Gabriel Landeskog vs. Mikko Rantanen (Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images)Injuries have kept him back, but he’s made his glorious return.
The Colorado Avalanche have their captain, Gabriel Landeskog, back. After 1032 games, Landeskog is back in game action.
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The last time he played was in the final game of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, their cup-winning game. Since then, he has been out with a serious knee injury. A cartilage transplant was required, and he has been rehabbing it ever since.
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The build-up to this Wednesday night game has been intense, and the crowd was able to release all of their emotions when Landeskog took to the ice.
When Landeskog was on the ice during warmup, that’s when they began to lose their cool (in a good way). It turned from loud cheers to an eventual “Landy, Landy” chant.
Jared Bednar showed tremendous class by allowing Landeskog to take the opening faceoff, despite him being on the third line (according to the official lineup sheet). Fittingly, he was lined up shoulder to shoulder with Mikko Rantanen of the Dallas Stars.
It didn’t take long for Landeskog to knock off the rust. In his first shift, he threw a solid hit that knocked Rantanen off his skates.
Regardless of what happens with Wednesday night’s game, it’s a huge win for the team and organization to have their captain on the ice playing once again.
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