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CENTENNIAL, Colo. — The first sign this wasn’t a Gabriel Landeskog retirement announcement: The Colorado captain showed up wearing an Avalanche hat, shirt and shorts as if he’d just gone through a workout.

“I think I’d dress up a bit more,” he cracked Thursday as he chatted alongside general manager Chris MacFarland for around 50 minutes about his health, the pain of watching the team being eliminated from the playoffs, Val Nichushkin’s suspension and his desire to keep playing.

The 31-year-old Landeskog has missed the last two seasons because of his right knee. But he’s making strides toward a return after undergoing cartilage replacement surgery last May. Precisely when he will be back, though, he’s not quite certain.

“Between mid-September and the start of April,” Landeskog said with a laugh. “I feel pretty good about it.”

Like Landeskog, Nichushkin’s status remains to be determined. The Russian forward received at least a six-month suspension without pay last week for violating terms of the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. He’s sidelined until some point next season.

But the door is open for Nichushkin to come back.

“Priority 1 is for Val to get the help he needs,” MacFarland said. “Assuming he does, and after the six months, we’ll have to read and react on that. But it’s very plausible that he will be back with the Avalanche.”

Landeskog, the Avalanche captain since 2012, said he struggled with how best to help Nichushkin, whose off-the-ice issues led to him leaving in the middle of a second straight postseason.

“Immediately when the news broke, my reaction was, ‘What else could I have done?'” Landeskog said. “Everybody has their own opinions of the situation, but he’s a teammate of ours. We hope he gets right. We hope he gets what he needs and is able to come back and help us moving forward.

“He needs to look out for himself, but he also needs to be a part of what we’re trying to accomplish here, and I think that’s important as well.”

Landeskog skated with the team before they were eliminated in the second round by Dallas. After the series, coach Jared Bednar said Landeskog wasn’t that close to a return.

The player called “Landy” hasn’t played since June 26, 2022, when Colorado beat Tampa Bay to secure its third title in franchise history.

“It’s just kind of a slow form of torture,” Landeskog said of rehabbing and not helping in the postseason. “You want to be there to support them and just kind of go through all those things with them, whether it’s the ups or downs.”

To return to hockey’s summit, MacFarland said, the team needs a healthy Landeskog, who has five seasons left on a $56 million, eight-year contract signed in 2021.

“Listen, we can’t go and get a guy the caliber, the player or the person that Gabe is,” MacFarland said. “He’s a massive cog in what we’re trying to do. He’s earned the right to have as much time as it takes to get back on the ice. Absolutely, it’s a cap challenge.”

Same with Nichushkin, who signed an eight-year, $49 million contract in 2022. There’s a trust factor to win back, too. In a first-round playoff series a year ago against Seattle, Nichushkin abruptly left the team for what was explained as personal reasons. He missed the final five games of the postseason as the Avalanche lost the series 4-3.

“I think it’s hard,” MacFarland said of earning back trust.

Termination, MacFarland mentioned, wasn’t an option at this time.

“The best thing I can say is we’re pulling for Val to do what he needs to do, to take care of himself,” MacFarland said. “Hopefully he’ll take the next six months to get himself right.”

Landeskog’s injury stems back to the 2020 bubble season when he was sliced by a skate in a playoff game against the Stars. He said he suffered a cartilage injury on the bottom of his patella.

It’s been a long road back.

“There are days when I go out there and I’d love to try to go for a max sprint for a puck,” said Landeskog, the second overall pick by Colorado in 2011. “But I know that’s not going to be the best decision for my health. You’ve got to earn the right to do those things.”

Because his goal is not only to return for his teammates but for his family, which includes his young daughter and son. Just so they can see him play.

“I say I’m going to work but my son will question, ‘Well, you’re not skating, though, you’re not playing, so are you really going to work?'” Landeskog said. “I’ve explained to them that I need to get stronger. I need to get healthy.

“I just can’t wait to be back out there and give my family big hugs after the game. It will be pretty special.”

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Leafs finish off Senators for spot in East semifinals

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Leafs finish off Senators for spot in East semifinals

OTTAWA, Ontario — Max Pacioretty scored the tiebreaking goal with less than six minutes remaining, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a series-clinching 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night in Game 6 of their first-round matchup.

William Nylander had two goals, including an empty-netter in the final seconds, and an assist, and Auston Matthews added a power-play goal in the first period for Toronto. Anthony Stolarz made 20 saves.

