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Forsberg, Avalanche to face surging Ducks

Mar 6, 2008 - 2:40 PM Anaheim (38-24-7) at Colorado (35-25-6) 9:00 pm EST

DENVER (Ticker) - The Colorado Avalanche welcomed back an old friend on Tuesday. Now they're hoping that friend can help lead them to the playoffs.

Peter Forsberg will make his second appearance since coming out of retirement when the Avalanche host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.

The 34-year-old Swede did not record a point in nearly 20 minutes of ice time on Tuesday, but felt good about his performance.

"It's been a long time since I've played," Forsberg said. "Of course you want to get a goal or an assist, but I'm just happy we won the game. That's all that matters right now. Hopefully, I can recover for the next game.

"I think I played the last game in the middle of April of last year, so it's been a while. I was just happy that I was out there and was part of the win."

Colorado coach Joel Quenneville had no problem throwing Forsberg right into the action.

"I think I probably played him more than I anticipated going into the game," Quenneville said. "A lot of that was the way the game was being played, and how he was playing dictated how much (ice time) he got. It was tough to keep him off the ice.

"I thought he handled key situations well. I asked him about the halfway mark how he was feeling, and he said he feels good. It was fun watching him play and I think he can enhance our overall team game in a lot of different ways."

Forsberg is returning to a Colorado (76 points) team that has won four games in a row to grab the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks (32-24-10, 74 points).

Anaheim has been on fire, going 11-2-0 in their last 13 games. The Ducks had a six-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday in a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Ducks managed just 19 shots in the loss and were shutout for the first time since February 2.

Teemu Selanne, who has been leading Anaheim's offense since his return on February 5, has gone two games without a point after scoring nine points in the previous five contests.

The Ducks have won all three meetings between the teams this season, with two going past regulation.