florida Panthers (2002–03)	24–24–7–6
62	L	February 19, 2003	1–2 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)	24–24–7–7
63	L	February 22, 2003	3–5	Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)	24–25–7–7
64	L	February 24, 2003	1–4	@ Washington Capitals (2002–03)	24–26–7–7
65	L	February 27, 2003	3–6	Minnesota Wild (2002–03)	24–27–7–7
66	T	March 1, 2003	1–1 OT	Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)	24–27–8–7
67	L	March 5, 2003	1–3	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)	24–28–8–7
68	L	March 6, 2003	3–4 OT	@ San Jose Sharks (2002–03)	24–28–8–8
69	L	March 8, 2003	1–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)	24–29–8–8
70	W	March 10, 2003	3–1	@ Nashville Predators (2002–03)	25–29–8–8
71	W	March 12, 2003	4–0	@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)	26–29–8–8
72	W	March 13, 2003	4–2	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)	27–29–8–8
73	L	March 15, 2003	1–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)	27–30–8–8
74	L	March 18, 2003	0–1	New Jersey Devils (2002–03)	27–31–8–8
75	L	March 20, 2003	3–6	New York Islanders (2002–03)	27–32–8–8
76	W	March 22, 2003	5–3	Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)	28–32–8–8
77	L	March 25, 2003	3–4 OT	Washington Capitals (2002–03)	28–32–8–9
78	L	March 28, 2003	1–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)	28–33–8–9
79	L	March 29, 2003	1–3	Ottawa Senators (2002–03)	28–34–8–9
80	W	March 31, 2003	4–0	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)	29–34–8–9
81	L	April 2, 2003	1–2	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)	29–35–8–9
82	W	April 5, 2003	5–4	New York Rangers (2002–03)	30–35–8–9

Player statistics

Regular season

Before the start of the season, many predicted a strong showing from the Canadiens as a result of a healthy Saku Koivu and last season's Hart Memorial Trophy winner, Jose Theodore. The team was .500 for the first two months of the season and show very little improvement in December. Players such as Mariusz Czerkawski, added to the lineup during the summer, and Donald Audette were slow to produce offence for the team, and the two forwards were both sent down for brief stints in the minors. Moreover, Jose Theodore’s performances were not up to par with his MVP-winning season of a year earlier. Despite strong seasons from Koivu, Richard Zednik and Yanic Perreault, the Canadiens slid to 11th place in the Eastern Conference in mid-January. This losing streak prompted General Manager Andre Savard to fire Head Coach Michel Therrien and replace him with Claude Julien, who filled the same role behind the bench of the Habs’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Despite Julien’s arrival, the team was unable to improve its situation and improve its collective effort. The Habs saw their playoff hopes evaporate with a nine-game winless streak that ended in early March. Despite Saku Koivu's 71 points and Richard Zednik's 31 goals, the Canadiens missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Koivu, SakuSaku Koivu	C	82	21	50	71	72	5	5	1	5
Zednik, RichardRichard Zednik	RW	80	31	19	50	79	4	9	0	2
Perreault, YanicYanic Perreault	C	73	24	22	46	30	-11	7	0	4
Bulis, JanJan Bulis	C	82	16	24	40	30	9	0	0	2
Markov, AndreiAndrei Markov	D	79	13	24	37	34	13	3	0	2
Gilmour, DougDoug Gilmour	C	61	11	19	30	36	-6	3	0	0
Brisebois, PatricePatrice Brisebois	D	73	4	25	29	32	-14	1	0	1
Dackell, AndreasAndreas Dackell	RW	73	7	18	25	24	-5	0	0	1
Audette, DonaldDonald Audette	RW	54	11	12	23	19	-7	4	0	4
Petrov, OlegOleg Petrov	RW	53	7	16	23	16	-2	2	0	2
Rivet, CraigCraig Rivet	D	82	7	15	22	71	1	3	0	2
Juneau, JoeJoe Juneau	C	72	6	16	22	20	-10	0	0	2
McKay, RandyRandy McKay	RW	75	6	13	19	72	-14	2	0	0
Ribeiro, MikeMike Ribeiro	C	52	5	12	17	6	-3	2	0	0
Kilger, ChadChad Kilger	LW	60	9	7	16	21	-4	0	0	1
Czerkawski, MariuszMariusz Czerkawski	RW	43	5	9	14	16	-7	1	0	0
Sundstrom, NiklasNiklas Sundstrom	RW	33	5	9	14	8	3	0	0	1
Hossa, MarcelMarcel Hossa	LW	34	6	7	13	14	3	2	0	1
Traverse, PatrickPatrick Traverse	D	65	0	13	13	24	-9	0	0	0
Quintal, StephaneStephane Quintal	D	67	5	5	10	70	-4	0	0	0
Ward, JasonJason Ward	RW	8	3	2	5	0	3	0	0	0
Dykhuis, KarlKarl Dykhuis	D	65	1	4	5	34	-5	0	0	0
Bouillon, FrancisFrancis Bouillon	D	20	3	1	4	2	-1	0	1	0
Lindsay, BillBill Lindsay	RW	19	0	2	2	23	-1	0	0	0
Theodore, JoseJose Theodore	G	57	0	2	2	6	0	0	0	0
Komisarek, MikeMike Komisarek	D	21	0	1	1	28	-6	0	0	0
Beauchemin, FrancoisFrancois Beauchemin	D	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Blouin, SylvainSylvain Blouin	LW	17	0	0	0	43	-3	0	0	0
Dwyer, GordieGordie Dwyer	LW	11	0	0	0	46	-2	0	0	0
Garon, MathieuMathieu Garon	G	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hackett, JeffJeff Hackett	G	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hainsey, RonRon Hainsey	D	21	0	0	0	2	-1	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T/OT	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Theodore, JoseJose Theodore	3419	57	20	31	6	165	2.90	2	1797	1632	.908
Hackett, JeffJeff Hackett	1063	18	7	8	2	45	2.54	0	606	561	.926
Garon, MathieuMathieu Garon	482	8	3	5	0	16	1.99	2	267	251	.940
Team:	4964	82	30	44	8	226	2.73	4	2670	2444	.915

