There are moments in a hockey season when an entire arena seems to hold its breath.

For the Colorado Avalanche, one of those moments came on Jan. 4 against the Florida Panthers.

Early in the second period, Gabriel Landeskog caught an edge and went crashing ribs-first into the Panthers’ net. He immediately went down, clearly in pain, and stayed on the ice as the Avalanche training staff rushed over to check on him.

Landeskog eventually got back to his feet, but he needed help from the medical staff and Nathan MacKinnon as he made his way toward the dressing room.

The building went almost completely silent.

Then came the applause.

It was easy to understand why the scene hit differently.

This was Landeskog, after all. The Avalanche captain had only recently returned to the NHL following nearly three full seasons away because of a devastating knee injury that required multiple procedures, including a cartilage transplant.

His return had already become one of the best comeback stories in the league.

And now, 41 games into his first season back, Landeskog was lying on the ice again.

Landeskog had seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points at this juncture and he was just starting to find his rhythm again, and the Avalanche had been nearly unbeatable, entering the game with just two regulation losses on the season.

Then came the collision.

The immediate fear wasn’t necessarily his ribs or upper body.

It was his knee.

After everything Landeskog had gone through to get back onto the ice, there was no telling how his body — particularly his surgically repaired right knee — had responded to the impact.

That’s what made those few minutes so uncomfortable.

Nobody knew.

Just over two minutes into the third period, the Avalanche announced that Landeskog had suffered an upper-body injury and would not return to the game.

Colorado eventually lost 2-1, suffering only its third regulation loss of the season.

The good news was that Landeskog’s season wasn’t over.

He missed five games because of the injury before returning to the lineup.

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be the last time he would be forced out of the lineup.

On March 6, Landeskog suffered another injury against the Dallas Stars after taking a Cale Makar shot in an extremely unfortunate spot. He required surgery and missed seven games before returning once again.

All told, Landeskog missed 12 regular-season games because of the two injuries.

And somehow, he still finished the season with 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points in 60 games.

The first injury also didn’t keep him from representing Sweden at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, another remarkable accomplishment considering everything he had endured simply to make it back to the NHL.

Then came the playoffs. Although the Avalanche were swept out of the Western Conference Final by the Vegas Golden Knights, Landeskog was a force for most of it, recording 11 points in 13 games, scoring by six goals and adding five assists.

That’s ultimately what made Landeskog’s 2025-26 season so remarkable. It was reminiscent of a Tom Petty classic. Every time Landeskog went down, he came back and stronger and he never backed down. 

The night in Florida was one of the scariest moments of the year for the Avalanche.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the end of Landeskog’s comeback story.