2002-03 Results

The Canucks had one of their best regular seasons in 2002-03. Throughout the season, they were near the top of the NHL Standings. Captain Markus Naslund led the way, proving himself to be one of the league's premier offensive players while Todd Bertuzzi emerged as one of the best power forwards around. Brendan Morrison centred the big line and had his most productive NHL season. Ed Jovanovski had another strong year on the blueline, Matt Cooke was a fan favourite for his feisty play, Trevor Linden provided leadership and Dan Cloutier was solid in net.

Just like the early 1990's, the regular season success increased expectations for playoff success. In their final two games of the season, the Canucks missed opportunities to clinch the Northwest Division Title, leading Markus Naslund to apologize to fans for "choking". In the first round, the Canucks met and eventually beat the St. Louis Blues. In the second round, they faced a team Brian Burke referred to as a "cult". The Minnesota Wild, who reached the second round by eliminating the Colorado Avalanche, duplicated this feat against Vancouver.

Regular Season

 DATE  H/A OPPOSITION   SCORE OT GP  W  L  T OL  GF  GA PTS  AVG        HISTORICAL NOTES      
OCT 10  A  CALGARY      3-0 W     1  1  0  0  0   3   0   2 1.000 First SO in a season opener 
OCT 12  H  SAN JOSE     5-3 W     2  2  0  0  0   8   3   4 1.000 Klatt scores a pair of goals
OCT 14  H  CALGARY      2-3 L     3  2  1  0  0  10   6   4 0.667 Canucks lead 2-0 in second  
OCT 16  H  BOSTON       3-6 L     4  2  2  0  0  13  12   4 0.500 Druken opens the scoring    
OCT 18  A  ANAHEIM      2-2 T OT  5  2  2  1  0  15  14   5 0.500 Bertuzzi scores both goals  
OCT 19  A  LOS ANGELES  2-2 T OT  6  2  2  2  0  17  16   6 0.500 Naslund ties it in third    
OCT 21  A  SAN JOSE     5-2 W     7  3  2  2  0  22  18   8 0.571 Naslund gets the hat trick  
OCT 24  H  ANAHEIM      2-2 T OT  8  3  2  3  0  24  20   9 0.563 Linden's 1,000th celebrated 
OCT 26  H  DALLAS       1-4 L     9  3  3  3  0  25  24   9 0.500 Bertuzzi goal and major     
OCT 29  H  BUFFALO      1-1 T OT 10  3  3  4  0  26  25  10 0.500 Jovanovski gets lone goal   
OCT 31  H  COLORADO AV. 1-5 L    11  3  4  4  0  27  30  10 0.455 Allen breaks goose egg      
NOV  2  A  MINNESOTA WI 4-2 W    12  4  4  4  0  31  32  12 0.500 Bertuzzi records 3 points   
NOV  4  A  COLORADO AV. 4-2 W    13  5  4  4  0  35  34  14 0.538 Lindgren makes Canuck debut 
NOV  6  A  DALLAS       0-4 L    14  5  5  4  0  35  38  14 0.500 Morrow scores penalty shot  
NOV  9  A  PHOENIX      5-2 W    15  6  5  4  0  40  40  16 0.533 Five different Canucks score
NOV 12  H  ST. LOUIS    6-3 W    16  7  5  4  0  46  43  18 0.563 Cloutier tussles with Blues 
NOV 14  H  LOS ANGELES  3-2 W    17  8  5  4  0  49  45  20 0.588 Naslund gets pair in second 
NOV 16  H  NY RANGERS   3-1 W    18  9  5  4  0  52  46  22 0.611 Morrison gets 2 goals       
NOV 20  H  CHICAGO      5-3 W    19 10  5  4  0  57  49  24 0.632 Linden opens scoring at 0:14
NOV 22  H  DETROIT      4-1 W    20 11  5  4  0  61  50  26 0.650 Four different Canucks score
NOV 25  A  MINNESOTA WI 2-1 W    21 12  5  4  0  63  51  28 0.667 Win streak reaches 7 games  
NOV 27  A  CAROLINA     3-2 W    22 13  5  4  0  66  53  30 0.682 Team record 8th win in a row
NOV 29  A  TAMPA BAY    5-3 W    23 14  5  4  0  71  56  32 0.696 Five different Canucks score
NOV 30  A  FLORIDA      5-2 W    24 15  5  4  0  76  58  34 0.708 Winning Streak now 10 games 
DEC  3  A  NY ISLANDERS 1-2 L    25 15  6  4  0  77  60  34 0.680 Salo gets lone marker       
DEC  4  A  NEW JERSEY   3-2 W OT 26 16  6  4  0  80  62  36 0.692 Bertuzzi wins it in overtime
DEC  7  H  MINNESOTA WI 2-4 L    27 16  7  4  0  82  66  36 0.667 Naslund, Daniel Sedin score 
DEC  9  H  CALGARY      1-2 L    28 16  8  4  0  83  68  36 0.643 Chubarov gets lone goal     
DEC 11  H  COLORADO AV. 3-1 W    29 17  8  4  0  86  69  38 0.655 Cloutier outduels Roy       
DEC 14  A  EDMONTON     6-3 W    30 18  8  4  0  92  72  40 0.667 Naslund scores four goals   
DEC 15  H  CALGARY      3-3 T OT 31 18  8  5  0  95  75  41 0.661 Salo ties it late in third  
DEC 17  A  CHICAGO      2-3 L    32 18  9  5  0  97  78  41 0.641 Cooke, Bertuzzi score       
DEC 19  A  NASHVILLE    3-1 W    33 19  9  5  0 100  79  43 0.652 Letowski gets the winner    
DEC 21  H  EDMONTON     4-3 W OT 34 20  9  5  0 104  82  45 0.662 Naslund in OT on powerplay 
DEC 23  A  COLORADO AV. 3-5 L    35 20 10  5  0 107  87  45 0.643 Moss debuts in Canuck net   
