Division 1st Central 2002–03 record 48–20–10–4 Road record 20–14–5–2 | Conference 2nd Western Home record 28–6–5–2 Goals for 269 | |
The 2002–03 Detroit Red Wings season was the 77th National Hockey League season in Detroit, Michigan. The Red Wings scored 110 points, winning the Central Division, but just one point behind the Dallas Stars for the Western Conference's first seed.
Contents
- Regular season
- October
- November
- December
- January
- February
- March
- April
- Playoffs
- Western Conference Quarter finals vs 7 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
- Skaters
- Goaltending
- Trophies and awards
- Milestones
- Transactions
- Draft picks
- Grand Rapids Griffins
- Toledo Storm
- References
Coming off their latest Stanley Cup victory, the Red Wings started looking towards the future. Dominik Hasek and Scotty Bowman had retired over the summer and captain Steve Yzerman was out for the first 66 games of the regular season. The weight of the team fell on Sergei Fedorov and veteran Brett Hull, who helped the Red Wings score the most goals of any team in the regular season. As newly acquired goaltender Curtis Joseph held steady in net, two more pieces of the Stanley Cup team would be traded over the course of the year. Maxim Kuznetsov and Sean Avery left in a trade for the Los Angeles Kings' Mathieu Schneider right before the trade deadline in an effort to push the Wings towards the playoffs. However, the moves did not come to complete fruition, as the Wings met the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the first round and shocked everyone by being swept in four games.
Three Red Wings were named to the roster for the 2003 All-Star Game: defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom, center Sergei Fedorov and Head Coach Dave Lewis. It was Lidstrom's seventh appearance at the All-Star Game, Fedorov's sixth and Lewis's first appearance as a coach.
The Red Wings sold out all 41 home games in 2002–03 as 20,058 fans packed Joe Louis Arena for every regular season and playoff game played in Detroit.
Regular season
The Red Wings led the NHL in scoring during the regular season, with 269 goals for, and power-play percentage, at 23.82% (76 for 319). They also tied the Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals for fewest short-handed goals allowed, with just four.
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.
For complete final standings, see 2002–03 NHL season
October
Record: 6–3–1–0; Home: 3–1–1–0; Road: 3–2–0–0
November
Record: 6–4–2–1; Home: 4–1–1–1; Road: 2–3–1–0
December
Record: 10–1–4–0; Home: 7–1–1–0; Road: 3–0–3–0
January
Record: 5–7–1–1; Home: 1–2–1–0; Road: 4–5–0–1
February
Record: 7–2–1–1; Home: 5–1–1–1; Road: 2–1–0–0
March
Record: 13–3–0–0; Home: 7–0–0–0; Road: 6–3–0–0
April
Record: 1–0–1–1; Home: 1–0–0–0; Road: 0–0–1–1
Playoffs
The Detroit Red Wings ended the 2002–03 regular season as the Western Conference's second seed and played Anaheim in the first round. Anaheim upset Detroit in a four-game sweep. The Mighty Ducks would advance and reach the Stanley Cup Finals, losing in Game 7 to the New Jersey Devils.
Western Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (7) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Anaheim wins series 4–0
Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
*Stats reflect games played with Detroit only.
Goaltending
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Trophies and awards
Milestones
Brett Hull scored his 700th career goal, February 10, 2003.
Transactions
The Red Wings were involved in the following transactions during the 2002–03 season.
Draft picks
Detroit's picks at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The Red Wings were slated to pick 30th overall but traded their first pick to the Atlanta Thrashers.
Grand Rapids Griffins
The Griffins were Detroit's top affiliate in the American Hockey League in 2002–03.
Toledo Storm
The Storm were the Red Wings' ECHL affiliate for the 2002–03 season.