Colorado Avalanche: (22-19-1, 45 pts): The Avs were counted out by alot of people, myself included, after a relatively quiet offseason, in which they picked up some seemingly washed-up players. While Darcy Tucker has been a bit of a bust, his former teammate in Toronto has been one of the best backup goalies in the league, posting a 9-1 record in his first 10 starts with the club. 
The Avalanche suffered the loss of one of their top offensive threats near the Christmas break, when Joe Sakic seriously injured his hand in a snowblowing accident. However, some of the team’s veterans have tried to pick up the slack so far, as Ryan Smyth, Milan Hejduk and Paul Stastny are all currently tied for the team lead in points, with 31. Unfortunately, Stastny was injured in an overtime win against Phoenix, while blocking a shot. Until he returns, Colorado will have to find some way to boost the league’s 23rd ranked offense if they hope to stick around.
Defensively, the Avalanche have been less than stellar, as their defensive corps has been nothing short of mediocre all year. They have combined to score 15 goals, but 10 of them have come from two players John-Michael Liles and Jordan Leopold. Across the board, the defense has very non-descript stats, with most of them hovering right around even +/- ratings.
Goaltenders Peter Budaj and Andrew Raycroft have been hot and cold all year, with Raycroft finding the recent hot streak (6 straight wins). The Avs have survived so far by winning at the right times, but they will need to be more consistent if they want to make noise in the playoffs.
Current League Rankings:
Goals - 23rd Goals Against - T-17th Powerplay Goals - 21st Powerplay Percentage - 22nd Shorthanded Goals - T-21st Penalty kill percentage - 25th