Avs' Landeskog (knee) to play 1st gm. in 3 years

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog will play Friday for the franchise's AHL affiliate, for his first professional game in nearly three years.

The Avalanche's AHL team, the Colorado Eagles, announced after morning skate that Landeskog would play in their game against the Henderson Silver Knights, the AHL affiliate for the Vegas Golden Knights.

On Wednesday, the Avalanche sent Landeskog to the Eagles for a conditioning stint. Landeskog has spent the last few days with the Eagles, who play a little more than an hour away in Loveland, Colo., in an attempt to be ready for the club's bid to win the fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Landeskog's last appearance came in game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. He led the Avalanche to the third championship in club history. He would then miss the entire 2022-23 season with a knee injury and then underwent knee cartilage replacement surgery in May 2023. Landeskog would then miss the entire 2023-24 season.

The 32-year-old had been traveling with the team in recent years and had been doing on-ice work away from the team. This season, however, has led to Landeskog gradually spending more practice time with the Avalanche which further added to the belief that he could be part of their playoff plans.

Avs coach Jared Bednar told reporters after practice Friday that they will monitor Landeskog's progress and that there are no plans beyond him playing against the Silver Knights. Should the Avs want an extended look at Landeskog, they would have that option considering the Eagles have four more games before their regular season ends next Saturday.

Getting Landeskog back at any stage in the playoffs would potentially provide the Avalanche not only with their captain but a two-way winger who gives them another top-six and/or top-nine option depending upon how they use him.

Entering Friday, the Avalanche (48-28-4) were third in the Central Division standings with two road games remaining against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday before finishing the regular season on Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks.