Scrap the regular season. In the NHL playoffs, anything can happen. As recently as 2000, the eighth-seeded Sharks knocked off the top-seeded Blues in the first round. Granted, no eighth-seeded team has ever reached the Stanley Cup finals, but these two teams have something special going for them.

	Goaltender Jose Theodore has stood his ground all season, making him a Hart and Vezina Trophy candidate.

Montreal Canadiens
For the first time since Henri Richard retired in 1975, the Canadiens are healthy. OK, slight exaggeration, but the team that has lost more man-games to injury in the past five years than any other NHL club is finally working with a full roster. Saku Koivu, bouncing back from grueling cancer treatments, is by far their biggest returnee, and their biggest inspiration. You can't blame the Canadiens and their fans for believing anything is possible this year. That's why the talented Bruins are going to have their hands full with the driven Habs. Here's a half dozen good reasons why:

Reason No. 1: THE GOALIE
Every upset needs a hot goaltender, and no one knows it better than the Canadiens. After all, they've had Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy. Next up is Jose Theodore, who singlehandedly carried the wounded Habs into the playoffs. He leads all NHL goaltenders with a .931 save percentage, and ranks third in goals-against average (2.11) and second in shutouts (7). He's up for both the Hart and Vezina Trophies. Basically, the guy's been brilliant.

Reason No. 2: THE CAPTAIN
After beating cancer, do you think the playoffs are going to make Koivu bat an eyelash? Doubt it. He's ready, and his troops are ready for him. The seven-minute standing 'O' he received last Tuesday night tells you the fans are behind him, too, and you can bet the ghosts of the old Forum will be on hand, waving banners for No. 11.

Reason No. 3: THE FACEOFF GUY
In the playoffs, puck possession is critical, so faceoffs become even more important. Yanic Perreault is the only centerman whose faceoff percentage is consistently over 60 percent. Boston's Joe Thornton, New Jersey's Bobby Holik, Toronto's Mats Sundin, the Islanders' Alexei Yashin -- they're no problem for Perreault.

Reason No. 4: THE VET
Doug Gilmour, the 38-year-old center, came out of retirement to score 41 points and fill the leadership void left by Koivu's absence. He's also racked up 178 points in 170 career playoff games.

Reason No. 5: THE GOOD LUCK CHARM (Kind of)
In 1998, Joe Juneau made it to the Stanley Cup finals with the Capitals. In 1999, he was traded and made his second consecutive finals appearance with the Sabres. Nevermind that he lost both times. Teams Juneau plays with play well. He serves as an integral part on the power play and the penalty kill, and his tenacious defense often shuts down the top players on opposing teams.

Reason No. 6: CHEMISTRY
The Habs are deeper than they seem, especially now that they're healthy. Behind top scorers Perreault, Gilmour, Richard Zednik and Oleg Petrov, they have Andreas Dackell, Jan Bulis, and Donald Audette. Patrice Brisebois leads a shaky defensive corps, but team defense is a priority for the Habs. If they get a lead, watch out -- their forwards and defensemen work together to keep it. And if all else fails, there's still that guy between the pipes.

	Canucks winger Todd Bertuzzi, left, posted career highs in goals (36), assists (49) and points (85).

Vancouver Canucks
Playoff experience is scarce on the Vancouver Canucks. Seven players had their first taste of postseason hockey during last season's four-game sweep at the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, and three players have yet to appear in a playoff game. But the Canucks have a staggering 28-9-3-3 record since Christmas. They're on a roll, and playoff hockey is all about who's hot and who's not. Could they be the ones to burst Detroit's Stanley Cup bubble? Maybe. Here's why:

Reason No. 1: THE HORSE
Really, at 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, Todd Bertuzzi is a horse. He's big, he's strong, and he's carried the Canucks into the playoffs on his back. Bertuzzi is third in the league in scoring with 36 goals and 85 points, in spite of serving a 10-game suspension in October. Canucks coach Marc Crawford double- and triple-shifts Bertuzzi, playing him with Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund and also with Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

Reason No. 2: THE OFFENSE
At season's end, the Canucks topped even mighty Detroit in goals scored. Their top line of Bertuzzi, Naslund and Morrison is potent, and the rest of their lineup is deep and well-balanced. Ten players have over 30 points. So, even if goaltender Dan Cloutier doesn't stand on his head (and there's no reason to believe he won't -- he went 11-2-1 down the stretch with four one-goal wins and a shutout), he'll have plenty of support up front.

Reason No. 3: THE DEFENSE
The Canucks' defense is, in a word, underrated. Ed Jovanovski is a force to be reckoned with, and he's also tied for second in the NHL in goals (17) among defensemen. Mattias Ohlund, Brent Sopel and Scott Lachance are more talented than they're given credit for, especially Ohlund. They've also set a franchise record for fewest goals allowed in a season (211).

Reason No. 4: THE VET
Trevor Linden hasn't played this well since 1994, the last time the Canucks were in the Stanley Cup finals. So what if he had to spend a little time with the Isles, Habs and Caps to come full circle? Linden has 84 points in 85 playoff games (an average of .988 points per game, compared to his .730 regular-season average), and he's haunted by that Game 7 loss to the Rangers. For Linden, it's go time. Literally. On April 9, with the playoffs on the line, the usually polite Linden dropped his gloves for a dance with Avs tough guy Scott Parker.

Reason No. 5: YOUTH
In a first-round romp with Detroit, youth could create some trouble for experience. Vancouver's core of players is still young -- Naslund is 28, Bertuzzi is 27, Brendan Morrison is 26, Ohlund, Sopel and Cloutier are 25, the Sedin twins are 21. The Wings average age is over 30, and two of their best players (Chris Chelios and Igor Larionov) are in their 40s. Come on, everybody knows who's more likely to cramp up first.

Reason No. 6: THE NEVER FACTOR
The Vancouver Canucks joined the league for the 1970-71 season. They have never won a Stanley Cup, although they've been to the finals twice, suffering a seven-game defeat to the Rangers in 1994 and a four-game sweep at the hands of the Islanders in 1982. GM Brian Burke has put together a team that has a chance ... and they know it.

Lindsay Berra writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail her at lindsay.berra@espnmag.com.