Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog may be back for Game 3 after missing nearly 3 years with knee injury
FILE - Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) skates during the second period of Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
DENVER (AP) — Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog could play in his first NHL game in nearly three years on Wednesday night against the Dallas Stars.
Landeskog was the first player to take the ice at morning practice ahead of Game 3. He went through a series of shooting drills before his teammates joined him. Should Landeskog play, it would be Landeskog's first NHL appearance since June 26, 2022, when he and the Avalanche beat Tampa Bay to capture the Stanley Cup. He's been sidelined because of a chronically injured right knee.
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'We'll see,' Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said about the possibility of Landeskog suiting up. Earlier in the day on Altitude Sports Radio — the station for the Avalanche — Bednar said, 'there's a good chance that he's going to play tonight.'
Asked what criteria he would use in making a determination, Bednar simply responded: 'Gut feeling.'
Colorado's first-round series with Dallas is tied at 1-1.
Landeskog's presence on the ice could provide a big boost not only for his teammates but the capacity crowd. His No. 92 sweater is a frequent sight around the arena.
'Everyone is rooting for him. It's a great comeback story,' Bednar said after morning skate. "I trust in Gabe's preparation, and what I'm seeing with my own eyes that he's getting close and ready to play. I think he feels really good about where he's at.
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'Adding him back into our locker room, he's almost an extension of the coaching staff, but he's still one of the guys and the guy that everyone looks up to. You can't get enough of that this time of the year.'
Landeskog's injury goes back to the 2020 'bubble' season when he was accidentally sliced above the knee by the skate of teammate Cale Makar in a playoff game against Dallas. Landeskog eventually underwent a cartilage transplant procedure on May 10, 2023, and has been on long-term injured reserve.
He was activated Monday before Game 2 in Dallas and skated in pregame warmups, but didn't play.
Stars forward Matt Duchene was teammates with Landeskog and they remain good friends.
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'We've been rooting for him to come back,' said Duchene, who was the third overall pick by Colorado in 2009. "Obviously, it makes our job harder having a guy like that out there, but on the friends side, the human side and the fellow athlete side, I think everyone's happy to see the progress he's made. ... I'm just really happy that he's gotten to this point.'
The 32-year-old Landeskog recently went through a two-game conditioning stint with the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles. He's practiced with the Avalanche leading up to their opener in the NHL playoffs.
'He's looking good so we'll see where things go,' Makar said. 'For him, I know it's going to be a huge night when he does play. It's going to be really exciting for us to have him back in the room and have the captain back.'
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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