The Colorado Avalanche were pegged as a young team that couldn't possibly keep up the pace they set at the beginning of the season, winning 15 of their first 20 games.

They went on to force a Game 7 with the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs and have raised their expectations this season, according to head coach Patrick Roy.

"We said we wanted to shock the hockey world last year and we did," he told The Denver Post. "But I think the way we're going to shock it this time is to win in the playoffs."

Forward Ryan O'Reilly isn't making any bold predictions, but knows the team has the ability to go further.

"The playoffs didn't go the way we wanted at all," he said. "So we've got to take that and learn from it to be successful the next time."