October 31, 2026
October 31, 2026
2003-2004 Tampa Bay Lightning: Recharged and Renewed
Since they made their debut in the National Hockey League in 1992, the Tampa Bay Lightning were often regarded as an afterthought and one of the laughingstocks of the league. In the 1990s, the Lightning made only one playoff appearance, and there was skepticism about how loyal a hockey market the Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg area of Florida really was. In the early 2000s, however, the funniest thing happened to this organization: the Lightning actually became a great hockey team.
The 2003-2004 Tampa Bay Lightning went 46-22-8-6 with 106 points, finishing in first place in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The Lightning finished 28 points ahead of the Atlanta Thrashers for the division title. They went 24-10-4-3 on their home ice at the St. Petersburg Times Forum and 22-12-4-3 on the road.
In head-to-head play, the Lightning were very solid. They went a perfect 4-0 against the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. They also went 4-2 against the Washington Capitals, 3-0 against the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1-2 against the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-1 against the New York Rangers, 3-2-1 against the Florida Panthers, 3-3 against the Atlanta Thrashers, 2-1-1 against the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, and 2-2 against the Montreal Canadiens.
Though he wasn’t the captain of the team, right winger Martin St. Louis was the most exciting player on the ice for the Lightning. St. Louis dazzled hockey fans with his crafty play, recording 38 goals and 56 assists for 94 points with 8 power play goals, 22 power play assists, 8 short-handed goals and 7 game-winning goals on 212 shots.
Center Vincent Lecavalier had 32 goals and 34 assists for 66 points with 5 power play goals, 9 power play assists and 6 game-winning goals on 242 shots. Left winger Fredrik Modin had 29 goals and 28 assists for 57 points with 5 power play goals on 206 shots. Center Brad Richards had 26 goals and 53 assists for 79 points with 5 power play goals, 21 power play assists and 6 game-winning goals on 244 shots. Left winger Cory Stillman had 25 goals and 55 assists for 80 points with 11 power play goals, 15 power play assists and 6 game-winning goals on 178 shots.
Right winger Dave Andreychuk was the captain of the Lightning, and he had 21 goals and 18 assists with 10 power play goals, 6 power play assists and 5 game-winning goals on 165 shots. Left winger Ruslan Fedotenko had 17 goals and 22 assists on 116 shots. Defenseman Pavel Kubina had 17 goals and 18 assists with 8 power play goals and 4 game-winning goals on 153 shots. Defenseman Dan Boyle had 9 goals and 30 assists with 12 power play assists on 137 shots.
Tampa Bay had two reliable goaltenders it could call on at any time to shut down the opposition. Nikolai Khabibulin was the primary option, going 28-19-7 and allowing 127 goals on 1,414 shots in 3,274 minutes, with 1,287 saves, a .910 save percentage, a 2.33 goals-against average and 3 shutouts. John Grahame was the secondary option, going 18-9-1 and allowing 58 goals on 664 shots in 1,688 minutes, with 606 saves, a .913 save percentage, a 2.06 goals-against average and 1 shutout.
The Lightning put together multiple winning streaks during the regular season. The team got off to a great start with a 6-game winning streak that began with a 5-1 win over the Boston Bruins on October 10 and ended on October 25 with a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild. Later, the Lightning had another 6-game winning streak that began with a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on January 22 and ended on February 2 with a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Lightning then went on an 8-game winning streak that began with a 6-3 win over the Washington Capitals on February 23 and ended on March 6 with a 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers.
Recharged and renewed, the Lightning found the playoffs to be uncharted territory, but they went right through the competition. In the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Lightning faced the New York Islanders. In Game 1 on April 8 at the St. Petersburg Times Forum, the Lightning blanked the Islanders 3-0. The Islanders returned the favor in Game 2 by blanking the Lightning 3-0 on April 10. In Game 3 on April 12 at the Nassau Coliseum, the Lightning blanked the Islanders again 3-0, and another 3-0 shutout went Tampa Bay’s way in Game 4 on April 14.
