2003–04 New Jersey Devils season

Regular season

The defending Stanley Cup champions, the Devils only allowed 164 goals, the lowest total ever allowed by a team under the 82-game regular-season format. The Devils also shut out their opponents 14 times, a league-high. Furthermore, they were the most disciplined team in the League, finishing with the regular season with the fewest power-play opportunities against (266) and the fewest power-play goals allowed (39).

Defenseman Scott Stevens exited the lineup in January with what was first reported to be the flu, but was later diagnosed as post-concussion syndrome. With Stevens out indefinitely, Scott Niedermayer served as interim captain for the remainder of the season.

• March 23, 2004 – In an overtime victory over the Florida Panthers, Martin Brodeur earned his 400th career victory. At the time, he was the youngest goalie to win 400 career games.

Final standings

Playoffs

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

(E6) New Jersey Devils vs. (E3) Philadelphia Flyers

The series opened at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, and the Flyers won both games 1 and 2 3–2 over New Jersey. Games three and four were played at Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey. The Devils won game three 4–2, but the Flyers were victorious in game four by a score of 3–0. Game five was played back in Philadelphia, and the Flyers won that game 3-1 and won the series 4 games to 1.

Schedule and results

Preseason

|- | 1|| September 19 || 6–1 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers || Wachovia Center || 0–1–0 || L |- | 2|| September 23 || 3–0 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers || Sovereign Bank Arena || 1–1–0 || W |- | 3|| September 24 || 2–1 || align="left"| New York Islanders || Continental Airlines Arena || 1–2–0 || L |- | 4|| September 26 || 4–5 (OT) || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers || Wachovia Center || 1–3–0 || L |- | 5|| September 27 || 4–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers || Continental Airlines Arena || 2–3–0 || W |- | 6|| September 30 || 1–0 || align="left"| Boston Bruins || Dunkin' Donuts Center || 2–4–0 || L |- | 7|| October 1 || 4–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers || Madison Square Garden || 3–4–0 || W |- | 8|| October 3 || 2–0 || align="left"| New York Rangers || Continental Airlines Arena || 3–5–0 || L |- | 9|| October 4 || 5–1 || align="left"| New York Islanders || Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum || 3–6–0 || L

| Legend:

Regular season

|- |1||October 8, 2003||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (2003–04) ||0–0–1–0||1 || |- |2||October 11, 2003||2–1 || align="left"| @ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04) ||1–0–1–0||3 || |- |3||October 16, 2003||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04) ||1–0–2–0||4 || |- |4||October 18, 2003||2–3 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04) ||1–1–2–0||4 || |- |5||October 22, 2003||1–2 || align="left"| Florida Panthers (2003–04) ||1–2–2–0||4 || |- |6||October 24, 2003||2–1 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) ||2–2–2–0||6 || |- |7||October 25, 2003||2–5 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (2003–04) ||2–3–2–0||6 || |- |8||October 28, 2003||4–0 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (2003–04) ||3–3–2–0||8 || |- |9||October 30, 2003||3–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) ||4–3–2–0||10 ||

| Legend:

Playoffs

|- | 1 || April 8, 2004 || 2–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers || 19,608 || Flyers lead 1–0 || |- | 2 || April 10, 2004 || 2–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers || 19,779 || Flyers lead 2–0 || |- | 3 || April 12, 2004 || 4–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers || 18,023 || Flyers lead 2–1 || |- | 4 || April 14, 2004 || 0–3 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers || 19,040 || Flyers lead 3–1 || |- | 5 || April 17, 2004 || 1–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers || 19,778 || Flyers win 4–1 ||

| Legend:

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• • = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Devils only.*
• • = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Devils only.*

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Martin Brodeur was also a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy and John Madden was a runner-up for the Frank J. Selke Trophy.

Milestones

Transactions

The Devils were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2003, the day after the deciding game of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 7, 2004, the day of the deciding game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Draft picks

The Devils' draft picks at the 2003 NHL entry draft at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Media

Television coverage was still on Fox Sports Net New York with commentators Mike Emrick and Chico Resch as usual with Matt Loughlin hosting in the studio. Radio coverage remained on WABC 770 with John Hennessy calling the play-by-play with Randy Velischek providing color commentary.

Notes

References

References

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3. "2003-04 NHL Schedule and Results".
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15. (October 4, 2003). "Islanders 5-1 Devils (Oct 4, 2003) Final Score".
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19. "Lester Patrick Trophy".
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21. "Vezina Trophy".
22. "William M. Jennings Trophy".
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60. (October 16, 2003). "TRANSACTIONS".
61. (March 24, 2004). "Devils Sign Forward Aaron Voros".
62. (March 29, 2004). "The New Jersey Devils Sign 2003 Draft Pick Center Zach Parise".
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