Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog will make his return to the lineup for Game 3 against the Dallas Stars. Landeskog has not played since the Avalanche won the 2022 Stanley Cup Final after undergoing multiple knee surgeries.
Landeskog last took the ice in an Avalanche sweater on June 26, 2022, when he was skating the Stanley Cup around the ice at Amalie Arena in Tampa. In the offseason, Landeskog underwent surgery on his right knee and was expected to miss a significant portion of the 2022-23 campaign.
Instead, Landeskog missed the entire season when it was discovered that he needed a cartilage transplant. Landeskog’s recovery forced him to miss the next two regular seasons, but he has slowly been able to work his way back to action. Toward the end of the regular season, Landeskog suited up for two games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, registering one goal and one assist.
In his 11 seasons with the Avalanche, Landeskog has tallied 248 goals and 323 assists in 738 games. In 69 playoff games, Landeskog has notched 27 goals and 40 assists.
The return of Landeskog will have a couple of effects on the Avalanche amidst a difficult series against the Stars. The first will be Landeskog’s impact in the locker room. Colorado’s morale will certainly be buoyed with its captain back on the ice after a long absence, so we’ll see what kind of effect that has in Game 3.
The other impact will be Landeskog’s in-game performance, which is a big question mark. He hasn’t played at the NHL level in nearly three years, and now he’s jumping into a playoff series against a Stanley Cup contender.
How much rust does Landeskog need to shake off? Will he go right back to playing next to Nathan MacKinnon, or will he play lower in the lineup? The good news for the Avalanche is that Landeskog won’t need to take on a heavy burden. Colorado is deep at forward, and coach Jared Bednar will be able to use Landeskog selectively. Any boost Landeskog can give the Avalanche will be useful against a Dallas team that’s loaded up front.
Landeskog will make his long-awaited return on Wednesday night as the series shifts to Denver for Game 3. The Avs captured Game 1 in comfortable fashion, but the Stars struck back for an overtime win in Game 2 to even the series.
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