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We want you Forsberg's return would make for storybook Game 7
DENVER -- This is what Peter Forsberg says when you ask him if he's going to play in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals: "No, no chance. The doctors told me not to play. It doesn't feel good enough for me to play." No? All of North America is waiting to stand up and hail you, Peter, and you say, No? Sorry big guy, I'm not going to take no for an answer. This series needs you, hockey fans need you, the woman sleeping in the press box next to me in Game 6 needs you. OK, OK, so you had your spleen cut out on May 6. Dude, that was almost five weeks ago. For Pete's sake, man, the balance of power in the U.S. Government shifts in less time. I know, it's the wound as much as anything. That incision could split open, which would really make a mess of things. Ouch, baby. No one wants to see blood on the ice in a hockey game.
We're coming up on Game 7, which is exciting and all. But even if it is the fourth Game 7 in 31 years, this final series is still getting old. We're tired, Peter, every raccoon-eyed, hoarse-voiced one of us. We've been hearing about Ray Bourque and his quest for the Cup for 14 months now. Even Ray's getting weary of it. We're fed up with the 16W allusions already. Eye-yi-yigh. We've been sitting through too many lopsided games in this series. I mean 5-0 Avs? 4-1 Devils? 4-0 Avs? We need some drama, Peter and you're the man to give it to us. I've seen you Peter, moving like an ethereal, spiritual presence through the Avalanche locker room. You've been skating some and I gotta tell you, Peter, you look pretty good to me. You've got some playoff scruff going, and some sweat on your collar. All you're missing is a pair of skates and No. 21 sweater on your back. Yes, it's your health here, and no one wants to mess with that. Lord knows you need to be ready for training camp (which, by the way, is way more important than Game 7). So here's the deal, you don't have to strain yourself that hard. Your teammate Chris Dingman played 2:39 over the first two periods of Game 6. You could do that, man. A few measly minutes. It'd be worth it. The Devils go into Game 7 seething and with their formidable road-ice advantage. Your presence in warmups alone would be enough to jack your team straight to Inspiration Point. And not just them. Think of the lift you'd give the Colorado crowd, the TV audience, Swedish salmon vendors, little boys and girls in the Northwest Territories. You could out-comeback Mario, Peter. This could be your year! Even you want this, Peter. "It's really hard to be watching," you told the TV guys between periods in Game 6. "You get so nervous. You just want to go out there and play. We want you back, man. We want the chills to run through us and we want to shake our heads in wonder at the magnificence of you skating around out there, the season and your sore, cut belly on the line. We want a memory to last us a lifetime. We don't just want Willis Reed in 1973. We want Jesus moving the rock. We want Lazarus. We want a miracle, Peter. We want you.
Sports Illustrated staff writer Kostya Kennedy covers the NHL and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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