 The injury was a huge upset for the team—former NHL goaltender Darren Pang considered it "devastating... to the Colorado Avalanche".The team would overcome Forsberg's injury; in the Western Conference Finals, Colorado defeated the St. Louis Blues 4–1 and progressed to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they faced the defending champion New Jersey Devils.The Avalanche came back from a 3–2 series deficit and won the series 4–3, marking the second year in a row that defending champions lost in the Finals, as the Devils themselves defeated the Dallas Stars in 2000.