Gabe Landeskog is already getting bumped up the lineup.
Coming off a solid debut in his first game in 1,032 days, the Avalanche’s captain was elevated to the second line when the team took the ice for practice on Friday.
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Landeskog skated on the left wing, alongside center Brock Nelson and winger Valeri Nichushkin. This is the exact spot he held (with Nazem Kadri replacing Nelson) when Colorado won the Stanley Cup in Tampa Bay in his last game in 2022.
“Well, it’s remarkable, really. When you think about the time he’s been away, and then you see the way he played the other night, I thought he was incredible under those circumstances,” head coach Jared Bednar said after practice.
Without Ross Colton, who left Game 1 with an injury, Colorado originally placed Landeskog in the lineup in that open third-line spot. But with the elevated role, Jonathan Drouin was demoted and will play with Charlie Coyle and Joel Kiviranta to round out line 3.
“He just has a skill set that we hope to utilize in a bunch of different ways in this series and that’s a credit to him,” Bednar said. “The work that he’s put in and just like the poise he had with the puck, like in the last few practices, in the game, I thought it was really impressive. So hopefully we’ll take advantage of that.”
That wasn’t the only change that was made. When the team began special teams drills, Landeskog was on the top unit with Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas, and Artturi Lehkonen. That spot used to be held by Drouin, who was again demoted, this time to the second unit.
On one hand, it’s a wake-up call to Drouin. The team needs him to play better, and Bednar is making that clear. But without Landeskog available to fill that role, it would’ve been hard to remove Drouin from his spot. Especially without Colton available either.
The Avs were 0-for-6 on the PP, which included a four-minute man-advantage opportunity that began in regulation and stretched into the first three minutes of overtime. Landeskog played more than 13 minutes in his debut and saw 1:45 on the power play, mostly with the second unit.
“I thought the pace felt pretty good. No surprises there,” Landeksog said. “The one thing was probably just timing. Things like that, timing, seeing plays, and feeling the pressure. But pretty good, and I’ll continue to improve on it and continue working, and excited to get another crack at it tomorrow.”
The Avs trail 2-1 in the series ahead of Game 4, where they’ll look to even things out before the series shifts back to Dallas.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:52 pm MT on Saturday.
