DENVER — What should have been a night filled with emotion turned into one of disappointment. Captain Gabriel Landeskog made his season debut with the Colorado Avalanche after missing the last three seasons. On April 11-12 Landeskog played for the Colorado Eagles during a conditioning loan, helping the Eagles win both games. Wednesday would be different. This was the NHL, and it was playoff hockey against the Dallas Stars. It was a game that Landeskog played well in. The rest of the team struggled with the 2–1 overtime loss.

First Period

The crowd went insane before the game when they heard the starting lineups announced, for one reason: Gabriel Landeskog. He would open the game on his first shift in the NHL in 1,034 days with an enormous hit on friend, Mikko Rantanen. Chants of “Landy, Landy, Landy!” came from the arena, and the crowd became even more pumped up.

Two offsetting penalties that were 15 seconds apart led to a four on four situation. With less than 12 minutes remaining in the period, Valeri Nichushkin skated into the Dallas zone on the far side. He quickly pivoted at the goal line and turned towards the blue line. Nichushkin turned again and lost his defender in the slot, and backhanded the shot past Jake Oettinger. The Avalanche would struggle to gain any real momentum through the rest of the period and head to the intermission with a 1–0 lead.

Second Period

The struggles for the Avalanche continued into the second period as they were still missing passes. Less than two minutes into the period, Dallas incurred a bench minor for too many men on the ice. Unfortunately, Colorado could not get any shots on the net during their power play chance. There was some good news that came out of it though, Landeskog spent 57 seconds out on the ice for the man advantage.

A little less than five minutes into the period, the puck skipped Sam Malinski’s stick. As Malinski took a hit from Mason Marchment in the neutral zone. Malinski tapped a pass down to Logan O’Connor, leading to a breakaway chance. Oettinger got the best of O’Connor, keeping the Avalanche at one goal.

A few minutes later, Joel Kiviranta entered the zone on the rush to the corner. Kiviranta rocked Lian Bichsel in the corner and then Bichsel went to the front of the net. Bichsel blocked a shot and went down in a heap, taking it to the groin. The period would go back and forth for the rest of the frame. The Avalanche and Stars exchanged breakaways to end the period, but the score staying at 1–0 Colorado.

Third Period

The third period started with some attrition hockey. Both teams were getting the puck deep with Colorado just killing the clock. Just over 13 minutes left in the period, a rush went in to the corner. Artturi Lehkonen was called for holding Thomas Harley, but Colorado killed the penalty off.

Right after the kill, Nathan MacKinnon ran into Colin Blackwell and was called for interference. This time, it did not take long. Just nine seconds into the power play, Jamie Benn redirected Harley’s shot for his first goal in 14 games and to tie the game at one.

Two penalties by Dallas to end regulation almost cost them the game. Matt Duchene headed to the box for tripping, but the Avalanche did absolutely nothing with the chance. Marchment then high-sticked Brock Nelson with 39 seconds left.

Overtime

Colorado could not take advantage of the three minutes and 20 seconds left of power play time. They put four shots on the net during that time, but only a couple of great chances. The best one came from Lehkonen with an open net, but Esa Lindell stepped in front to save the game.

With just under 15 minutes remaining in overtime, Mikko Rantanen forced the puck off of Jonathan Drouin’s stick and carried it through the neutral zone. Rantanen sent a pass to Marchment down low and he backhanded a pass to Tyler Seguin in front of an open net for the winner.

Observations From the Mountaintop

The avalanche could not convert on the power play at all on Wednesday night. They had six chances and nothing to show for it. Colorado was hesitant to get the puck on the net when they had the chance, not tying up the shot total until late in the third period. Passing also was a problem. Missed passes by Colorado caused a series of further problems. They could not exit the zone or enter the Stars’ zone.

Landeskog understandably looked like he was holding off on some things. He laid down a few good hits, but for open ice skating, he seemed a little on edge. No one can blame him. It will take time to come back from his injury that he suffered through for nearly five years. Landeskog played 13:16 of time on ice with almost two minutes of that on the power play. Overall, it was a good game for him, the rest of the team not so much.

Next Game

The Avalanche will take on the Dallas Stars for Game Four of the series in Denver on Saturday, April 26. Altitude and TBS will broadcast the game starting at 7:30 p.m. MT.