The Colorado Avalanche are set to begin the Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight against the divisional foe Dallas Stars, and the status of Gabriel Landeskog has been announced.
The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars will be meeting one another for the 2nd straight year in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the Avalanche are on the verge of potentially getting a major reinforcement.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog, who hasn't been able to play since Game 6 of 2022 Stanley Cup Final, has been practicing with the club and could even soon make his long-awaited return to NHL action.
He was even recently loaned to the AHL's Colorado Eagles and scored a goal in his 1st professional hockey game since lifting the Stanley Cup in 2022.
Ahead of tonight's opening matchup against the Stars, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar spoke about the potential of Landeskog returning to the Colorado lineup but remained non-committal.
Earlier in the week, Bednar explained that it was an exciting possibility for his club that they could get their leader back on the ice in playoff action for the 1st time in 3 years.
I think it's exciting for us, because it may give us another option here when we get to the weekend and start playing playoff games. I got to make lineup decisions too at some point here, and we're talking about a bunch of different scenarios. So yeah, could be a ramp-up for Game 1. Maybe not. We'll just have to see how the week goes.
Landeskog had 59 points (30G, 29A) in 2021-22 and followed that up with 22 points (11G, 11A) as he helped lead the Avalanche to their 1st Stanley Cup win since 2001.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!