Brady Tkachuk and David Perron scored for Ottawa. Thomas Chabot had two assists and Linus Ullmark made 19 saves.

The Maple Leafs advanced to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in their first-round series.

Toronto grabbed a 3-0 series lead, but Ottawa stayed alive with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 4 and a 4-0 shutout in Game 5.

The Maple Leafs finally put away the Senators in Game 6.

With the game tied at 2, Pacioretty — a heathy scratch to start the series — scored the winner with 5:39 remaining off a pass from Max Domi that beat Ullmark to the glove side. It was Pacioretty’s first goal of the playoffs.

Scott Laughton hit the post before Nylander iced it into the empty net with 18.3 seconds left.

Matthews put Toronto up 1-0 on a power play with 70 seconds left in the first period when he fired a low shot through traffic.

Nylander, on his 29th birthday, made it 2-0 just 43 seconds into the second when he ripped a shot past Ullmark after Pacioretty forced a turnover from Senators defenseman Nick Jensen.

Ottawa got on the board at 7:28 when Tkachuk tipped a shot past Stolarz.

Toronto, which beat Ottawa four times in five playoffs series in the early 2000s, came close to restoring its two-goal lead when John Tavares poked a loose puck off the post before Ullmark denied Matthew Knies and Brandon Carlo off the rush.

Perron scored with 7:20 left in regulation to tie it on a shot from below the goal line that went in off Stolarz’s back to make it 2-2.

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Eichel’s 1st goal of series helps Knights advance

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Eichel's 1st goal of series helps Knights advance

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Jack Eichel scored his first goal of the series to give Vegas the lead late in the second period, and Adin Hill held it up on a 29-save night to spur the Golden Knights on to the second round with a 3-2 victory in Game 6 against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.

Shea Theodore scored first and Mark Stone scored last for Vegas, which will face the winner of the Edmonton-Los Angeles series. The Oilers took a 3-2 lead on the Kings into Game 6 on their home ice later Thursday.

Minnesota has lost nine consecutive series in the NHL playoffs and last made it out of the first round 10 years ago.

Ryan Hartman had two goals for the Wild, including a wraparound with 3:27 left that came 31 seconds after Stone had just given the Golden Knights a two-goal lead.

Stone, who set up Eichel with a long pass out of the zone that was inches out of reach of the stick of Kirill Kaprizov after he dived to try to prevent the breakaway, had four points in the last three games. Neither Stone nor Eichel recorded a single point in the first three games.

Hartman tied the game for the Wild with four seconds left in the first period, a goal safe from replay review unlike his go-ahead score in Game 5 with 1:15 remaining in regulation that was revoked for an offside call after Vegas challenged.

The Wild were unshaken by the consecutive overtime losses that erased their 2-1 lead, confident they measured up to the deeper Golden Knights and could still take the series.

They were quickly playing from behind, though, after Marco Rossi got the dreaded double minor penalty for high-sticking Brayden McNabb with just 2:27 elapsed in the game.

Theodore wristed in a shot from the high slot with Stone and Tomas Hertl screening Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson, immediately quieting the crowd near the end of the first power play. Gustavsson, who was forced out of Game 5 after two periods due to an illness, had 20 saves.

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Sources: Rangers close to hiring Sullivan as coach

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Sources: Rangers close to hiring Sullivan as coach

The New York Rangers are in advanced contract talks to make former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan their next head coach, sources told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and Kevin Weekes on Thursday.

The deal is expected to be one of the richest coaching contracts in NHL history, the sources said.

Sullivan would head to New York in a move that is coming together three days after he left his job with Pittsburgh, where he coached for 10 seasons and won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.

The Penguins have missed the playoffs for the past three seasons amid a retooling of the roster.

David Quinn, Sullivan’s top assistant in Pittsburgh, is not expected to join him in New York. Quinn will be a candidate for other head coaching vacancies, including Pittsburgh’s, according to sources.

John Tortorella is a strong possibility to rejoin the Rangers organization. Sullivan, Quinn and Tortorella were on the coaching staff for Team USA at Four Nations.

In New York, Sullivan would replace Peter Laviolette, who was fired after the Rangers didn’t make the postseason for the first time since 2021.

Sullivan was selected by the Rangers in the 1987 draft but never played for New York, choosing to stay in college at Boston University before going on to an 11-year NHL playing career with four teams.

Sullivan, 57, previously served as a Rangers assistant coach from 2009 to 2013 on Tortorella’s staff. He also was the head coach of the Boston Bruins for the 2003-04 and 2005-06 seasons.

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