2002–03 New York Rangers season

The 2002–03 New York Rangers season was the 77th season for the team in the National Hockey League (NHL).[1] In the regular season, the Rangers posted a 32–36–10–4 record, finishing fourth in the Atlantic Division.[2] The Rangers' ninth-place finish in the Eastern Conference left them out of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the sixth straight season.[3]

2002–03 New York Rangers
Division	4th Atlantic
Conference	9th Eastern
2002–03 record	32–36–10–4
Goals for	210
Goals against	231
Team information
General Manager	Glen Sather
Coach	Bryan Trottier Glen Sather (interim)
Captain	Mark Messier
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Average attendance	18,148 (99.7%)
Team leaders
Goals	Petr Nedved (27)
Assists	Tom Poti (37)
Points	Petr Nedved (58)
Penalty minutes	Dale Purinton (161)
Wins	Mike Dunham (19)
Goals against average	Mike Dunham (2.29)

The Rangers entered the season under the supervision of former Colorado Avalanche assistant coach and New York Islanders star Bryan Trottier in his first head coaching role.[4] With the team on the outside of the playoff picture, he was fired after 54 games and replaced with general manager Glen Sather.[5][6]

The Rangers saw a major milestone reached as goaltender Mike Richter won his 300th game with the team.[7] Shortly thereafter, he suffered a concussion against the Edmonton Oilers when Todd Marchant accidentally struck his head with his knee. Combined with a skull fracture Richter suffered toward the end of the previous season when hit in the face with a slap shot, it was the second such injury he suffered in the previous eight months and caused him to miss the rest of the season. Richter retired before the start of the next season.[8]

Regular season

Final standings

Atlantic Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	New Jersey Devils	82	46	20	10	6	216	166	108
2	4	Philadelphia Flyers	82	45	20	13	4	211	166	107
3	8	New York Islanders	82	35	34	11	2	224	231	83
4	9	New York Rangers	82	32	36	10	4	210	231	78
5	14	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	27	44	6	5	189	255	65

[9]

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.

Eastern Conference[10]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	P- Ottawa Senators	NE	82	52	21	8	1	263	182	113
2	Y- New Jersey Devils	AT	82	46	20	10	6	216	166	108
3	Y- Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	36	25	16	5	219	210	93
4	X- Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	45	20	13	4	211	166	107
5	X- Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	44	28	7	3	236	208	98
6	X- Washington Capitals	SE	82	39	29	8	6	224	220	92
7	X- Boston Bruins	NE	82	36	31	11	4	245	237	87
8	X- New York Islanders	AT	82	35	34	11	2	224	231	83
8.5
9	New York Rangers	AT	82	32	36	10	4	210	231	78
10	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	30	35	8	9	206	234	77
11	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	31	39	7	5	226	284	74
12	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	27	37	10	8	190	219	72
13	Florida Panthers	SE	82	24	36	13	9	176	237	70
14	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	27	44	6	5	189	255	65
15	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	22	43	11	6	171	240	61

