When the Colorado Avalanche signed Peter Forsberg and acquired Adam Foote, it appeared as if the Avalanche were trying to recapture their success from 2001. Both Forsberg and Foote have spent time on the sidelines with injuries since coming back to Colorado. If the Avalanche hopes to have success in the playoffs, they will need to rely more on than just Sakic, Stastny, and Hejduk.

Forsberg spent his first nine professional seasons with the Avalanche/Nordiques organization before signing with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2005. Forsberg was supposed to add an extra spark to the lineup like he did in 2001 when Colorado last won the Stanley Cup.

"It's a real good lineup," Forsberg said. "When everyone gets back, hopefully we can show we have a really good team and have a shot at going far."

But since making his season debut against Vancouver on March 4, he has missed a total of 13 games because of groin problems. When he signed that one-year contract on February 26, he was expected to be the vital part to Colorado’s success in the postseason. Forsberg has only appeared in seven games posting only nine assists.

The Avalanche went out at the deadline and acquired veteran defenseman Adam Foote from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Foote spent his first 13 seasons with the Avalanche before signing with Columbus in 2005.

"'Footer' is happy to be back in Denver and we're happy to have him," coach Joel Quenneville said. "He was a big part of the team in the past. We know we got a stabilizer defenseman that can play big minutes and match-up minutes.”

Foote, like Forsberg, has missed significant time since returning to Colorado because of injuries. He has missed seven games because of a hip injury. Only appearing in nine games since the trade, he has recorded only one assist. His stats aren’t spectacular, but Foote had a physical presence who logged a lot of minutes against teams’ top lines.

Forsberg and Foote have since returned from their injuries, but for how long will their aging bodies be able to handle the physical play in the playoffs?

For the Avalanche to make a deep run in the playoffs they will need to rely on Joe Sakic as always. He has missed a big portion of the season after having hernia surgery on December 28; he did return to the lineup on February 24.

His stats aren’t spectacular this season because of the injury, but with the hernia fixed and enough time left in the regular season to get rid of any rust, Sakic will be ready come playoff time. He’s called Super Joe for a reason, and that’s for his performance in the playoffs.

Colorado’s leading point producer isn’t someone you would think of with a lineup that features Sakic, Ryan Smyth, and Milan Hejduk; Paul Stastny has been a consistent point producer throughout the season. Stastny, the son of NHL Hall of Famer Peter Stastny, has produced 23 goals, 46 assists, and 69 points in 63 games.

Peter Budaj began the season as Colorado’s number one goalie, and shared that spot with Jose Theodore for most of the season. Theodore was promoted to the number one spot in late December and hasn’t relinquished it since. Theodore is the only one with playoff experience and that’s something the Avalanche will look to come mid-April.

"For me, I'm playing the way I've always been before in my career. When I got traded here (to Colorado), I didn't play the way I can, but for me it's just been a matter of working hard, working with (goalie coach Jeff Hackett) every day and doing it that way," Theodore said.

The Avalanche currently sit seventh in the Western Conference with a four point cushion over eighth place Nashville, ninth place Vancouver, and tenth place Edmonton. Both Nashville and Vancouver have played one fewer game than the Avalanche, while Edmonton has played one more than Colorado. With three games remaining, the Avalanche has an outside chance of catching Minnesota for the division lead; Minnesota has a three point lead.

For Colorado to make it past the first round of the playoffs they will need to rely on guys like Sakic, Forsberg, Hejduk, and Stastny. Jose Theodore will be the starter when the playoffs role around, and it all depends on which Theodore the Avalanche see in the playoffs could determine if they survive round one.