The Aves continue to rule the world

Colorado stole the show by stealing their ninth-straight division title in spectacular fashion. No team has ever won nine straight division titles.

Left for dead after a poor start resulted in the sacking of coach Bob Hartley, Colorado has been the hottest team in hockey down the stretch, going 32-11-4-4 under Granato.

That hot streak paid dividends when Colorado's 5-2 win against St Louis on Sunday was combined with Vancouver's stunning 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings just an hour later.

Those results gave the Avalanche the Northwest title and the resulting third seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Vancouver fell to fourth place and lost the division title after holding that place for the past four months.

We certainly have turned things around the second half of the season," goalie Patrick Roy said. "We got better and played a lot more consistent than we were at the beginning of the season. That's why we are where we are."

Not only did Colorado pass Vancouver, but a pair of Avalanche players passed Vancouver's Markus Naslund for the League's two scoring crowns.


Milan Hejduk was the only player to reach 50 goals this season, winning the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in the process.
Peter Forsberg had three points Sunday to finish with 106 points and win the Art Ross Trophy as the League's top scorer. Milan Hejduk continued his torrid second half with another goal to finish with 50 and win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. Naslund, meanwhile finished with 48 goals and 104 points, the totals that had him leading the League at Sunday's onset.