DEC 26  A  EDMONTON     4-2 W    36 21 10  5  0 111  89  47 0.653 Malik scores shorthanded    
DEC 28  H  ANAHEIM      7-3 W    37 22 10  5  0 118  92  49 0.662 Cloutier returns from injury
DEC 31  H  TORONTO      3-5 L    38 22 11  5  0 121  97  49 0.645 Canucks lead 3-1 after first
JAN  2  H  MONTREAL     3-2 W    39 23 11  5  0 124  99  51 0.654 All scoring comes in second 
JAN  4  H  FLORIDA      3-2 W    40 24 11  5  0 127 101  53 0.663 "Keenan sucks" in his return
JAN  8  H  OTTAWA       6-4 W    41 25 11  5  0 133 105  55 0.671 Salo records 3 assists      
JAN 10  H  COLUMBUS     2-3 L    42 25 12  5  0 135 108  55 0.655 All scoring in second period
JAN 11  A  SAN JOSE     0-3 L    43 25 13  5  0 135 111  55 0.640 Shark Kiprusoff gets shutout
JAN 14  H  NASHVILLE    4-3 W    44 26 13  5  0 139 114  57 0.648 Canucks trail 3-1 in second 
JAN 16  A  MINNESOTA WI 2-5 L    45 26 14  5  0 141 119  57 0.633 Letowski, Klatt score       
JAN 17  A  CHICAGO      4-2 W    46 27 14  5  0 145 121  59 0.641 Sopel gets winner in third  
JAN 19  A  DETROIT      4-1 W    47 28 14  5  0 149 122  61 0.649 Cloutier stops penalty shot 
JAN 21  A  NASHVILLE    2-3 L    48 28 15  5  0 151 125  61 0.635 Bertuzzi gets both goals    
JAN 24  H  DETROIT      2-5 L    49 28 16  5  0 153 130  61 0.622 Three Wing goals in third   
JAN 26  H  PHOENIX      1-0 W    50 29 16  5  0 154 130  63 0.630 Naslund scores, Skudra saves
JAN 28  H  MINNESOTA WI 2-2 T OT 51 29 16  6  0 156 132  64 0.627 Canucks lead 2-0 in first   
JAN 30  H  EDMONTON     3-3 T OT 52 29 16  7  0 159 135  65 0.625 Linden opens scoring        
FEB  4  A  PITTSBURGH   3-2 W    53 30 16  7  0 162 137  67 0.632 Lindgren gets game winner   
FEB  5  A  COLUMBUS     4-4 T OT 54 30 16  8  0 166 141  68 0.630 Canucks up 4-1 in second    
FEB  7  A  BUFFALO      4-2 W    55 31 16  8  0 170 143  70 0.636 Chubarov gets game winner   
FEB 10  H  CHICAGO      2-1 W    56 32 16  8  0 172 144  72 0.643 New suites increase sellout 
FEB 13  H  COLORADO AV. 2-1 W OT 57 33 16  8  0 174 145  74 0.649 Morrison wins it in overtime
FEB 15  A  CALGARY      2-2 T OT 58 33 16  9  0 176 147  75 0.647 Jovanovski ties it in third 
FEB 18  A  DETROIT      4-3 W OT 59 34 16  9  0 180 150  77 0.653 Canucks trail 3-0 in third  
FEB 20  A  ST. LOUIS    4-2 W    60 35 16  9  0 184 152  79 0.658 Baumgartner gets two points 
FEB 22  A  EDMONTON     3-2 W OT 61 36 16  9  0 187 154  81 0.664 Morrison in overtime again  
FEB 23  H  COLUMBUS     7-2 W    62 37 16  9  0 194 156  83 0.669 Big line gets 12 points     
FEB 25  H  ATLANTA THR. 8-0 W    63 38 16  9  0 202 156  85 0.675 Naslund records 6 point game
FEB 27  H  SAN JOSE     2-3 L    64 38 17  9  0 204 159  85 0.664 Malik, Henrik Sedin score   
MAR  1  A  MONTREAL     1-1 T OT 65 38 17 10  0 205 160  86 0.662 Letowski scores lone goal   
MAR  3  A  BOSTON       6-4 W    66 39 17 10  0 211 164  88 0.667 Cooke records three points  
MAR  4  A  PHILADELPHIA 0-3 L    67 39 18 10  0 211 167  88 0.657 Team misses Cloutier, Ohlund
MAR  6  A  COLUMBUS     4-5 L OT 68 39 18 10  1 215 172  89 0.654 Four different Canucks score
MAR  8  A  TORONTO      3-3 T OT 69 39 18 11  1 218 175  90 0.652 Bertuzzi gets three points  
MAR 11  H  NY ISLANDERS 4-3 W    70 40 18 11  1 222 178  92 0.657 Salo gets winner in third   
MAR 13  H  ST. LOUIS    4-4 T OT 71 40 18 12  1 226 182  93 0.655 May returns with a bang     
MAR 15  H  TORONTO      0-1 L    72 40 19 12  1 226 183  93 0.646 May, Lindgren injured       
MAR 17  A  DALLAS       4-2 W    73 41 19 12  1 230 185  95 0.651 Bertuzzi gets hat-trick     
MAR 18  A  ST. LOUIS    4-6 L    74 41 20 12  1 234 191  95 0.642 Canucks up 4-3 after second 
MAR 20  H  NASHVILLE    7-3 W    75 42 20 12  1 241 194  97 0.647 Reid records 2 goals, assist
MAR 23  H  WASHINGTON   6-0 W    76 43 20 12  1 247 194  99 0.651 Auld makes 14 saves         
MAR 25  H  DALLAS       3-4 L    77 43 21 12  1 250 198  99 0.643 Naslund, Bertuzzi 3 points  
MAR 27  H  PHOENIX      5-1 W    78 44 21 12  1 255 199 101 0.647 Naslund hits 100 points     
MAR 29  A  LOS ANGELES  5-1 W    79 45 21 12  1 260 200 103 0.652 Five different Canucks score
MAR 30  A  ANAHEIM      1-3 L    80 45 22 12  1 261 203 103 0.644 Shick refs 1000th NHL game  
APR  2  A  PHOENIX      3-3 T OT 81 45 22 13  1 264 206 104 0.642 Canucks fail to clinch title
APR  6  H  LOS ANGELES  0-2 L    82 45 23 13  1 264 208 104 0.634 Canucks "choke", finish 4th 
                  Canucks finish 4th out of 15 teams in Western Conference   

