Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog returns to lineup for Game 3 after missing 3 years with knee injury

DENVER — Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog played out this moment Wednesday night in his mind again and again while working his back.

His return was everything he envisioned, too. The start, anyway, with all the cheers and that big early check to show, without a doubt, that he was indeed up to speed in his first NHL game in nearly three years.

It just didn't have the storybook finish.

Tyler Seguin scored 5:31 into overtime and the Dallas Stars beat Colorado 2-1 in Game 3 to spoil Landeskog's return. Colorado trails 2-1 in the first-round series, with Game 4 on Saturday night in Denver.

''We've got work to do as a team and that's what we'll do,'' Landeskog said. ''Nonetheless, it felt great in all areas tonight, in terms of just being back. ... Very special night, regardless of the outcome and looking forward to Saturday already.''

Landeskog started alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. He played 13 minutes and led the team with six hits. His first one, though, made an immediate impression as he hit Stars forward Mikko Rantanen, who's his good friend and former teammate.

It was an emotional lead-up to the game for Landeskog, too. There were the ovations by the crowd, and chants of ''Landy, Landy, Landy.'' There were signs all over the arena, including one held up by his kids that read, ''So proud of you Daddy!''

''That was as close as I got to losing it during warmup, when I looked over at that and seeing their big, smiling faces,'' Landeskog said about his family. "They've probably been thinking that I've been lying this whole time that I play hockey.

''They were 1 and 2 when I last played and now they're 5 and 4. They're growing up. We've got another one on the way coming this summer. It just puts it in perspective how much time has passed. It's very special.''

The team showed a video tribute of him as well, with Landeskog tapping his heart in appreciation.

Landeskog made his first NHL appearance since June 26, 2022, when he and the Avalanche beat Tampa Bay to capture the Stanley Cup. He was sidelined because of a chronically injured right knee.

The gap between his games with the Avalanche? Some 1,032 days.

He became the fifth player in NHL history — among those with a minimum of 700 games played — to return to his team after 1,000 or more days without a contest, according to NHL Stats. The last one to do so was longtime Avalanche forward and Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg.

Landeskog's presence on the ice figured to provide a big boost not only for his teammates but the capacity crowd. His No. 92 sweater is a frequent sight around the arena.

The noise in the building was loud, the energy was electric — until the end.

''Everyone is rooting for him. It's a great comeback story,'' Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday morning. ''I trust in Gabe's preparation, and what I'm seeing with my own eyes that he's getting close and ready to play. I think he feels really good about where he's at.''

Landeskog's injury goes back to the 2020 ''bubble'' season when he was accidentally sliced above the knee by the skate of teammate Cale Makar in a playoff game against Dallas. Landeskog eventually underwent a cartilage transplant procedure on May 10, 2023, and has been on long-term injured reserve.

He was activated Monday before Game 2 in Dallas and skated in pregame warmups, but didn't play.

Stars forward Matt Duchene was teammates with Landeskog and they remain good friends.

''We've been rooting for him to come back,'' said Duchene, who was the third overall pick by Colorado in 2009. "Obviously, it makes our job harder having a guy like that out there, but on the friends side, the human side and the fellow athlete side, I think everyone's happy to see the progress he's made. ... I'm just really happy that he's gotten to this point.''

It doesn't mean the Stars will take it easy on Landeskog.

''It's remarkable he's coming back, if he's coming back, as a friend,'' said Rantanen, a 2015 first-round pick by Colorado before being traded in January to Carolina and on to Dallas in March. ''As an opponent, obviously, no mercy.''

The feeling is mutual.

''Regardless of what jersey he wears, I love him. He's a good friend of mine,'' Landeskog said of Rantanen. ''But in this series, we're not friends when we're playing.''

The 32-year-old Landeskog recently went through a two-game conditioning stint with the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles. He's practiced with the Avalanche leading up to their opener in the NHL playoffs.

''It's exciting to have him back in the room and back with us,'' Makar said. ''Thought he played really well so hopefully he continues that way. He's definitely big to have back in the room.''

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