2002–03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season

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.

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)
Penalty minutes	Kevin Sawyer (115)
Wins	Jean-Sebastien Giguere (34)
Goals against average	Martin Gerber (1.95)

Regular season

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.[1] It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 2002–03 regular season.[2]

Divisional standings

Pacific Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Dallas Stars	82	46	17	15	4	245	169	111
2	7	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	82	40	27	9	6	203	193	95
3	10	Los Angeles Kings	82	33	37	6	6	203	221	78
4	11	Phoenix Coyotes	82	31	35	11	5	204	230	78
5	14	San Jose Sharks	82	28	37	9	8	214	239	73

[3]

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.

Playoffs

Conference Quarterfinals

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 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 goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere faced 64 shots in game one. In Game 2, Anaheim came back from a 2–1 deficit by scoring two goals in the third period.

The Mighty Ducks won Game 3 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, 2–1, to push the Red Wings to the brink of elimination. The Mighty Ducks then won Game 4, a 3–2 overtime victory, with Steve Rucchin delivering the decisive 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.

Game-by-game			Score	DET goals	ANA goals
1	April 10	3:18, 3OT	Mighty Ducks 2, at Red Wings 1	Shanahan	Kariya, Oates
2	April 12		Mighty Ducks 3, at Red Wings 2	Robitaille, Woolley	Chistov, Krog, Thomas
3	April 14		at Mighty Ducks 2, Red Wings 1	Holmstrom	Chistov, Pahlsson
4	April 16	6:53, OT	at Mighty Ducks 3, Red Wings 2	Fedorov, Zetterberg	Kariya, Krog, Rucchin
Mighty Ducks win series 4–0

Conference Semifinals

The series opened at American Airlines Center in Dallas, where the heavily favored Stars and underdog Ducks engaged in an epic battle that took over 140 minutes and four overtimes to decide before Anaheim's Petr Sykora scored the game-winner 47 seconds into the fifth overtime, winning the game for the Ducks, 4–3. Dallas goaltender Marty Turco saw 54 shots while Anaheim's Jean-Sebastien Giguere saw 63. Game 2 saw another game tied after 60 minutes, but this time, Anaheim needed only 1:44 to win the game in the first overtime, 3–2, on a goal by Mike Leclerc. Dallas, much like Detroit in its first-round series against the Ducks, faced a 2–0 deficit headed to Anaheim.

Game 3 at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim was a must-win for the Stars, and they came through, winning the game, 2–1, getting two clutch goals from Jere Lehtinen. But the Ducks refused to let the Stars back in the series, winning Game 4, 1–0, behind a 28-save shutout from Giguere. Not wanting to be eliminated in front of their home fans, a motivated Dallas team captured Game 5, 4–1. Unfortunately for the Stars, their bid to take the series to a Game 7 was denied when they were edged in Game 6, 4–3.

Game-by-game			Score	DAL goals	ANA goals
1	April 24	0:47, 5OT	Mighty Ducks 4, at Stars 3	Arnott, Hatcher, Morrow	Krog, R. Niedermayer, Rucchin, Sykora
2	April 26	1:44, OT	Mighty Ducks 3, at Stars 2	Modano, Morrow	Leclerc, Niedermayer, Oates
3	April 28		Stars 2, at Mighty Ducks 1	Lehtinen 2	Rucchin
4	April 30		at Mighty Ducks 1, Stars 0	none (Giguere shutout)	Leclerc
5	May 3		at Stars 4, Mighty Ducks 1	Kapanen 2, Barnes, DiMaio	Kariya
6	May 5		at Mighty Ducks 4, Stars 3	Kapanen, Morrow, Muller	Chistov, Ozolinsh, Salei, Thomas
Mighty Ducks win series 4–2

Conference Finals

In Game 1, Petr Sykora scored at 8:06 into double-overtime in a 1–0 Mighty Ducks victory. It was the Mighty Ducks' second shutout of the playoffs. Jean-Sebastien Giguere turned in a stellar performance in net for Anaheim, stopping all 39 shots he faced. For Game 2, the Wild played Dwayne Roloson instead of Manny Fernandez in net. As in Game 1, it was another shutout for Giguere as the Mighty Ducks won the game 2–0. Both goals were short-handed, and Giguere stopped all 24 shots he faced, making him 63-for-63 in the series. In Game 3, Giguere continued his goal-tending excellence, stopping all 35 shots he faced in a 4–0 Mighty Ducks victory that pushed the Wild to the brink of elimination. Giguere had now stopped the first 98 shots he saw in the series. In Game 4, The Mighty Ducks won the game, 2–1. Both goals came from Adam Oates, and the Mighty Ducks headed to their first Stanley Cup Final. The only good news for the Wild was that they avoided a fourth consecutive shutout, as Andrew Brunette scored the first Minnesota goal of the series. Still, Giguere was 122-for-123 in the series, a robust .992 save percentage.

