The Colorado Avalanche won the 2002-03 NHL Northwest division race on 105 points, 1 point ahead of the Vancouver Canucks. It came down to the final days: the Colorado Avalanche did not lead for good until April 6, 2003.
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Northwest standings, 2002-03
Team
W
L
T
OT
PTS
L10
Streak
Colorado Avalanche (COL)
42
19
13
8
105
7-1-1-1
W2
Vancouver Canucks (VAN)
45
23
13
1
104
5-4-1-0
L1
Minnesota Wild (MIN)
42
29
10
1
95
6-4-0-0
W1
Edmonton Oilers (EDM)
36
26
11
9
92
5-1-3-1
L1
Calgary Flames (CGY)
29
36
13
4
75
5-3-2-0
W2
Final standings.
Turning points
The lead changed hands 12 times.
The Colorado Avalanche trailed by as many as 13 points on January 19, 2003.
The Colorado Avalanche took first place for good on April 6, 2003.
The Vancouver Canucks won 10 games in a row from November 9, 2002 to November 30, 2002, the longest run of the race.
The Vancouver Canucks led by 8 points as late as February 26, 2003.
The Colorado Avalanche went 10-0-2-1 from January 19, 2003 to February 17, 2003, turning a deficit of 13 points into a deficit of 4 points.
The top two ended the day within two points of each other on 41 of the 154 days played.
Three teams held first place.
The Colorado Avalanche spent 2 of the season's 180 charted days in first place.