^[4]

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

Molson Cup - Jose Theodore

Roster

Forwards:
11 - Saku Koivu
14 - Oleg Petrov
17 - Jason Ward
20 - Richard Zednik
21 - Randy McKay
22 - Bill Lindsay
24 - Andreas Dackell
25 - Chad Kilger
26 - Sylvain Blouin
27 - Mariusz Czerkawski
32 - Gordie Dwyer
37 - Niklas Sundstrom
38 - Jan Bulis
71 - Mike Ribeiro
81 - Marcel Hossa
82 - Donald Audette
90 - Joé Juneau
93 - Doug Gilmour
94 - Yanic Perreault

Defencemen:
5 - Stéphane Quintal
8 - Mike Komisarek
28 - Karl Dykhuis
36 - François Beauchemin
43 - Patrice Brisebois
44 - Sheldon Souray
51 - Francis Bouillon
52 - Craig Rivet
54 - Patrick Traverse
65 - Ron Hainsey
79 - Andrei Markov

Goaltenders:
30 - Mathieu Garon
31 - Jeff Hackett
41 - Éric Fichaud
60 - José Théodore

Draft picks

For more details on this topic, see 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

References

↑ http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2003.html
↑ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2009). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2010. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 163.
↑ "2002–2003 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
↑ "2002-03 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.

Montreal Canadiens seasons

1900s	1909–10

1910s	1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20

1920s	1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30

1930s	1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40

1940s	1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50

1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60

1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70

1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80

1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90

1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00

2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10

2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

Montreal Canadiens

Founded in 1909
Based in Montreal, Quebec

Franchise

History

Personnel

Owners: Molson family (Geoff Molson, chairman)
General manager: Marc Bergevin
Head coach: Michel Therrien
Team captain: Max Pacioretty
Current roster

Arenas

Rivalries

Affiliates

AHL: St. John's IceCaps

ECHL: Brampton Beast

General managers

Head coaches

Media

TV	City TV (English) Sportsnet East (English) Réseau des sports (French) TVA Sports (French)

Radio	English TSN Radio 990 French 98,5 FM

Culture and lore

2002–03 NHL season

Atlantic	New Jersey NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Pittsburgh

Northeast	Boston Buffalo Montreal Ottawa Toronto

Southeast	Atlanta Carolina Florida Tampa Bay Washington

Central	Chicago Columbus Detroit Nashville St. Louis

Northwest	Calgary Colorado Edmonton Minnesota Vancouver

Pacific	Anaheim Dallas Los Angeles Phoenix San Jose

See also	Entry Draft All-Star Game Playoffs Final

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2002–03 Montreal Canadiens season

Regular season

Final standings

Schedule and results

Player statistics

Regular season

Awards and records

Roster

Draft picks

See also

References