Playoffs

 DATE  H/A OPPOSITION   SCORE OT GP  W  L  T  GF  GA PTS  AVG        HISTORICAL NOTES         
APR 10  H  ST. LOUIS    0-6 L     1  0  1  0   0   6   0 0.000 Canucks start flat          
APR 12  H  ST. LOUIS    2-1 W     2  1  1  0   2   7   2 0.500 Klatt, Jovanovski score     
APR 14  A  ST. LOUIS    1-3 L     3  1  2  0   3  10   2 0.333 Malik gets lone goal        
APR 16  A  ST. LOUIS    1-4 L     4  1  3  0   4  14   2 0.250 Naslund finally gets a goal 
APR 18  H  ST. LOUIS    5-3 W     5  2  3  0   9  17   4 0.400 Five different Canucks score
APR 20  A  ST. LOUIS    4-3 W     6  3  3  0  13  20   6 0.500 Canucks up 4-1 after second 
APR 22  H  ST. LOUIS    4-1 W     7  4  3  0  17  21   8 0.571 Linden clinches it in third 
                  VANCOUVER WINS BEST OF SEVEN SERIES FOUR GAMES TO THREE       

APR 25  H  MINNESOTA WI 4-3 W OT  8  5  3  0  21  24  10 0.625 Klatt wins it on powerplay  
APR 27  H  MINNESOTA WI 2-3 L     9  5  4  0  23  27  10 0.556 Tempers flare at game's end 
APR 29  A  MINNESOTA WI 3-2 W    10  6  4  0  26  29  12 0.600 D.Sedin gets winner in 2nd  
MAY  2  A  MINNESOTA WI 3-2 W OT 11  7  4  0  29  31  14 0.636 Sopel wins it on powerplay  
MAY  5  H  MINNESOTA WI 2-7 L    12  7  5  0  31  38  14 0.583 Canucks fail to advance     
MAY  7  A  MINNESOTA WI 1-5 L    13  7  6  0  32  43  14 0.538 Jovanovski gets lone marker 
MAY  8  H  MINNESOTA WI 2-4 L    14  7  7  0  34  47  14 0.500 Wild complete 2nd comeback  
                  Minnesota wins best of seven series four games to three