Avalanche’s Landeskog not expected to play before Olympic break; could still play for Sweden
Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar provided an update on Gabriel Landeskog, whom they aren’t expecting to see in the lineup before the Olympic break begins on Friday. However, he isn’t ruled out of playing in the Olympics.
Per Coach Bednar, Gabe Landeskog (who skated this morning in a red no-contact jersey) will likely not play before the Olympic break, but doesn't think he's in jeopardy of missing the Olympics. "With the amount of time before they actually start playing competitive games over
“With the amount of time before they actually start playing competitive games over there, I think it’s probably one of those [situations] where you’re like, ‘If you’re not ready on Wednesday, you can still be ready to start the Olympics,'” said Bednar after the team’s morning skate.
Landeskog has missed the last 12 games with an upper-body injury, one he sustained on January 4th against the Florida Panthers when he crashed into a net. It was announced that his expected recovery time would be week-to-week, so after four weeks out of the lineup, it’s not surprising that he’s nearing a return.
The Avalanche play just two games before the Olympic break, with their final game coming on Wednesday, so the team isn’t expecting Landeskog to be ready to return by then. However, he has an additional week to rest before the start of Olympic action, as Sweden begins their tournament against Italy on February 11th.
Landeskog was one of the six initial selections for Sweden back in June, a decision that raised some eyebrows at the time considering he had played just two AHL regular season games and five NHL playoff games after returning from a knee injury that kept him out of the game for the better part of three years.
Landeskog’s return has gone as well as he could have hoped outside of the recent injury. In 41 games this season, he has seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points.
The Avalanche currently sit in first place in the NHL with a 36-8-9 record. They’ll look to build off of Saturday’s blowout win over the Detroit Red Wings when they host Detroit on Monday at 7 p.m. MT.