Avalanche's Forsberg scratched from Game 1 vs. Red Wings

4/24/2008 10:29 PM

DETROIT (AP) -The Colorado Avalanche were without center Peter Forsberg in their 4-3 loss Thursday night to the Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Colorado scratched Forsberg from the lineup because of a groin injury.

The Avs didn't know he would be out until 2 1/2 hours before the game.

``He pulled his groin in the morning skate,'' Colorado coach Joel Quenneville said. ``We were hoping he would be able to go, but he wasn't about to go through the pregame warmups.''

Forsberg had five points - trailing only teammate Joe Sakic in scoring - against the third-seeded Minnesota Wild in the first round.

The Avs brought the star back by re-signing him on Feb. 25, and he had 14 points in nine games as they rallied for a spot in the playoffs. The former Hart Trophy winner has 171 points in 150 playoff games and helped Colorado win the Stanley Cup in 1996 and 2001.

``Obviously, you miss Peter's talent because he attracts a lot of attention from the opposition,'' Quenneville said. ``But we're used to him being in and out of the lineup.''

The Avs had forward Wojtek Wolski on the ice for less than 4 minutes before he left the game with an upper-body injury. Quenneville is hopefully Wolski will play in Game 2 Saturday afternoon.