Hartley's third season was ultimately his most successful one. Motivated by Ray Bourque's desire to win a Stanley Cup championship, the Avalanche coasted through the league with a 52–16–10–4 record, a seventh consecutive division title along with the Presidents' Trophy. The playoffs began with a first round sweep of the eighth seed Vancouver Canucks before enduring a seven-game scare by the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Semi-Finals before taking down the St. Louis Blues in five games, setting up a Stanley Cup Finals matchup with the Eastern Conference's top seed, the New Jersey Devils. After falling behind three games to two in the series, the Avalanche rallied back to win the Stanley Cup, accomplishing Bourque's goal and making it the second-straight year the defending champions had lost in the finals, as the Devils themselves defeated the 1999 champion Dallas Stars the year prior.