Northwest Division Preview

Avalanche again appear to be the class of a tough division

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche boasts the best top two lines and top four defensemen in the NHL. Their potential third line of Andrei Nikolishin between Bates Battaglia and Dan Hinote is also quite a nice fit. Heck, let's face it, the only real question mark is in goal, where 25-year-old understudy David Aebischer assumes center stage.

Now, this front-loaded look of the Avs should work out just fine. Yet, even with Patrick Roy guarding the goal last season, Colorado had a couple of telling traits. First, it was a mere one-game above .500 against teams with a winning record -- something that possibly foreshadowed the potential for a first-round exit. Second, the Avalanche finished only 21st in penalty killing last season. That one area is where Aebischer needs to make critical saves. His success as a starter may directly correlate to his big-save capability when the Avs are down a man.

After all, Colorado certainly figures to be the aggressor at even strength and on the power play. In most situations, all the Avs are asking from Aebischer is to not lose the game -- keep the chintzy and untimely goals to a minimum and let the potent attack take care of the rest. In a league dominated by the goaltending position, the Avs are looking to buck the decade-old trend of depending on the netminder to be the difference maker.

Here's hoping it all goes well.

Vancouver Canucks

As the Canucks try to supplant the Avalanche as the powerhouse in the Northwest, they're looking for another goaltender to make all the difference in the world. By adding Johan Hedberg to their ranks, the Canucks appreciably improved their goaltending stock. Along with incumbent Dan Cloutier, the Canucks have two qualified No. 1s.

All of which leads to an interesting dimension within this budding rivalry. The current Canucks' persona is aggressive forechecking and a potent attack, as they finished with the second-most goals scored in the NHL last season. We just described the offensive bent of this year's Avalanche squad and their unproven goaltending situation with the retirement of Roy. Wouldn't it be a fateful twist if the Canucks finally catch the Avs in the standings -- after coming so close last season -- not because of a maturing attack, but rather because they addressed the need to upgrade the goaltending position via trade, the very area the Avs chose to address by using in-house youngsters Aebischer and Phil Sauve.

Even with Hedberg in the fold, it won't be necessarily easy to improve upon last season's numbers Cloutier and the Canucks were 10th in the NHL in goals against -- a decent ranking given their up-ice aggressiveness -- and the second-best road team in the league. Over the last three seasons, that is where the Canucks have made the biggest gains -- points earned on the road and defensive proficiency. With those gains, the Canucks overall NHL ranking has risen from 15th to 13th to 7th.

Yet, when it comes to further improvement, and catching the Avalanche, the focus is on the tandem in goal, mostly, though, come playoff time.

Minnesota Wild

And maybe the Wild goaltending model was what Canucks general manager Brian Burke had in mind when he acquired Hedberg. Fresh in his mind was the stunning turn of events in round two of the playoffs when the Wild changed between goaltenders Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson. Minnesota's ability to platoon turned the tide of the series, but not as much as the fact that the Canucks were forced to continue to go with Cloutier, even as he struggled mightily.

The duo of Fernandez and Roloson posted the fourth-best goals-against average in the NHL last season, ably aided by the defensive diligence of their Wild mates. Their fine play made a little bit of offense go a very long way -- all the way to the Western Conference finals. A repeat performance is mandatory for the Wild this season, as the team might struggle to score even at last year's level, when they ranked 24th offensively. Until Marian Gaborik signs, the Wild don't have a single dangerous scoring threat.

So, as it stands, the Wild will have to make do at the start of the season at least without their top three point producers of a season ago with Pascal Dupuis still unsigned and Cliff Ronning remaining a free agent. And it was a season ago that the Wild started their magical season with a fast start. The team won a lot of games in the great environs of the Xcel Energy Center and not surprisingly, they played many close games in Minny. What defined their season was they won their fair share, with the third-best overtime record in the league.

With everything being equal and assuming Jacques Lemaire's bunch will continue to skate and frustrate, who do they have to score those big goals this season?

Edmonton Oilers

Last season, the Oilers proved to be a good team -- solid enough in several areas that they made the playoffs. Over the past three seasons, in fact, the Oilers have amassed 93, 92 and 92 points, an amazingly consistent output. But with the advent of overtime losses inflating point totals, those numbers are decidedly middle-of-the-pack, ranking the Oilers 12th, 15th and 14th in those seasons.

And overtime was a defining trait for the Oilers last season. They played more OT games than anyone, going 7-9-11. So which gives the truer picture: a team 10 games above .500 at 36-26-11-9, or a team ostensibly 36-35-11 with OTL's counted as losses? Last season, the answer was more on the average side, especially when you looked at the goals against. They surrendered a whopping 48 goals more than the previous season, slipping from second in goals against all the way to 19th.

What does that have to do with this season? Well, consider that the Oilers made the playoffs, yes, but the 230 goals they surrendered were the most of any of the playoff teams. Then factor in that Mike Comrie, the Oilers' most dynamic offensive player, remains at odds with management concerning his compensation. Add that together and average might look good by the time the season is done. And the playoffs? Most likely more of a struggle than usual.

Calgary Flames

Ditto above for the Oilers' Alberta brethren, the Calgary Flames. Except they're not quite as good as Edmonton. The Flames' consistency is similar over a three-year period, but at a strata or two below (73, 79 and 75 points). Likewise, their NHL ranking over that period is almost static, except they are stuck in the lower third of the league at 20th, 22nd and 22nd. The Flames actually gave up two fewer goals than the Oilers, but unfortunately for them, they scored over a half a goal a game less.

And that is the challenge again for this edition of the Flames -- finding the offense. Jarome Iginla is a bona fide threat on the attack, but they have little else. Look at their woeful power-play numbers for proof -- just 12.1 percent a year ago and a 29th efficiency ranking. The inability to score very much hurt in all situations, but none more so than on home ice. The Flames finished four games under .500 at home, an area head coach and general manager Darryl Sutter has to turn around.

Any chance of that happening means a better performance in goal. Roman Turek continued to display his penchant for untimely softies -- just the kind of occurrences that deflate a team that needs to stretch its production to the max. If ever a team needed an upgrade in goal to improve its stock, it's the boys from Calgary. It would at least put them in the middle of the pack along with the other team from Alberta.

Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for SI.com.