Gabriel Landeskog scores first professional hockey goal since 2022

A huge step in the comeback of one of the game’s best players.

On Saturday night, Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog scored his first professional hockey goal in almost three years. With the Avalanche’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, Landeskog tipped in a point shot from Calle Rosen to tie the game against the Henderson Silver Knights, the Vegas Golden Knights’ primary affiliate.

It was Landeskog’s first goal since June 20, 2022. That was game three of the Stanley Cup final. The Avs went on to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the franchise’s third championship in six games.

The Eagles would go on to win the game, 4-3, in a shootout. Landeskog had a chance to score in the skills competition, but missed. Yet, the Swede was named first star of the game as he also picked up a secondary assist on John Ludvig’s goal earlier in the third, which helped start a comeback that led to Colorado erasing a two-goal deficit.

It has been a long road for Landeskog to get back into game action, let alone scoring a goal. The veteran center hadn’t played a game since the Avalanche lifted Lord Stanley. He had arthroscopic knee surgery after winning the Cup, with setbacks forcing him to miss the entire 2022-23 season, including the playoffs. The team announced he would undergo another procedure on his knee, a cartilage transplant, in May 2023, which led to him missing the entire 2023-24 regular season as well.

Saturday night was Landeskog’s second game with the Eagles. It hasn’t been revealed if he will join the Avs before the playoffs.

The Avalanche (48-29-4) sits third in the Central Division, preparing for an exciting first-round matchup with the second-seeded Dallas Stars.