Once again, the Northwest Division race is a volatile one with teams frequently swapping first place.

Hey, it’s the division’s history. Last season, the Vancouver Canucks claimed the Northwest crown by a single point over the Minnesota Wild. The Colorado Avalanche did the same to the Canucks in 2002-03, and the Canucks returned the favor the following season.

The Calgary Flames won the division title with an eight-point cushion in 2005-06. Otherwise, it’s usually a division race with more than two contenders who flirt with first place deep into the season’s final days.

Maybe history helps explain the last 10 days. Calgary, Minnesota and Vancouver were tied atop the division on Jan. 13, with all five Northwest clubs scheduled to play on that Sunday. Since then, four of the five teams have held at least a share of first place, with only the last-place Edmonton Oilers unable to move up the standings.

First place should be up for grabs all season. Here is the points standings heading into Wednesday night’s action.

Northwest Division, 2007-08

Team. . . . . . . . Team Points
Calgary. . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Minnesota. . . . . . . . . . 57
Colorado. . . . . . . . . . . 56
Vancouver. . . . . . . . . . 55
Edmonton. . . . . . . . . . 49

Four times in the last seven days, one of the contenders has taken over sole possession of first place. The top spot has changed hands each of the last two nights.

On Monday, Minnesota jumped over both Calgary and Colorado into first place, with a 4-2 victory in Vancouver, in the opener of a three-game road trip for the Wild. Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored two goals and assisted on the other two, and Niklas Backstrom outshined Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo with 38 saves.

Next up for Minnesota were stops in Calgary and Denver. On Tuesday, it was the Flames hosting the Wild, and Calgary claimed a 2-1 win to secure sole possession of first place for the second time in five days. Josh Harding kept the heavily outshot Wild in the game with 35 stops, though veteran center Craig Conroy put the game-winner past him midway through the final period.

The Wild will visit the Avalanche Thursday, and they could take over first again by beating the Avs on their home ice. Then the Northwest clubs get a brief break from one another. When they begin pairing up again in mid-February, you can be sure first place will still be on the line.