Having squandered an opportunity for a lengthy playoff run, the Canucks face a heightened level of scrutiny. Todd Bertuzzi's contract negotiation drags into the regular season and becomes a tenuous issue internally. Vancouver and Colorado reestablish themselves as elite teams in the Western Conference, and each looks to gain the upper hand in three head-to-head matchups beginning in mid-February. Steve Moore's hit on Markus Naslund becomes a point of contention and eventually leads to an act of revenge that transcends both the rivalry and the sport itself. With Bertuzzi suspended for the rest of the season and beyond, the Canucks attempt to pull themselves together for their most important games of the campaign.