Every 2003-04 NHL playoff series, three ways: the season race carried on into the postseason, who beat their seeding, and the bracket.
Loading playoff data…
The same race these clubs ran all season, carried on through the postseason on one scale and on real dates.
Where each club finished the season against how far it went, ranked on record rather than seed.
Who played whom, round by round, which no line chart can say.
Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2003-04 title from a regular season record of 46-22-8-6. 16 teams reached the playoffs and the bracket ran 4 rounds. Every series below is taken from the NHL API; nothing on this page is estimated.
| Round | Won by | Result | Opponent | Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference Quarterfinals | Detroit Red Wings | 4-2 in games | Nashville Predators | April 7 to April 17, 2004 |
| Conference Quarterfinals | Tampa Bay Lightning | 4-1 in games | New York Islanders | April 8 to April 16, 2004 |
| Conference Quarterfinals | Montréal Canadiens | 4-3 in games | Boston Bruins | April 7 to April 19, 2004 |
| Conference Quarterfinals | San Jose Sharks | 4-1 in games | St. Louis Blues | April 8 to April 15, 2004 |
| Conference Quarterfinals | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4-3 in games | Ottawa Senators | April 8 to April 20, 2004 |
| Conference Quarterfinals | Philadelphia Flyers | 4-1 in games | New Jersey Devils | April 8 to April 17, 2004 |
| Conference Quarterfinals | Calgary Flames | 4-3 in games | Vancouver Canucks | April 7 to April 19, 2004 |
| Conference Quarterfinals | Colorado Avalanche | 4-1 in games | Dallas Stars | April 7 to April 17, 2004 |
| Conference Semifinals | Calgary Flames | 4-2 in games | Detroit Red Wings | April 22 to May 3, 2004 |
| Conference Semifinals | Tampa Bay Lightning | 4-0 in games | Montréal Canadiens | April 23 to April 29, 2004 |
| Conference Semifinals | San Jose Sharks | 4-2 in games | Colorado Avalanche | April 22 to May 4, 2004 |
| Conference Semifinals | Philadelphia Flyers | 4-2 in games | Toronto Maple Leafs | April 22 to May 4, 2004 |
| Conference Finals | Tampa Bay Lightning | 4-3 in games | Philadelphia Flyers | May 8 to May 22, 2004 |
| Conference Finals | Calgary Flames | 4-2 in games | San Jose Sharks | May 9 to May 19, 2004 |
| Stanley Cup Final | Tampa Bay Lightning | 4-3 in games | Calgary Flames | May 25 to June 7, 2004 |
The left column ranks this field by regular season record, not by seed number: seeding rules differ by era, so this site uses records everywhere instead. The right column groups clubs by the round they went out in, which is not the same as the number of rounds they won, because a bye carries a club further without it winning anything. The figure beside a name is places moved between the two columns, and part of it is only where a club sat inside its band. Nothing here is a prediction. The data notes carry the whole method.
The races that filled this bracket: Atlantic Northeast Southeast Central Northwest Pacific