Landeskog moves to second line at Avs' practice
Published
Forward Gabriel Landeskog moved up to the second line Friday at Colorado Avalanche practice and also took reps with the first power play unit, reports TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun.
Landeskog skated alongside Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin during the session.
Landeskog sat out the first two games of the team's opening-round series against the Dallas Stars but returned for Game 3 Wednesday night. He skated on the third line alongside Charlie Coyle and Joel Kiviranta.
The 32-year-old Swede, who had missed each of the last three seasons while recovering from various knee procedures, had six hits and one blocked shot in 13:16 of action.
“From my perspective, regardless of the outcome of the game, that was a memory of a lifetime,’’ Landeskog told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic after the game. “It was very special.’’
Landeskog's last NHL game before Wednesday came in Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final when he helped the Avs defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning to capture the franchise's third league title.
“I felt pretty good,” he said after Game 3. “Speed wise, legs, physically, I felt good. You know, it’s still my third game [including two AHL games]. So I’ve got a lot of things to improve on, and just timing and seeing things, seeing the right plays, executing them. So that’s one of the positives is there’s a lot of areas of improvement. I’m looking forward to it, and I think every game is going to continue to get better. Same thing goes for our team.’’
The Avalanche lost Game 3 2-1 in overtime on a winner from Tyler Seguin. Game 4 will go Saturday night in Denver with the Stars leading 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.