Gabriel Landeskog’s Delayed Return Linked to Avs’ Strategic Decision

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog appeared close to NHL action this week, marking his first time on the ice with the NHL club since Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. The Avs veteran completed a two-game AHL conditioning stint and rejoined full practices in the lead-up to the series opener against Dallas. Landeskog scored and assisted in his brief AHL return and took part in every Avalanche practice this week. However, when the team took the ice Saturday night, Landeskog was not among them. Despite head coach Jared Bednar listing Landeskog as “an option” for Game 1, the 32-year-old remained a scratch. “He’s close, he’s getting close,” Bednar said. “Every day I feel like he’s getting a little quicker, a little bit more confident, and a little bit more sure of himself. He’ll be an option for us in this series.”

Landeskog skated in morning practice and again afterward with projected extras, suggesting early in the day that his return would be pushed back. With Landeskog missing Game 1, the expectation is for the Avalanche to wait and aim for Game 3 in Denver, when they will regain line-change control as the home team, to finally bring their captain back. With the matchup advantage, Bednar would be able to deploy Landeskog in sheltered minutes against the Stars’

bottom-six, easing the captain into game speed after nearly three years off. “Figure Landeskog won’t play until game 3 when the matchup can be dictated and he can be a bit more shelter,” Jeremy Lambert noted. “Don’t love it, but understand it.” Without Landeskog in the lineup, Colorado cruised to a 5-1 win in Game 1, led by two goals from Nathan MacKinnon and a strong showing from Mackenzie Blackwood. Besides MacKinnon, teammates Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews, and Charlie Coyle each added a goal for the Avs. The Avalanche will face the Stars again in Dallas on Monday before returning to Ball Arena for Game 3 on Wednesday, when Landeskog could finally make his highly anticipated return.

Blackwood is new in net for playoff-experienced Avalanche, seeks a 2-0 series lead over Stars

Mackenzie Blackwood is already fitting right in with the Colorado Avalanche in their eighth consecutive postseason, and a roster filled with playoff experience that includes 10 players who were part of their Stanley Cup title three years ago.

Even though the 28-year-old goalie has now played in all of one game in the NHL playoffs.

“When you have a guy like that back there, that gives you that confidence. He’s very calm in the net, so you know if you do something or make a mistake, he’s going to be there,” said veteran defenseman Cale Makar, the 2022 Conn Smythe Trophy winner. “Hopefully he can continue to do it, because he’s a huge piece of our team.”

The Avalanche acquired Blackwood from San Jose in a trade on December 9 and signed him to a new $26.25 million, five-year contract right after Christmas. They now have a 1-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference series against the Dallas Stars after he made 23 saves in his postseason debut.

“He’s an amazing goalie. I have a lot of trust in him,” said Nathan MacKinnon, the 2023-24 NHL MVP who had two goals and an assist in the series-opening 5-1 win. “It could have easily been 2-2. … It’s a completely different game with his saves.”

Game 2 is Monday night in Dallas.

This is the eighth postseason series in a row since 2022 that the Stars lost the opener. They still made it to the Western Conference Final each of the past two seasons, and last year did that even after losing the first two games of their opening-round series at home against Vegas.

“Yeah, obviously we don’t want to be in this situation,” Stars forward Wyatt Johnston said. “But we’ve had a lot of experience being down 1-0 in a series, so I think that gives us a positive note, that we know we’re able to come back from it.”

Colorado went ahead to stay Saturday night with the game’s first score, when MacKinnon got the assist on a goal by Artturi Lehkonen, who was following up his shot when the puck ricocheted off his left skate into the top corner of the net while falling to the ice after a collision with Mavrik Bourque. That reviewed goal came right after Blackwood stopped four shots in rapid succession at the other end.

“Obviously a great goalie, big goalie,” Johnston said. “All those playoff cliches of, you know, getting to the net, getting pucks there, getting in front of his eyes, getting those second chances in front of the net … just do a better job of that.”

Dallas’ only goal came from Roope Hintz on a power play in the third period, when Blackwood was without his stick after it got caught in the side of the net.

Blackwood had played in 252 regular-season games over seven seasons with three different teams, including 37 games for Colorado after being acquired from San Jose. He made his NHL debut in 2018-19, the first of his five seasons with the New Jersey Devils.

While Blackwood called it “pretty special” to finally get into a playoff game, and could feel the extra intensity in the rink, he took the same approach he had for all of his other games in net.

“I mean, you have to go to the same job. I don’t want to change things about my game,” said Blackwood, who was 22-12-3 with a 2.33 goals-against average and .913 save percentage after joining Colorado.

“Enough can’t be said about the saves that he made,” center Charlie Coyle said. “Every time we needed a big save, he was there to keep us tied, keep us ahead. Every step of the way it was, they got a chance, we had a little breakdown, and he shut the door. You need that in playoff time to win these tight games.”

Coyle, another of the eight in-season trades made by Colorado, certainly knows that since he has now made the playoffs in each of his first 13 NHL seasons. He made six postseasons with Minnesota and six more with Boston, which dealt him to the Avs at the March 7 deadline.