For the first time since 2022, Gabriel Landeskog has tickled the twine.
The Colorado Avalanche captain scored his first professional goal since the 2021-22 season in the second game of his conditioning stint with AHL Colorado.
Landeskog brought the Eagles back to square against the Henderson Silver Knights on the power play, tipping a point shot past the Silver Knights netminder.
The 32-year-old played his first professional game since the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup run in 2022 on Friday, also against the Silver Knights, where he logged nearly 15 minutes of work and took two shots and one penalty.
“Physically, I feel great,” Landeskog said Friday of his return. “It’s the first game in a long time so I’ve got plenty of things to work on and get better at but, yeah, it was a lot of fun.”
Landeskog’s injury stems from the 2020 “bubble” season when he was sliced above the knee by the skate of 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.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and envisioning this, and envisioning being in a competitive hockey game again,” Landeskog said. “Obviously, there were times where I didn’t know if that was ever going to happen. So it felt great being in the battle again — on the bench, in the room, on the ice, all the nuances of a hockey game. Really fun being back.”
Should all go smooth with his conditioning assignment, the 32-year-old forward from Sweden might very well be activated for Colorado’s first-round playoff series. The Avalanche enter the post-season as the Central Division’s No. 3 seed and will open on the road against the No. 2 seeded Stars.
— With files from Associated Press
