Wearing a dark suit jacket and dress shirt selected from the Regis collection, Ray Bourque walked toward a circle of family and friends in the makeshift media center on the event level of the Pepsi Center.

He had just finished addressing a critical press group after an ugly 4-1 Game 5 loss in Denver on Monday night that left the Avalanche on the brink of elimination.

The waiting group -- his wife, Christiane, his children, Melissa, Christopher and Ryan, and two or three old friends from his native Quebec -- didn't seem to know what to say as the husband, the father, the friend, walked toward them.

After all, what do you say to someone you love when you see his dream slipping away, maybe for the last time?

After an awkward moment, Christiane reached out and embraced her husband. Together, they've been down this road before. Then, Ray and Christiane's three children smiled a 'you'll get 'em next time' smile at their dad. Through his prickly salt-and-pepper goatee, he smiled back. Finally, the old friends spoke a few words in French and patted their pal on the back.

After a moment, the group headed toward the door, together.

On Thursday night, Bourque and the Avs will try to keep their Mission 16W dream alive. They'll try to regain the momentum that seemed to slip away in the third period of Game 4, when they blew a one-goal lead and a chance to take a 3-1 series lead. They'll try to force a Game 7, back in Colorado on Saturday night.

Based on what happened on Monday, the Avs aren't looking at an easy task. The defending champs looked too big, too strong, too talented and way too smart in Game 5.

Either way, win or lose, Bourque will still get a hug from his wife, a smile from his kids and slap on the back from his friends. It seems to me, that makes him a big winner -- Stanley Cup or not.

E.J. Hradek covers hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.