Even if the Canucks don't qualify for the postseason, they've proven that the future isn't nearly as dim as it appeared two months ago.

The team wasn't winning. The playoffs were a pipe dream, and the hottest conversation topics concerned where Mark Messier would get traded and when the first-round pick Sedin brothers would show up from Sweden.

Now, it's all changed. The team is highly competitive and still has a decent chance at a playoff berth. Messier stayed. Fresh blood has been added with the acquisition of Brendan Morrison and Denis Pederson, who arrived when the Canucks shipped Alexander Mogilny to New Jersey.

And most importantly, goalie Felix Potvin has regained his old form.

	Potvin has helped the Canucks claw back into the playoff race.

Potvin came to Vancouver via a trade with the Islanders that included young goalie Kevin Weekes. It was supposed to be a fresh start for "The Cat" and give the Canucks a solid veteran as an upgrade in net for an aspiring team.

Instead, his arrival was somewhat of a nightmare. Weekes played so well in New York that the Islanders shipped prized prospect Roberto Luongo to the minors. Meanwhile, Potvin showed no signs of reversing the downward spiral of a once-promising career.

The month of January was a low point for Potvin. In seven starts, he went 0-4-3. Even worse were his vital goalie stats: 3.13 GAA and an .883 save percentage. In today's goal-stingy era, those are horrible numbers. These days, a .900 save percentage is the standard all goalies worth their two-pad slides must adhere to as adequate.

But since then, Potvin has turned it around. Since Feb. 1, Potvin is 8-4-3 and has lowered his Vancouver stats to a 2.59 GAA and .909 save percentage. Those aren't eye-popping but when compared to 3.21 and .892 this season with the Islanders, he's come a long way.

Even more encouraging is that he has shown the ability to single-handedly steal a game. Good teams need this to happen at various points in a season -- to have the goalie lift the team when it needs a boost. When Potvin made 36 saves in a 3-2 win in Colorado on Monday night, he proved a lot to his teammates.

Flying, tired Ducks
This time of year tends to be tougher on the West Coast teams because the year-long burden of travel finally catches up to the players.

Case in point was Anaheim having to play back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday. The Ducks beat the Kings in L.A. and then had to jump a plane to play the Oilers the very next night.

The team didn't reach the hotel in Edmonton until about 4:30 ET and then went out and lost to the Oilers, 2-1.

"We're in the race, and we've got some big games coming up. Our team wasn't quite as sharp as we were last (Tuesday) night," Anaheim coach Craig Hartsburg said.