The 16th-seeded ’02-’03 Dallas Stars

• Jason Arnott  (C)
  • 10 GP   1 G   0 A   1 P   -3   19 S   0 GWG   0 PIM   0 Stars
• Philippe Boucher (D)
  • 10 GP   2 G   4 A   6 P   +7*   18 S   0 GWG   10 PIM   3 Stars
• Rob DiMaio (RW)
  • 10 GP   1 G   0 A   1 P   +3   11 S   0 GWG   2 PIM   0 Stars
• Bill Guerin (RW)
  • 10 GP   1 G   2 A   3 P   -3   27 S   0 GWG   2 PIM   0 Stars
• Derian Hatcher (D)
  • 10 GP   0 G   4 A   4 P   -3   17 S   0 GWG   8 PIM   1 Stars
• Niko Kapanen (C)
  • 10 GP   0 G   2 A   2 P   -5   11 S   0 GWG   0 PIM   0 Stars
• Jere Lehtinen (RW)
  • 10 GP   6* G   4 A   10 P   +1   36* S   0 GWG   0 PIM   3 Stars
• Manny Malhotra (LW)
  • 10 GP   0 G   0 A   0 P   -5   10 S   0 GWG   0 PIM   0 Stars
• Richard Matvichuk (D)
  • 10 GP   0 G   0 A   0 P   -7   5 S   0 GWG   6 PIM   0 Stars
• Mike Modano (C)
  • 10 GP   5 G   2 A   7 P   +2   23 S   0 GWG   2 PIM   3 Stars
• Brenden Morrow (LW)
  • 10 GP   3 G   10* A   13* P   +6   32 S   1 GWG   24* PIM   3 Stars
• Scott Pellerin (LW)
  • 10 GP   0 G   0 A   0 P   -4   3 S   0 GWG   0 PIM   0 Stars
• Stephane Robidas (D)
  • 10 GP   0 G   0 A   0 P   -7   8 S   0 GWG   4 PIM   0 Stars
• Darryl Sydor (D)
  • 10 GP   4 G   4 A   8 P   +7*   27 S   1 GWG   2 PIM   4 Stars
• Marty Turco (G)
  • 10 GP   10 GS   4-6-0   3.10 GAA   .884 SV%   0 SO   3 Stars
• Pierre Turgeon (C)
  • 10 GP   0 G   4 A   4 P   +3   7 S   0 GWG   2 PIM   0 Stars
• Scott Young (RW)
  • 10 GP   3 G   0 A   3 P   -6   36* S   2* GWG   2 PIM   0 Stars
• Sergei Zubov (D)
  • 10 GP   1 G  5 A   6 P   -3   16 S   0 GWG   0 PIM   5* Stars

* – Team Best

Team Stats:

• Record: 4-6-0
• Goals Scored: 27
• Goals/Game: 2.70
• Goals Allowed: 33
• Goals Allowed/Game: 3.30
• Shots: 306
• Shots Allowed: 268
• Shots/Game: 30.6
• Shots Allowed/Game: 26.8 – 2nd-best in tournament
• # of PP’s: 17
• PPG’s: 1
• PP%: 5.9% – 2nd-worst among teams that won at least one series
• TSH: 18
• PPGA: 3
• PK%: 83.3%
• Penalties in minutes: 50

The ’02-’03 Dallas Stars have now represented the former Minnesota franchise in both of the Ultimate NHL Playoffs. After there was a slight change in the seeding, this year the Stars had a First Round Bye. However, the end result was not different than their run in the inaugural UNP, but they did upset one of the favorites.

First Round:

Bye

Second Round:

Defeated 17th-seeded ’88-’89 Calgary Flames, who were the runners un in the inaugural UNP, in six games

Third Round:

Swept by top-seeded and eventual champions, the ’78-’79 Montreal Canadiens

The ’02-’03 Dallas Stars were coached by current Arizona Coyotes head coach, Dave Tippett. Tippett led the Stars to a 46-17-15-4 record in the regular season, which was good for 111 points and 1st in the Pacific Division. This Stars team was ranked 6th in the league in goals for (245) and 3rd in the league in goals against (169). Hockey Reference ranked Dallas’ strength of schedule as 15th in the league and their SRS rating system had Dallas as the best team in the league that year. That 0.94 SRS is also the best for a season in Stars history. After their great regular season, the Stars earned the top seed in the Western Conference during the playoffs. In the Conference Quarterfinals, they defeated the Edmonton Oilers in six games. Then, in the Conference Semifinals, they, unfortunately for them, ran into a team of destiny in the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. In a series that featured some very long overtimes, the Stars fell to the Mighty Ducks in six games.

Longtime Dallas Stars captain Mike Modano was the lone standout on offense for the ’02-’03 Stars. He led the Stars in points, by far, with 85 points in 79 games. Defenseman Sergei Zubov was second on the team in points with 55 and Bill Guerin was third with 50. Another longtime Dallas Star, Jere Lehtinen, led the team in goals with 31. Modano was second with 28 and Guerin was third with 25. Modano also led the Stars in assists with 57 and Zubov was second with 44. Fellow defenseman Darryl Sydor was third on the team in assists with 31. Brenden Morrow, surprisingly, posted the most penalties in minutes for Dallas at 134 with Bill Guerin in second at 113. The Stars had some great goaltending from longtime netminder Marty Turco. He posted a 1.72 goals against average and a .932 save percentage with seven shutouts. There were three players for Dallas that posted Point Shares of over 10. Turco posted the highest at 11.9 with Zubov at second with 11 and Modano at third at 10.7. Despite not winning the ultimate prize, the Stars did win some individual silverware. Lehtinen was awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy and Turco was given the Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award, for the league’s best save percentage.

Up next are the 15th-seeded ’00-’01 Colorado Avalanche!