Friend or Foe?

Childhood pals from the same Swedish town and the NHL's top MVP candidates, Colorado's Peter Forsberg and Vancouver's Markus Naslund may be on a collision course for the Stanley Cup. Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, is to hockey forwards what San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, is to shortstops. Six active NHL players, almost 1% of the league, were born in the dreary seaport (pop. 31,040) located halfway between Stockholm and the Arctic Circle. To gauge the impact that this small city has on the league, consider that if Greater Boston produced as many players per capita, the NHL would have 114 skaters dropping their r's when they speak. This is instructive as the playoffs begin because the destination of the Stanley Cup parade may be determined by which Ornskoldsvik-born star, center Peter Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche or left wing Markus Naslund of the Vancouver Canucks, is the most dominant. The wide-open road to the Cup still goes through Hockeytown, where the smart and balanced defending-champion Detroit Red Wings are the favorites to repeat, but the Wings will be challenged by several teams. Foremost among them are the Avalanche and the Canucks, clubs led by the NHL's two best players in 2003: 29-year-old franchise forwards who were born 10 days apart, grew up less than 10 miles from one another and have been friends since childhood. Forsberg led the league with 106 points, two more than Naslund, who finished second. Forsberg, who has never scored more than 30 goals, was a gaudy +52. Naslund, who has scored at least 40 goals in each of the past three seasons (he had 48 in '02-03), had an NHL-best 12 game-winning goals but was only+ 6. The 6'1", 205-pound Forsberg created chances with uncanny vision and an unrivaled strength on his skates; the 6-foot, 195-pound Naslund haunted goalies with his wicked wrist shot.