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

Schedule and results

2002-03 Game Log
October: 4-6-2-0 (Home: 2-4-1-0; Road: 2-2-1-0) Game October Opponent Score Record 1 9 @ Carolina Hurricanes 4 - 1 1-0-0-0 2 11 Montreal Canadiens 4 - 1 1-1-0-0 3 12 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 6 - 0 1-2-0-0 4 15 Toronto Maple Leafs 5 - 4 2-2-0-0 5 17 @ Buffalo Sabres 4 - 4 OT 2-2-1-0 6 19 Nashville Predators 2 - 2 OT 2-2-2-0 7 21 Tampa Bay Lightning 4 - 2 2-3-2-0 8 23 Washington Capitals 2 - 1 2-4-2-0 9 25 Los Angeles Kings 6 - 2 2-5-2-0 10 26 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 4 - 3 3-5-2-0 11 28 Phoenix Coyotes 3 - 2 OT 4-5-2-0 12 30 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 3 - 0 4-6-2-0
November: 6-6-2-0 (Home: 4-2-0-0; Road: 2-4-2-0) Game November Opponent Score Record 13 2 @ Boston Bruins 3 - 2 4-7-2-0 14 3 St. Louis Blues 3 - 2 4-8-2-0 15 5 Edmonton Oilers 5 - 2 5-8-2-0 16 7 Calgary Flames 1 - 0 OT 6-8-2-0 17 9 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 6 - 3 6-9-2-0 18 11 @ San Jose Sharks 5 - 4 7-9-2-0 19 14 @ Calgary Flames 2 - 1 8-9-2-0 20 16 @ Vancouver Canucks 3 - 1 8-10-2-0 21 19 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 3 - 2 OT 9-10-2-0 22 21 @ New Jersey Devils 4 - 4 OT 9-10-3-0 23 23 New York Islanders 3 - 1 9-11-3-0 24 25 Carolina Hurricanes 3 - 1 10-11-3-0 25 28 @ Atlanta Thrashers 7 - 4 10-12-3-0 26 29 @ Dallas Stars 3 - 3 OT 10-12-4-0
December: 5-8-1-1 (Home: 3-5-1-0; Road: 2-3-0-1) Game December Opponent Score Record 27 1 Tampa Bay Lightning 4 - 3 11-12-4-0 28 3 Columbus Blue Jackets 5 - 3 12-12-4-0 29 5 @ Philadelphia Flyers 3 - 2 OT 12-12-4-1 30 6 Buffalo Sabres 4 - 1 12-13-4-1 31 8 Boston Bruins 4 - 1 12-14-4-1 32 11 Chicago Blackhawks 4 - 3 12-15-4-1 33 14 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 4 - 1 12-16-4-1 34 16 San Jose Sharks 2 - 1 OT 13-16-4-1 35 19 Montreal Canadiens 3 - 1 13-17-4-1 36 21 @ Detroit Red Wings 3 - 2 13-18-4-1 37 23 New Jersey Devils 2 - 2 OT 13-18-5-1 38 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 6 - 1 13-19-5-1 39 28 @ Florida Panthers 2 - 1 OT 14-19-5-1 40 29 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 5 - 3 14-20-5-1 41 31 @ Carolina Hurricanes 2 - 0 15-20-5-1
January: 6-6-1-1 (Home: 2-3-1-1; Road: 4-3-0-0) Game January Opponent Score Record 42 4 Washington Capitals 2 - 2 OT 15-20-6-1 43 6 Ottawa Senators 5 - 2 15-21-6-1 44 8 Carolina Hurricanes 5 - 1 16-21-6-1 45 9 @ Montreal Canadiens 3 - 2 16-22-6-1 46 11 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3 - 1 17-22-6-1 47 13 Toronto Maple Leafs 5 - 1 18-22-6-1 48 15 @ Washington Capitals 2 - 1 OT 19-22-6-1 49 19 Philadelphia Flyers 4 - 2 19-23-6-1 50 21 @ New York Islanders 5 - 0 20-23-6-1 51 23 @ Nashville Predators 4 - 2 21-23-6-1 52 25 Atlanta Thrashers 4 - 1 21-24-6-1 53 26 @ Washington Capitals 7 - 2 21-25-6-1 54 28 @ Atlanta Thrashers 5 - 2 21-26-6-1 55 30 Colorado Avalanche 4 - 3 OT 21-26-6-2
February: 5-5-2-0 (Home: 2-1-0-0; Road: 3-4-2-0) Game February Opponent Score Record 56 5 Ottawa Senators 5 - 3 21-27-6-2 57 6 @ St. Louis Blues 4 - 4 OT 21-27-7-2 58 8 @ Philadelphia Flyers 2 - 1 21-28-7-2 59 12 @ Florida Panthers 3 - 1 22-28-7-2 60 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 1 - 0 23-28-7-2 61 15 @ Buffalo Sabres 5 - 4 23-29-7-2 62 17 @ Ottawa Senators 3 - 2 23-30-7-2 63 19 @ Minnesota Wild 4 - 2 24-30-7-2 64 21 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 6 - 2 25-30-7-2 65 23 @ Colorado Avalanche 4 - 1 25-31-7-2 66 25 @ New Jersey Devils 3 - 3 OT 25-31-8-2 67 27 Boston Bruins 4 - 1 26-31-8-2
March: 6-3-1-2 (Home: 4-2-1-1; Road: 2-1-0-1) Game March Opponent Score Record 68 1 Florida Panthers 5 - 2 27-31-8-2 69 3 New York Islanders 1 - 1 OT 27-31-9-2 70 7 Philadelphia Flyers 5 - 1 28-31-9-2 71 10 Florida Panthers 2 - 1 28-32-9-2 72 13 @ Ottawa Senators 3 - 2 OT 28-32-9-3 73 15 @ New Jersey Devils 3 - 1 28-33-9-3 74 17 New York Islanders 1 - 0 29-33-9-3 75 19 Buffalo Sabres 3 - 0 30-33-9-3 76 22 @ Philadelphia Flyers 2 - 1 31-33-9-3 77 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 3 - 1 31-34-9-3 78 29 @ Boston Bruins 3 - 1 32-34-9-3 79 31 Atlanta Thrashers 4 - 3 OT 32-34-9-4
April: 0-2-1-0 (Home: 0-1-0-0; Road: 0-1-1-0) Game April Opponent Score Record 80 1 @ New York Islanders 2 - 2 OT 32-34-10-4 81 4 New Jersey Devils 2 - 1 32-35-10-4 82 5 @ Montreal Canadiens 5 - 4 32-36-10-4

