Ranked 8th in the West Record: 36-28-11-7 90 points 239 GF 238 GA

For the Vancouver Canucks 2000-01 was the tale of two seasons. After a strong first half which saw them comfortably entrenched among the Western Conference's elite, the Canucks stumbled down the stretch, winning only two of their final 17 games and failing to clinch playoff spot until the season's 81st game. The late season swoon can, in part, be attributed to the injury bug.

In the middle of the playoff drive, captain and leading scorer Markus Naslund suffered a broken leg. Days after losing Naslund for the season, top centre Andrew Cassels sprained an ankle. His status for the playoffs is still uncertain.

Aside from injury, Vancouver's biggest problem came between the pipes. Bob Essensa, slated to be the Canucks' backup when the season opened, has assumed the mantle of No. 1 goalie with his solid, but unspectacular play. Dan Cloutier, acquired in a mid-season deal with Tampa Bay is a playoff rookie and likely will see little action.

On the positive side of the ledger, defenceman Ed Jovanovski appears to be finally living up to his lofty potential, playing his best hockey since helping the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup finals in 1996.

Ranked 1st in the West Record: 52-16-10-4 118 points 270 GF 192 GA

Blessed with a plethora of skilled forwards; a Hall-of-Fame calibre blueline corps; and the NHL's winningest goalie; the Colorado Avalanche enjoyed their best campaign in franchise history and are odds-on-favourites to win the Stanley Cup.

Led by Hart Trophy candidate Joe Sakic, the Avs skated to a 52-16-10-4 record and compiled a league-high 118 points. But Sakic, who narrowly lost the NHL's scoring race to Jaromir Jagr, isn't the Avs' only offensive weapon.

The Avalanche scored 270 goals this season, the most in the Western Conference and the fourth-highest total in the league. Young guns Milan Hejduk and Alex Tanguay combined for more than 150 points on the season. Super Swede Peter Forsberg, still one of the best two-way talents in the league, anchors a second line that includes sparkplug Chris Drury.

The Avs are just as good on defence. In March, the Avs added Norris Trophy winner Rob Blake to an already deep defensive crew that includes Ray Bourque and Adam Foote. Like Sakic, goaltender Patrick Roy also enjoyed a career season.

Not only did Roy set the all-time mark for wins by a goaltender in a career earlier this year, but reached the 40-victory mark for the first time in his illustrious career. Roy's 2.20 GAA and .913 saves percentage were also career bests.