Between 1996 and 2002, two of the world’s best players just so happened to be Swedish, and they also happened to play on the NHL’s two biggest rivals.
Peter Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche and Nicklas Lidstrom with the Detroit Red Wings. During those years, they played each other five times in the playoffs, and it was more common than not that the game got out of control.
The two teams absolutely hated each other, and although Forsberg and Lidstrom came from the same country, they weren’t exactly best friends. The rivalry made them enemies, and emotions always ran high when they met.
But it wasn’t just fights, chirps, and insanity during the rivalry matchups. It was two teams loaded with stars, and the entertainment was amazing.
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One of the most memorable goals during those years, especially for the Colorado Avalanche, came from Peter Forsberg, and perhaps it was even more memorable for him because of how he humiliated Nicklas Lidstrom on the way.
Lidstrom was known as The Perfect Human during his years in the NHL. He won seven Norris Trophies and extremely rarely had a bad game. But during one of those games, Forsberg deked Lidstrom in the most awesome way, and of course, he scored on the move as well.
It’s one of those rare moments that Nicklas Lidstrom didn’t stand a chance, and it just proves what a beast Forsberg was in his prime days.
If we’re talking about the Forsberg-Lidstrom battle, the Detroit Swede won in the long run, with three Stanley Cups to Forsberg’s two. But this goal will always be regarded as one of Forsberg’s very best.
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