NHL News: Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche receive major Gabriel Landeskog update ahead of Game 3 vs Stars

The wait might finally be over for Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche, as captain Gabriel Landeskog could return at a pivotal moment in their NHL season. With the team heading back to Denver for Game 3 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Dallas Stars, head coach Jared Bednar offered a significant update on Landeskog’s status.

The Stars-Avalanche series resumes in Colorado at a deadlock, following Dallas’ 4-3 overtime victory at American Airlines Center. Landeskog appeared awfully close to making his official return to an NHL ice during Game 2, yet he served as a scratch.

As the Avs return to Ball Arena, where MacKinnon has only been held off the score sheet twice this season. Since being blanked against the Oilers on December 1, MacKinnon boasts a 26-game home point streak, which he’ll hope to extend into the postseason series against the Stars.

After a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Stars, MacKinnon and the Avalanche are searching for a spark in Game 3—and head coach Jared Bednar may have ignited one with his latest update on Landeskog.

Gabriel Landeskog #92 of the Colorado Avalanche lifts the Stanley Cup after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game Six of the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena on June 26, 2022 in Tampa, Florida.

“There’s a good chance Landeskog plays tonight,” Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar stated, in dialogue with 92.5 FM Denver’s Altitude Sports Radio.

see also

Stars’ Mikko Rantanen makes his intentions clear before facing crucial test in Colorado return for Game 3

Power play addition

Shortly after Bednar’s statement, Landeskog was one of the first Avalanche players on the ice during the team’s morning skate. The 32-year-old captain wore a jersey indicating he will be in the team’s second power-play unit.

During the 2021–22 season—his most recent on the ice—Landeskog recorded 59 points, including 15 on the power play.

Head coach Jared Bednar of the Colorado Avalanche watches as his team plays the Dallas Stars in the third period at Ball Arena on January 18, 2025 in Denver, Colorado.

Old friend in town

Mikko Rantanen has yet to rediscover in Dallas the success he’s consistently enjoyed throughout his NHL career in Colorado. However, the first round series against the Avalanche might provide the best scenario for ‘The Moose’ to step up his game.

“It’s different now, you know, for sure,“ Rantanen admitted about taking on the Avalanche on the road. “Good friends off the ice, but I think now for next however [long] it takes, this series, we’re obviously enemies, so we compete hard.”