Nathan MacKinnon hails Gabriel Landeskog’s triumphant return in confident Avalanche win

Nathan MacKinnon praised Gabriel Landeskog after the Colorado Avalanche’s 4-0 win against the Dallas Stars on Saturday. It was his second game after returning to the NHL after nearly three years, as he had not played since June 26, 2022, when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup.

Landeskog scored a goal and an assist in the win. Speaking to the media, MacKinnon said Landeskog worked very hard to return:

"We know his story," MacKinnon said. "How hard he's worked, and it just shows you, if you're good at hockey, you can come back, and he's one of our best players out there. It's amazing and we missed him."

Gabriel Landeskog scored at the 13:10 mark of the second period and assisted on a goal in the third. He played 14:37 on the second line with Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin and was plus-2 for the game. Jonathan Drouin was bumped to the third line to make room for him. Landeskog also added two hits and showed he was ready for the challenge. The Avalanche tied the series 2-2 with the win.

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MacKinnon talked about hugging Landeskog after his goal:

"We're very close, I'm at his house almost every day," MacKinnon said. "It was more than just a playoff goal. I think it was a life goal. It meant a lot to all of us for him to score a goal, and then had an assist, and was just awesome out there. It means a ton to us for him to score that goal at home. That was so cool."

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Landeskog also assisted on Samuel Girard’s goal by battling in front of the net. He showed strength by holding off a bigger Dallas defenseman, Lian Bichsel.

Gabriel Landeskog talked about his feelings after the goal

After scoring, Gabriel Landeskog raised his arms and smiled while fans cheered loudly. His teammates hugged him on the bench as fans chanted his name. Landeskog said he was super excited after scoring the goal.

"I've envisioned scoring again for a long time, and then there were obviously days where I didn't know if I was ever going to get to score again,” Landeskog said, via NHL.com. "So obviously it feels good.

"It's a tight playoff series and a big game here at home. To get to do it in front of our fans obviously means a lot. So super exciting. Hopefully more to come."

The Avalanche now have their captain, Gabriel Landeskog, leading them again and look full of confidence in the series.

About the author

Abhilasha is an NHL writer at Sportskeeda. Holding a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, her interest in writing hockey was piqued after watching an NHL skills video on YouTube. The 2023 Stanley Cup Finale series between the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers was among the most iconic games she has seen and it left an impact on her.

Her reporting strengths include covering news stories and following stars like McDavid, Matthews and Alex Ovechkin, among others.

Abhilasha is a huge fan of the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche because of their skilled forwards, while her favorite players include Wayne Gretzky, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Connor Bedard. For her, John Tortorella is the greatest coach ever.

Abhilasha has over 3 years of experience writing content for different products and websites, along with handling social media content for various brands. She values using credible sources when writing and likes to identify fake and false narratives.

Abhilasha’s hobbies include spiritual reading, staying updated on the latest makeup trends, fitness and exploring new destinations through travel.

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Edited by John Maxwell