The 2003–04 Carolina Hurricanes season was the franchise's 25th season in the National Hockey League and seventh as the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year. Offseason Regular season On December 15, 2003, head coach Paul Maurice was fired after an 8–12–8–2 start to the season and replaced by former New York Islanders head coach Peter Laviolette. The Hurricanes season finale against the Florida Panthers on April 4, 2004, was the final tie in NHL history. The Hurricane player who scored the final game-tying goal to make it 6–6 was defenseman Brad Fast, who was playing in his first and what proved to be his only NHL game. Fast is one of only five NHL one-gamers to score a goal in their lone NHL appearance. Ties were eliminated after the 2004–05 NHL lockout when the shootout was adopted. The Hurricanes finished 30th overall in the NHL in scoring for the second consecutive season, with just 172 goals for. They also struggled on the power-play, finishing 30th overall in power-play goals scored, with 41, and 30th overall in power-play percentage, at 10.68% (41 for 384). Final standings Schedule and results |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |1||L||October 9, 2003||1–3 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (2003–04) ||0–1–0–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |2||L||October 11, 2003||1–2 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (2003–04) ||0–2–0–0 || |- align="center" |3||T||October 13, 2003||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Florida Panthers (2003–04) ||0–2–1–0 || |- align="center" |4||T||October 18, 2003||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ New York Rangers (2003–04) ||0–2–2–0 || |- align="center" |5||T||October 22, 2003||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) ||0–2–3–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |6||W||October 23, 2003||2–0 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (2003–04) ||1–2–3–0 || |- align="center" |7||T||October 25, 2003||4–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) ||1–2–4–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |8||W||October 28, 2003||3–0 || align="left"| San Jose Sharks (2003–04) ||2–2–4–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |9||L||October 30, 2003||1–4 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (2003–04) ||2–3–4–0 || |- |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |10||L||November 1, 2003||3–4 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04) ||2–4–4–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |11||L||November 2, 2003||1–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04) ||2–5–4–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |12||W||November 6, 2003||6–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (2003–04) ||3–5–4–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |13||W||November 8, 2003||3–2 OT|| align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (2003–04) ||4–5–4–0 || |- align="center" |14||T||November 9, 2003||1–1 OT|| align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04) ||4–5–5–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |15||L||November 12, 2003||1–7 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (2003–04) ||4–6–5–0