If you are a fan of any NHL team, you would have heard about Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog’s long (with extra o’s) journey back from a devastating knee injury suffered in the 2021-22 postseason. That injury forced him to miss three whole seasons and had him rehab day in and day out for the majority of that time.
His comeback has been remarkable. While he missed multiple weeks after crashing into a net earlier in the year and (probably) breaking some ribs, Landeskog returned to the ice for Sweden against Italy on Wednesday—his first game back in action since that upper-body injury. Landeskog would end up recording a power-play goal for Sweden, tying the game against Italy 1-1.
Even before the major injury, which required knee cartilage transplant surgery, Landeskog had been somebody that was very easy to root for. He’s obviously the heart and soul of the Colorado Avalanche and his absence is always noticeable. When he’s not around, especially on the ice, the team seems to struggle a great deal.
When Landeskog first returned in game action, it was with the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. He played two games for the Eagles before getting back onto the ice with the Avs, and boy, let me tell you, it was incredible to witness. He was so physical, and he’s continued to be for the Avalanche.
It’s been a tough couple of weeks without the captain. While the Avalanche remain on top of the league in points, there has been obvious struggles. They haven’t scored a power play in, well, who knows how long? It has been so long that it is hard to even remember who scored it and in what game.
Landeskog getting a power play goal in this game against Italy could give the Avalanche some film to study. Sure, assistant coach Dave Hakstol has his system, but it obviously has not been working. It really puts a magnifying glass on Nathan MacKinnon’s comments early in the year, when he said something about fans not knowing what a good power play looks like.
Sure, it might look good to them, but the Avalanche are not capitalizing and that is a major issue. Something has got to give, and maybe the Avalanche can take something away from Landeskog’s power play goal. If not, you have to wonder what is next for Colorado and Hakstol.
The Avalanche are one of the teams with the most Olympians this year, which is awesome to see. Earlier on Wednesday, Avalanche star Arturri Lehkonen took the ice for Finland against Slovakia, and recorded an assist. Stay tuned for other updates for your Avalanche olympians!