Avalanche’s Gabriel Landeskog to return after seven-game absence
The Colorado Avalanche will see their captain return to the lineup.
Gabriel Landeskog will play Sunday afternoon against the Washington Capitals after missing the last seven games with a lower-body injury.
Gabriel Landeskog (lower body) will return from a seven-game absence on Sunday vs. Washington.
Gabe Landeskog is playing for the #Avs today.
The 33-year-old winger suffered the injury during the team’s March 6 matchup against the Dallas Stars.
Landeskog has 257 goals and 343 assists for 600 points and 636 penalty minutes in 785 career regular-season games. He also has 28 goals and 43 assists for 71 points in 74 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Landeskog’s return to the NHL began last April when, after missing all of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns, as well as the first half of 2024-25, he had a brief conditioning stint with the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. He joined the NHL club for their Stanley Cup Playoff first-round matchup against the Dallas Stars.
Before making his return to the Avalanche lineup in last spring, Landeskog’s last game was when he hoisted the Stanley Cup over his head following the Avalanche’s 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. That spring, Landeskog had 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points in 20 playoff games.
The 6-foot-1 winger underwent arthroscopic knee surgery after winning the Cup in 2022, and setbacks forced him to miss the entire 2022-23 season, including the playoffs. In May 2023, the team announced he would undergo another procedure on his knee, a cartilage transplant, and would miss the entire 2023-24 regular season.
Taken No. 2 overall by the Avalanche in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Landeskog scored 22 goals and 30 assists for 52 points in his 2011-12 rookie season, winning the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year.