Game-by-game			Score	MIN goals	ANA goals
1	May 10	8:06, 2OT	Mighty Ducks 1, at Wild 0	none (Giguere shutout)	Sykora
2	May 12		Mighty Ducks 2, at Wild 0	none (Giguere shutout)	R. Niedermayer, Sauer
3	May 14		at Mighty Ducks 4, Wild 0	none (Giguere shutout)	Kariya 2, Chistov, Rucchin
4	May 16		at Mighty Ducks 2, Wild 1	Brunette	Oates 2
Mighty Ducks win series 4–0

Stanley Cup finals

Anaheim vs. New Jersey
Date	Away	Home
May 27	Anaheim 0	3 New Jersey
May 29	Anaheim 0	3 New Jersey
May 31	New Jersey 2	3 Anaheim	OT
June 2	New Jersey 0	1 Anaheim	OT
June 5	Anaheim 3	6 New Jersey
June 7	New Jersey 2	5 Anaheim
June 9	Anaheim 0	3 New Jersey
New Jersey wins series 4–3 and Stanley Cup
J. S. Giguere (Anaheim) wins Conn Smythe Trophy

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Paul Kariya	82	25	56	81	48
Petr Sykora	82	34	25	59	24
Steve Rucchin	82	20	38	58	12
Adam Oates	67	9	36	45	16
Niclas Havelid	82	11	22	33	30
Stanislav Chistov	79	12	18	30	54
Mike Leclerc	57	9	19	28	34
Jason Krog	67	10	15	25	12
Keith Carney	81	4	18	22	65
Andy McDonald	46	10	11	21	14
Matt Cullen	50	7	14	21	12
Patric Kjellberg	76	8	11	19	16
Sandis Ozolinsh	31	5	13	18	16
Samuel Pahlsson	34	4	11	15	18
Steve Thomas	12	10	3	13	2
Ruslan Salei	61	4	8	12	78
Pavel Trnka	24	3	6	9	6
Fredrik Olausson	44	2	6	8	22
Vitaly Vishnevski	80	2	6	8	76
Marc Chouinard	70	3	4	7	40
Alexei Smirnov	44	3	2	5	18
Dan Bylsma	39	1	4	5	12
Rob Niedermayer	12	2	2	4	15
Kevin Sawyer	31	2	1	3	115
Kurt Sauer	80	1	2	3	74
Mike Brown	16	1	1	2	44
Rob Valicevic	10	1	0	1	2
Martin Gerber	22	0	1	1	0
Chris O'Sullivan	2	0	1	1	0
Lance Ward	29	0	1	1	43
Jean-Sebastien Giguere	65	0	0	0	8
Jonathan Hedstrom	4	0	0	0	0
Cam Severson	2	0	0	0	8

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Jean-Sebastien Giguere	3775	65	34	22	6	145	2.30	1820	1675	.920	8
Martin Gerber	1203	22	6	11	3	39	1.95	548	509	.929	1
Team:	4978	82	40	33	9	184	2.22	2368	2184	.922	9

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Adam Oates	21	4	9	13	6
Petr Sykora	21	4	9	13	12
Paul Kariya	21	6	6	12	6
Mike Leclerc	21	2	9	11	12
Steve Rucchin	21	7	3	10	2
Rob Niedermayer	21	3	7	10	18
Steve Thomas	21	4	4	8	8
Sandis Ozolinsh	21	2	6	8	10
Stanislav Chistov	21	4	2	6	8
Samuel Pahlsson	21	2	4	6	12
Ruslan Salei	21	2	3	5	26
Jason Krog	21	3	1	4	4
Keith Carney	21	0	4	4	16
Niclas Havelid	21	0	4	4	2
Kurt Sauer	21	1	1	2	6
Marc Chouinard	15	1	0	1	0
Dan Bylsma	11	0	1	1	2
Jean-Sebastien Giguere	21	0	1	1	0
Vitaly Vishnevski	21	0	1	1	6
Martin Gerber	2	0	0	0	0
Patric Kjellberg	10	0	0	0	0
Fredrik Olausson	1	0	0	0	0
Cam Severson	1	0	0	0	0
Alexei Smirnov	4	0	0	0	2

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Jean-Sebastien Giguere	1407	21	15	6		38	1.62	697	659	.945	5
Martin Gerber	20	2	0	0		1	3.00	6	5	.833	0
Team:	1427	21	15	6		39	1.64	703	664	.945	5

[4]

Awards and records

• Clarence S. Campbell Bowl
• Paul Kariya, left wing, NHL Second Team All-Star
• Jean Sebastien Giguere, Conn Smythe Trophy Winner

Draft picks

The Ducks picks at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft in Toronto, Ontario.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	7	Joffrey Lupul	Forward	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
2	37	Tim Brent	Forward	Canada	Toronto St. Michael's Majors (OHL)
3	71	Brian Lee	Defense	United States	Erie Otters (OHL)
4	103	Joonas Vihko	Forward	Finland	HIFK (Finland)
5	140	George Davis	Forward	Canada	Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)
6	173	Luke Fritshaw	Defense	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
9	261	Francois Caron	Defense	Canada	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
9	267	Chris Petrow	Defense	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)

Roster

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Goaltenders 29 – Martin Gerber  35 – Jean-Sebastien Giguere		Defensemen 3 – Keith Carney  - A 4 – Lance Ward  28 – Niclas Havelid  37 – Chris O'Sullivan		Wingers 9 – Paul Kariya  - C 14 – Cam Severson  38 – Rob Valicevic  51 – Jonathan Hedstrom		Centers 20 – Steve Rucchin  - A 39 – Petr Sykora  77 – Adam Oates  GM: Bryan Murray Coach: Mike Babcock

See also

• Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
• Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim
• 2002–03 NHL season

Other Anaheim–based teams in 2002–03

• Anaheim Angels (Edison International Field of Anaheim)
  • 2002 Anaheim Angels season
  • 2003 Anaheim Angels season

Farm teams

• The Mighty Ducks farm team was the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the American Hockey League.[5] The team finished third in the Central Division with a record of 26-35-13-6.

References

1. https://articles.latimes.com/2003/feb/13/sports/sp-nudux13
2. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2003_games.html
3. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2009). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2010. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 163.
4. "2002-03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
5. Cincinnati Mighty Ducks - Ohio History Central - A product of the Ohio Historical Society

• Mighty Ducks on Hockey Database
• Ducks on Database Hockey