Playoffs

The Rangers failed to qualify for the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs, missing the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.[3]

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM Petr Nedved 78 27 31 58 -4 64 Eric Lindros 81 19 34 53 5 141 Tom Poti 80 11 37 48 -6 60 Mark Messier 78 18 22 40 -2 30 Matthew Barnaby 79 14 22 36 9 142 Bobby Holik 64 16 19 35 -1 50 Pavel Bure 39 19 11 30 4 16 Brian Leetch 51 12 18 30 -3 20 Radek Dvorak^‡ 63 6 21 27 -3 16 Mikael Samuelsson^‡ 58 8 14 22 0 32 Jamie Lundmark 55 8 11 19 -3 16 Vladimir Malakhov 71 3 14 17 -7 52 Sandy McCarthy 82 6 9 15 -4 81 Ronald Petrovicky 66 5 9 14 -12 77 Darius Kasparaitis 80 3 11 14 5 85 Alexei Kovalev^† 24 10 3 13 2 20 Rem Murray^‡ 32 6 6 12 -3 4 Joel Bouchard^‡ 27 5 7 12 6 14 Boris Mironov^† 36 3 9 12 3 34 Dale Purinton 58 3 9 12 -2 161 Rico Fata^‡ 36 2 4 6 -1 6 Anson Carter^† 11 1 4 5 0 6 Dan LaCouture^† 24 1 4 5 4 0 Cory Cross^‡ 26 0 4 4 13 16 Ted Donato 49 2 1 3 -1 6 John Tripp 9 1 2 3 1 2 Dave Karpa 19 0 2 2 -1 14 Sylvain Lefebvre 35 0 2 2 -7 10 Richard Lintner^‡ 10 1 0 1 -5 0 Gordie Dwyer^‡ 17 0 1 1 -1 50 Mike Wilson 1 0 0 0 1 0 Roman Lyashenko 2 0 0 0 -2 0 Ales Pisa^† 3 0 0 0 1 0 Josh Green^†‡ 4 0 0 0 -1 2 Dixon Ward 8 0 0 0 -2 2 Krzysztof Oliwa^‡ 9 0 0 0 1 51 Billy Tibbetts 11 0 0 0 -2 12

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO
Mike Dunham^†	43	2467	19	17	5	94	2.29	1229	.924	5
Dan Blackburn	32	1762	8	16	4	93	3.17	842	.890	1
Mike Richter	13	694	5	6	1	34	2.94	329	.897	0
Johan Holmqvist	1	39	0	1	0	2	3.08	18	.889	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
^‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.

[11]

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft in Toronto, Ontario, at the Air Canada Centre.[12][13]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
2	33	Lee Falardeau	C	United States	Michigan State University (CCHA)
3	81	Marcus Jonasen	LW	Sweden	VIK Västerås IK Jr. (Sweden)
4	127	Nate Guenin	D	United States	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)
5	143	Mike Walsh	LW	United States	Detroit Compuware Ambassadors (NAHL)
6	177	Jake Taylor	D	United States	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)
6	194	Kim Hirschovits	C	Finland	HIFK (FNL)
7	226	Joey Crabb	RW	United States	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)
8	240	Petr Prucha	LW	Czech Republic	HC Pardubice (Czech Extraliga)
9	270	Rob Flynn	RW	United States	Harvard University (ECAC)

References

1. "New York Rangers". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
2. "2002–03 New York Rangers Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
3. "Canadiens top ousted Rangers". The Hour. Associated Press. April 4, 2003. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
4. Caldwell, Dave (June 7, 2002). "Hockey – Rangers Find Their Answer in Trottier". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
5. Graves, Gary (January 30, 2003). "Rangers fire Trottier after 54 games". USA Today. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
6. "Sather to coach Rangers". United Press International. January 30, 2003. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
7. "Rangers goalie gets 300th win". St. Petersburg Times. October 29, 2002. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
8. Brooks, Larry (September 3, 2003). "It's Over For Richter; Concussion-Prone Goalie Will Hang 'Em Up". New York Post. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
9. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2009). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2010. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 163.
10. "2002–2003 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
11. "2002-03 New York Rangers". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
12. "2002 NHL Entry Draft". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
13. "NHL Draft History". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on January 28, 2001. Retrieved June 17, 2017.