2002–03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season
| 2002–03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | |
|---|---|
|
Western Conference champions
|
|
| Division | 2nd Pacific |
| Conference | 7th Western |
| 2002–03 record | 40–27–9–6 |
| Home record | TBD |
| Road record | TBD |
| Goals for | 203 |
| Goals against | 193 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Bryan Murray |
| Coach | Mike Babcock |
| Captain | Paul Kariya |
| Alternate captains |
Keith Carney Steve Rucchin |
| Arena | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim |
| Average attendance | 13,988 (81.4%) Total: 573,506 |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Petr Sykora (34) |
| Assists | Paul Kariya (56) |
| Points | Paul Kariya (81) |
| Penalties in minutes | Kevin Sawyer (115) |
| Wins | Jean-Sebastien Giguere (34) |
| Goals against average | Martin Gerber (1.95) |
The 2002–03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season was the Ducks' tenth season in franchise history. The club qualified for the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history, falling to the New Jersey Devils.
On February 12, 2003, Mike Leclerc scored just ten seconds into the overtime period to give the Mighty Ducks a 4–3 home win over the Calgary Flames. It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 2002–03 regular season.
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.
In what was a very large upset, the seventh-seed Mighty Ducks took a first-round series from the number-two seed and defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Detroit Red Wings. The Mighty Ducks swept the Red Wings in four games to get revenge from 1997 and 1999, where the Mighty Ducks were swept by the Red Wings. In Game 1 of the series, when the game went to overtime, the sellout crowd at Joe Louis Arena thought the Wings had won the game thanks to a Luc Robitaille shot at 9:21. Some of the Detroit players had even left for the dressing room. However, after going to the video review, it was concluded that Robitaille's shot ricocheted off the crossbar and the post, and the players were brought back to resume the game. Later, at 3:18 into the third overtime period, Paul Kariya scored the goal that would clinch a 2–1 win for Anaheim and a one-game lead in the series. Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere faced 64 shots in game one. In game two, Anaheim came back from a 2-1 Deficit by scoring two goals in the third period.
The Mighty Ducks won game three, at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, 2–1 to push the Red Wings to the brink of elimination. The Mighty Ducks then won game four, a 3–2 overtime victory with Steve Rucchin delivering the knockout goal 6:53 into overtime. The Red Wings became only the second defending Stanley Cup champions to be swept the following year in a four-game opening series.
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