2003–04 New Jersey Devils season

The 2003–04 New Jersey Devils season was the 30th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and 22nd season since the franchise relocated from Colorado prior to the 1982–83 NHL season.

Like the 2001–02 NHL season, the Devils finished 6th in the Eastern Conference and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The team started the season really impressive, winning 17 of their first 30 games. However, in the 2004 calendar year, they were 24–19–4–1, causing them to finish sixth in the conference, second in the division and lose to one of their division rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers in five games in the quarterfinals. They were also marred by injured defenseman Scott Stevens and Brian Rafalski which also caused them to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

Regular season
The defending Stanley Cup champions, the Devils only allowed 164 goals, the lowest total ever allowed by a team under the 82-game regular-season format. The Devils also shut out their opponents 14 times, a league-high. Furthermore, they were the most disciplined team in the League, finishing with the regular season with the fewest power-play opportunities against (266) and the fewest power-play goals allowed (39).


 * March 23, 2004 – In an overtime victory over the Florida Panthers, Martin Brodeur earned his 400th career victory. At the time, he was the youngest goalie to win 400 career games.

(E6) New Jersey Devils vs. (E3) Philadelphia Flyers
The series opened at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, and the Flyers won both games 1 and 2 3–2 over New Jersey. Games three and four were played at Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey. The Devils won game three 4–2, but the Flyers were victorious in game four by a score of 3–0. Game five was played back in Philadelphia, and the Flyers won that game 3-1 and won the series 4 games to 1.

Preseason

 * Legend:
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Regular season

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Playoffs

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Scoring

 * Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
 * † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Devils only.
 * ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Devils only.

Awards
Martin Brodeur was also a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy and John Madden was a runner-up for the Frank J. Selke Trophy.

Transactions
The Devils were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2003, the day after the deciding game of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 7, 2004, the day of the deciding game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.

Draft picks
The Devils' draft picks at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Media
Television coverage was still on Fox Sports Net New York with commentators Mike Emrick and Chico Resch as usual with Matt Loughlin hosting in the studio. Radio coverage remained on WABC 770 with John Hennessy calling the play-by-play with Randy Velischek providing color commentary.