ATLANTA — Vancouver forwards Henrik and Daniel Sedin and Canucks captain Markus Naslund all are from Ornskoldsvik, Peter Forsberg’s hometown in Sweden.
Henrik, the playmaker half of the twins who will play for the Western Conference in today’s All-Star Game at Philips Arena, on Saturday said he and the rest of the Ornskoldsvik delegation is closely monitoring the Forsberg saga of “will he or won’t he come back.”
“We read stuff every day in the Swedish papers,” said Henrik, who made the all-star roster for the first time. “It’s tough to know. He’s trying to come back, but who knows?” Is Henrik rooting for a Forsberg return?
“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “He’s one of the best players of all time. It would be fun to see him back here.”
No Avs. The Avalanche is one of only two NHL teams without a representative in the All-Star Game. The requirement only is that each team is represented in the selected rosters, and injury replacements don’t have to come from the same team.
With Joe Sakic (hernia surgery) and Ryan Smyth (broken ankle) out and original selection Paul Stastny knocked out of the lineup recently with an appendectomy, no other Colorado players were added.
After New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur pulled out of the game, citing family reasons, and was replaced on the Eastern roster by Boston’s Tim Thomas, that also left the Devils without an All-Star Game representative.
Bettman speaks. At his Saturday availability, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman:
SuperSkills. Alex Ovechkin won the breakaway challenge in the NHL’s SuperSkills competition Saturday night, leading the Eastern Conference to a 9-6 victory over the West in the preview to the All-Star Game.
Ovechkin’s artistry was rewarded by a panel of judges who rewarded creativity more than scoring shots.
The Eastern Conference, sparked by a YoungStars victory, won the last four events in the overall competition.
Terry Frei, The Denver Post
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
