From the words of his postgame news conference, Minnesota Wild coach Jacques Lemaire appears to have given the Avalanche some early bulletin-board material for the teams’ playoff series.
On a variety of topics, Lemaire seemingly dismissed several aspects of the Avs’ game. On the subject of Peter Forsberg, Lemaire said:
“I’ve seen him play much better than this at his prime, but he still played well.”
On the Avalanche as a whole, specifically the defense: “If we’re really sharp in our end, we could get some 2-on-1s because they have their defensemen that want to move it. If it’s well covered, we could get breaks.”
And on his best player, Marian Gaborik, fighting for the first time in his career, against Colorado’s Ian Laperriere in overtime, Lemaire said: “He held his stick at the start and came and hit Gabby (earlier in the game). It’s OK. We’ll see if he does it again and on who.”
Peaking just right?
The Avs finished the season on a 5-0-1 streak and 13-5-1 overall in the last 19. They also went 9-1-0 in the last 10 at home.
Forsberg up to task?
The Avs will have to play Games 3 and 4 at home on back-to-back nights, next Monday and Tuesday. That could be an advantage to the younger Wild, and a disadvantage to Forsberg.
His physical condition is always a concern, and more rest between games would likely be beneficial. Asked if he thought he’d be up to playing back-to-back games, Forsberg said: “I don’t know how it’s going to be. It all depends on how I feel. Today, it was not a physical game, but definitely in the playoffs it’s going to be much tougher. I’m just hoping the body’s going to hold up.”
Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
