The 2003–04 Chicago Blackhawks season was the 78th season of operation of the Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League. The Blackhawks missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Offseason Regular season General manager Mike Smith was fired on October 24, 2003. Bob Pulford replaced Smith on an interim basis until a replacement could be found. On December 11, 2003, Mark Bell scored just 15 seconds into the overtime period to give the Blackhawks a 4–3 home win over the Detroit Red Wings. The Sabres' Derek Roy would match that mark in the overtime period on March 17, 2004, in a 4–3 Buffalo road win over the Atlanta Thrashers. Both goals would prove to be the fastest overtime goals scored during the 2003–04 NHL regular season. In February, team captain Alexei Zhamnov was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. The team chose not to name a replacement for the rest of the season. Final standings Schedule and results |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |1||W||October 8, 2003||1–0 || align="left"| Minnesota Wild (2003–04) ||1–0–0–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |2||L||October 10, 2003||0–5 || align="left"| @ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04) ||1–1–0–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |3||L||October 12, 2003||2–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (2003–04) ||1–2–0–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |4||L||October 16, 2003||1–2 || align="left"| @ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04) ||1–3–0–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |5||L||October 18, 2003||2–7 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04) ||1–4–0–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |6||W||October 19, 2003||3–1 || align="left"| Nashville Predators (2003–04) ||2–4–0–0 || |- align="center" |7||T||October 23, 2003||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ San Jose Sharks (2003–04) ||2–4–1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |8||W||October 25, 2003||3–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04) ||3–4–1–0 || |- align="center" |9||T||October 26, 2003||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04) ||3–4–2–0 || |- align="center" |10||T||October 28, 2003||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04) ||3–4–3–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |11||L||October 30, 2003||0–1 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04) ||3–5–3–0 || |- |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |12||W||November 1, 2003||3–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (2003–04) ||4–5–3–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |13||W||November 2, 2003||3–1 || align="left"| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04) ||5–5–3–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |14||W||November 7, 2003||2–1 || align="left"| @ Nashville Predators (2003–04) ||6–5–3–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FF6F6F" |15||OTL||November 9, 2003||3–4 OT|| align="left"| Colorado Avalanche (2003–04) ||6–5–3–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |16||L||November 10, 2003||0–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04) ||6–6–3–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |17||L||November 12, 2003||2–6 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (2003–04) ||6–7–3–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FF6F6F"