2003 Stanley Cup playoffs
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 9–June 9, 2003 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | New Jersey Devils |
| Runner-up | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim |
| Semifinalists | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Scoring leader(s) |
Jamie Langenbrunner and Scott Niedermayer (New Jersey) (18 points) |
| MVP | Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Anaheim) |
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← 2002
2004 →
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The 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs, the National Hockey League (NHL) championship, began on April 9, 2003, following the 2002–03 regular season. The playoffs concluded on June 9, 2003, with the New Jersey Devils defeating the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in seven games.
The 16 qualifying teams played best-of-seven series in the conference quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. Each conference champion proceeded to the Stanley Cup Finals. These playoffs marked the first time the Minnesota Wild qualified, in only their third season in the NHL. The Minnesota Wild, a sixth-seed, made an unlikely advance to the Western Conference Finals as underdogs after being down three games to one in two consecutive rounds.
Despite losing to the Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals, Mighty Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player during the playoffs, marking only the fifth time that the Trophy had ever been awarded to a player on the losing team.
The Ottawa Senators finished as the first overall seed in the Eastern Conference with 113 points. The New York Islanders earned 83 points during the regular season to finish eighth overall in the Eastern Conference. This was the first playoff series between these two teams. Ottawa won two of the four games in their regular season series (one of the games was a tie, the other game was a loss).
The Senators defeated the Islanders in five games. In Game 1, Roman Hamrlik assisted on two of the three goals and Islanders goalie Garth Snow shut out the Senators stopping all 25 shots he faced in a 3–0 victory. The Senators responded in Game 2 by shutting out the Islanders 3–0; goalie Patrick Lalime stopped all 16 shots he faced. Overtime would be required in Game 3 with both teams tied at two at the end of the third period. At 2:25 of the second overtime, Todd White scored his second goal of the game to give the Senators a 3–2 victory. In Game 4, Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist to help the Senators take a 3–1 series lead in a 3–1 win. In Game 5, Todd White's goal at 11:05 of the second period proved to be the game-winner and series-winner for the Senators with Radek Bonk providing two insurance goals in a 4–1 victory.
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