Colorado Avalanche Gabriel Landeskog was the unfortunate recipient of a nasty spill on Sunday evening. During the early minutes of the Avalanche’s road game against the Florida Panthers, Landeskog slid into the Panthers’ net, catching the goalpost flush in his midsection.
The play showed that Landeskog caught an edge with his left leg, causing him to lose balance. He slid a full speed into the net and remained on the ice. He needed help getting off the ice and heading to the dressing room. While there doesn’t seem to be any issues with his leg, it appeared the full force of the impact knocked the wind out of him.
Here's a look at the incident in question.
Gabriel Landeskog left the game after crashing into the net. pic.twitter.com/HBkIKxZIHX
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 4, 2026
But that may be the best-case scenario. As seen with the Carolina Hurricanes’ Seth Jarvis, a similar spill led to a significant rib injury. Jarvis was initially declared week-to-week, but has since resumed skating. Curiously, Jarvis' injury occurred against the Florida Panthers.
Again, the hope is that Landeskog’s fall looked much worse than it really was. But considering the nature of the incident, Landeskog might miss some time. The Avalanche captain has played in all 41 Colorado games this season. He hasn’t shown any lingering signs of the knee injury that sidelined him for nearly three years.
His seven goals and 22 points have been a huge positive for the club this year. Landeskog got off to a bit of a slow start, but has been heating up of late. Landeskog entered Sunday’s contest with one goal and three assists for four points in his last five games.
If Landeskog misses time, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar will need to adjust his lines. The 33-year-old Avalanche forward had been getting some reps with Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas on the top line. The situation could mean a return for Valeri Nichushkin on the top unit.
Alternatively, Artturi Lehkonen could jump up on that line as well. Lehkonen has been getting some good looks on the second line with Brock Nelson and Nichushkin.
More information to come as the stunning situation develops for the Avalanche.
UPDATE: During the third period of the Avalanche-Panthers game, it was announced that Landeskog had sustained an upper-body injury. That's good news as fears involving Landeskog's knees appear to be unfounded.