CENTENNIAL, Colo. — On Thursday night, the Colorado Avalanche took care of business against the Los Angeles Kings. With that in mind, the entire team deserved a much needed break. That was not the case for some players who are battling for ice time or recovering from injuries. Sometimes a little contact on the body does some good the next day for the players.

There were a few players out on the ice for the optional skate on Friday, but none of the superstars. Most of the players that were getting some extra practice in were the bottom-six players or bottom pairs.

There was one player out on Avalanche Rink that was catching everyone’s attention. It was the captain, Gabriel Landeskog. He has not played in an NHL contest since June 26, 2022, when the Avs won the Stanley Cup. Landeskog had one knee surgery in October 2022 that ultimately kept him out of the entire season. He made the tough decision in May 2023 to have more extensive surgery that has kept him out of the lineup since.

Friday we saw a step in the right direction for Landeskog. Not only has he been at team practices more regularly, but he took a small amount of contact. He was doing a drill with winger Miles Wood and sustained some contact. Although small, it is the most contact we have seen the captain take in years.

Landeskog was also taking shots throughout the practice from one knee. Just a few months ago, these shots were difficult for him because of the stiffness in his knee.

Other Updates

Erik Johnson, who missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, is an option tomorrow per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. Joel Kiviranta remains out with a lower-body injury. Josh Manson skated on his own on Friday, but was in a red non-contact sweater.