Kings Take It in Stride

The Colorado Avalanche played its wild card Tuesday, announcing that Peter Forsberg has been cleared to play after an 11-month layoff and will be in the lineup for Thursday night’s playoff opener against the Kings at Denver.

The news was greeted with excitement in Colorado, where the Avalanche is preparing to begin defense of its Stanley Cup championship and the addition of an All-Star forward couldn’t have come at a better time. The Avalanche set franchise records this season for fewest goals scored and number of times shut out.

“To have him come back at this time, especially right with the playoffs, it’s huge for us,” Avalanche captain Joe Sakic told Denver reporters. “You’re already excited to go into the playoffs and to have Pete come back just adds to it.”

Said teammate Alex Tanguay: “We found out when we walked in this morning. Nobody had a clue. It’s a big plus for this team, no doubt.”

The Kings, meanwhile, appeared not at all surprised by the news. They seemed to sense it coming, and their belief is that Forsberg will play well.

“I don’t know what they’re going to expect from him coming in after not playing all year,” said King defenseman Aaron Miller, who played five seasons with Forsberg in Denver, “but we’ll expect nothing less than his best game.”

Miller, though, added that the Kings were “excited to have the challenge” and that Forsberg’s return will “make the series that much better.”

Forsberg, 28, has not played since May 10, when he helped the Avalanche eliminate the Kings in Game 7 of a Western Conference semifinal playoff series. Hours after the game, he underwent an emergency splenectomy.

In September, after undergoing operations on both ankles, he stunned the Avalanche less than a week into training camp when he announced in Stockholm that he was taking a leave of absence.

Four months later, in early January, he arrived in Denver to rejoin the Avalanche and play for Sweden in the Olympics in Salt Lake City, but those plans were derailed when he needed surgery Jan. 10 to repair tendon damage in his left foot.

Doctors said it would be four months before he could return, but Forsberg, one of the NHL’s most dominant players, began skating last month.

Then came Tuesday’s announcement.

“Everything is great and I’m real excited to get back,” Forsberg told reporters after taking part in contact drills during an Avalanche practice in suburban Denver. “It’s been a long time. I’m going to be nervous out there, but I think it’s great....

“The team has been playing without me all year and now I get to come back for the fun part. I feel really comfortable and we have a great team and we have a great opportunity to go far in the playoffs.”

Usually a center, Forsberg will move to left wing on a line with center Chris Drury and right wing Steven Reinprecht. Last spring, centering that trio, Forsberg had two goals and six assists in the playoff series against the Kings.

“We have to wait and see [how he plays], but knowing what kind of a player Peter is, it would be a big mistake on our part to not pay attention to him,” said King defenseman Mattias Norstrom, a fellow Swede. “He is a world-class player and he’s done it over and over again, so you’ve got to be aware when he’s out there because if you let him go, he will hurt you. I think he’d do that if he’d played 80 games this year, or if he missed 10 months.”

Said King center Bryan Smolinski, asked if he believed Forsberg could be effective right away after such a long layoff: “Why not? He makes $10 million a year, and there’s a reason why he makes $10 million a year. It’s because he’s one of the top 10 forwards in the world. You can’t say enough about him.”

Avalanche Coach Bob Hartley was incredulous when he was asked whether Forsberg’s return might adversely affect team chemistry.

“I don’t know too many organizations that would pass on an opportunity to bring in a Peter Forsberg,” he said. “It’s great news at this time of the year to be able to add a world-class player. Finally, after all these days of waiting, Peter is 100% and ready to go.” He said he would play Forsberg “as much as he can tolerate it.”

Without Forsberg and retired defenseman Ray Bourque, the Avalanche emphasized defense this season in front of goaltender Patrick Roy and set a franchise record by giving up 169 goals, a league low.

But with high-scoring right wing Milan Hejduk also sitting out the season’s last 20 games after suffering an abdominal injury, they scored only 212 goals, 58 fewer than last season, and were shut out 10 times.

Forsberg is expected to help, but Hartley preached patience.

“We have to be fair with Peter,” the coach said. “He hasn’t played for a full year. We have to put him on the ice and see how he feels.

“I think his timing will be the biggest question mark, but from what I saw from the past week of workouts, I’ve been very impressed.”