In Game 5 on April 16 at the St. Petersburg Times Forum, the Lightning pulled off a 3-2 overtime victory to send the Islanders home. Left winger and center Oleg Kvasha and right winger Mark Parrish scored goals for New York, while Ruslan Fedotenko, center Tim Taylor and Martin St. Louis scored for Tampa Bay. St. Louis had the game-winning goal.
The Eastern Conference Semifinals saw the Lightning sweep the Montreal Canadiens four games to none. The Lightning blanked the Canadiens 4-0 in Game 1 on April 23 and then won Game 2 on April 25 by a score of 3-1. Game 3 on April 27 was another Tampa Bay win, as the Lightning beat the Canadiens 4-3 in overtime at the Bell Centre. Brad Richards had the game-winning goal. After beating Montreal 3-1 in Game 4 on April 29, the Lightning advanced to the next round.
The Philadelphia Flyers gave the Tampa Bay Lightning all they could handle in the Eastern Conference Finals, a far cry from what happened in the regular season. The Lightning won 3-1 in Game 1 on May 8 at the St. Petersburg Times Forum, but the Flyers won Game 2 on May 10 by a score of 6-2. In Game 3 on May 13 at the Wachovia Center, the Lightning won 4-1. The Flyers responded by winning Game 4 on May 15 by a score of 4-3.
Game 5 belonged to the Lightning, 4-2, on May 18 at the St. Petersburg Times Forum. Back at the Wachovia Center for Game 6 on May 20, the Flyers won 5-4 in overtime. Finally, in Game 7 on May 22 at the St. Petersburg Times Forum, the Lightning beat the Flyers 2-1 to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. Defenseman Kim Johnsson scored the only Flyers goal, while Fedotenko and Modin scored for the Lightning.
The 2004 Stanley Cup Finals was an exciting matchup pitting the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Western Conference champion Calgary Flames. The Flames stunned the Lightning in Game 1 with a 4-1 win on May 25 at the St. Petersburg Times Forum. St. Louis scored a goal, but Calgary emphatically responded with goals from left winger Chris Simon, center Stephane Yelle, left winger Martin Gelinas and right winger Jarome Iginla.
In Game 2 on May 27, the Lightning beat the Flames 4-1. Left winger Ville Nieminen scored the only Calgary goal, while Tampa Bay countered with goals from Fedotenko and Boyle. St. Louis and Richards each had one goal and one assist, with Richards scoring the game-winning goal. In Game 3 on May 29 at the Pengrowth Saddledome, the Flames blanked the Lightning 3-0. Iginla, Simon and right winger Shean Donovan all scored goals. In Game 4 on May 31, the Lightning blanked the Flames 1-0 as Richards came through with the game’s only goal.
In Game 5 on June 3 at the St. Petersburg Times Forum, the Flames won 3-2 in overtime. St. Louis and Modin scored goals for Tampa Bay, while Calgary got goals from Iginla, Gelinas and left winger Oleg Saprykin, who had the game-winning goal. In Game 6 on June 5 at the Pengrowth Saddledome, the Lightning won an amazing double-overtime contest by a score of 3-2. Calgary’s goals were scored by left winger Marcus Nilson and right winger Chris Clark. Richards had two goals and one assist for Tampa Bay, while St. Louis had an assist and the game-winning goal.
Finally, the last bolt struck in Game 7 on June 7 at the St. Petersburg Times Forum, as the Lightning beat the Flames 2-1 to claim the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Center Craig Conroy scored Calgary’s only goal, while Ruslan Fedotenko carried the load for Tampa Bay, scoring two critical goals.
Make no mistake about it: the 2003-2004 Tampa Bay Lightning were an exciting team to watch, and they caught the attention of sports fans in Florida. Fiery coach John Tortorella is credited for his guidance of this team, and he won the Jack Adams Award. Brad Richards won the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. Martin St. Louis won the Art Ross Trophy, the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Award. St. Louis also shared the NHL Plus/Minus Award with Marek Malik of the Vancouver Canucks.
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