01/04/26 07:40:00
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01/04 19:39 CST Gabriel Landeskog injured in Avalanche's game against Florida.
He'll miss some time, the team says
Gabriel Landeskog injured in Avalanche's game against Florida. He'll miss some
time, the team says
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) --- Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog will miss some time,
the Avalanche said, after he was injured and needed to be helped off the ice
early in the second period of what became a 2-1 loss in Florida on Sunday night.
The good news, such as it is, for the Avs might be this: "It's not his knee,"
forward Nathan MacKinnon said.
Landeskog, who was out for nearly three full years with chronic right knee
problems before returning during last season's playoffs, is dealing now with an
upper body injury, Avs coach Jared Bednar said. The severity of the issue was
not immediately released by the team, and Landeskog was still being evaluated
postgame. It wasn't even clear after the game if Landeskog would be able to
accompany the Avalanche to Tampa for a game there against the Lightning on
Tuesday night.
"He's still getting looked at and diagnosed, but it did not look comfortable,"
Bednar said. "He's going to miss some time for sure."
Landeskog crashed into a goalpost, sliding headfirst along the ice, after his
left knee appeared to buckle and he lost his footing. He was down behind the
goal for several minutes and was unable to skate off under his own power.
"Bones heal. They just heal normally," MacKinnon said. "Tendons, ligaments are
kind of scary injuries in sports. I think after the process he had, obviously,
it looked horrible and it's definitely scary, devastating to see a guy like
that hurt like that because he's so tough. But the one bright side, maybe, is
it's not his knee."
MacKinnon said several members of the Panthers asked Avalanche players
throughout the rest of the game how Landeskog was doing, which he felt was a
classy gesture. The Panthers are currently without several of their top players
because of injury, including captain Aleksander Barkov.
"It's a sensitive subject for us," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "If you
love the game, you follow what he's had to go through to get back. You're also
very aware of how important he is to that team. ... I'm just hopeful that it's
short term. He's been through enough. He's too important. Just the game of
hockey, we need him on the ice."
Landeskog helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022, then missed nearly
three full years with a chronically injured right knee --- one that required
several procedures before he could play again. He returned for five games in
last season's playoffs, ending more than 1,000 days of waiting between games.
Landeskog has appeared in all 41 of Colorado's games this season, a key part of
the team's historic start, and has seven goals and 15 assists. The Avalanche,
even after Sunday's loss, are 31-3-7 --- by far the best record in the league
and their 69 standings points are the second-most through 41 games in NHL
history.
Landeskog was also named to represent Sweden in next month's Milan Cortina
Olympics.
"No player wants to see another player, regardless of what team they're on or
who they're playing for, get seriously hurt," Bednar said. "Hopefully, it's
nothing too serious."
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