DENVER -- Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog took the ice in his first NHL game in nearly three years Wednesday night in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of their first-round series.
It marked his first NHL appearance since June 26, 2022, when he and the Avalanche beat Tampa Bay to win the Stanley Cup. He had been sidelined because of a chronically injured right knee.
Landeskog started alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. He played just over four minutes in the first period, making an immediate impression in Game 3 by hitting Stars forward Mikko Rantanen, who used to be Landeskog's teammate.