Perhaps the only detail more emphatic than the goals in the Colorado Avalanche‘s 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars Saturday night, was the impact provided by their captain, Gabriel Landeskog.

Landeskog, who returned in Game 3 of this Western Conference first-round series after missing nearly three seasons while recovering from a knee injury, scored his first goal since June 20, 2022, in a multi-point performance that saw the Avalanche tie the series at 2-2 in Game 4 at Ball Arena. Game 5 is Monday in Dallas.

“It means a lot,” Landeskog told reporters after the win. “Obviously, I’ve envisioned scoring again for a long time. There obviously days when I didn’t know if I was ever going to score again. It obviously feels good. It’s a tight playoff series in a big game here at home. To get to do it here at home in front of our fans obviously means a means a lot. Super exciting. Hopefully more to come.”

A short-handed goal from Logan O’Connor midway through the first period followed by a late power-play goal from Nathan MacKinnon staked the Avalanche to a 2-0 lead entering the second period.

That set the stage for Landeskog, who was in the slot when Brock Nelson fed a pass that the 32-year-old winger launched for a one-timer that beat Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger for a 3-0 lead.

Landeskog, who was playing on the second line, was instantly mobbed by his teammates on the nice such as Samuel Girard, Valeri Nichushkin, Devon Toews and Nelson, who joined the Avalanche at the NHL trade deadline.

As Landeskog returned to the bench, he was congratulated by the entire team which also included a hug from a smiling MacKinnon, who along with Landeskog, have been with the franchise for more than a decade.

“I was just proud of him again,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters after the game. “I was proud of him regardless of if he scores or not because I know what he’s gone through, and I know how difficult that was. I think that takes it to another level. You know he wants to come back and contribute like he did in the past and he’s off to a great start.”

Landeskog’s goal was the latest milestone in what’s been a lengthy recovery from a chronically injured right knee. He missed what amounted to 1,032 days since his last NHL game.

In that time, the Avalanche have remained in a championship window but have dramatically altered their roster. The Avs have nine players from that championship team who have remained with the franchise and have since reshuffled a roster that led to them re-acquiring defenseman Erik Johnson, one of Landeskog’s closest friends, in their bid for the fourth title in franchise history.

Even with all the changes, there were still questions about when they could see Landeskog return to the lineup. And if Landeskog did return, what he could look like?

His first professional game in three years came April 11 with the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate where he logged 15 minutes. Landeskog would then score a goal and get an assist in his second and final game.

And much like his AHL stint, all it took was two games for Landeskog to score and have another two-point performance.

While Landeskog’s goal became the most celebrated moment of the evening, what he did to help create the Avalanche’s fourth goal was an example of why he’s so crucial to their title aspirations.

Landeskog played a pass to Nelson who then found a Girard for a shot from the point that gave the Avs a 4-0 lead in the fourth. In the time Landeskog passed the puck, he anchored himself at the net front to gain position on 6-foot-7 Stars defensemen Lian Bichsel to screen goaltender Casey DeSmith, who replaced Oettinger for the third period.

Jockeying with Bichsel, who is six inches taller and 16 pounds heavier, allowed Landeskog to test both his strength and that right knee to gain leverage.

The result? Girard’s shot found space in traffic with Landeskog making it hard for DeSmith to see the puck.

“He’s a big boy,” Landeskog said with a smile. “He’s a big strong guy, a physical player and hard to play against. I was trying to get in front of their goal, and he was trying to get me out of there. It was a good battle.”

CHICAGO — Cubs manager Craig Counsell gave a blunt assessment of Ben Brown‘s start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday after the righty gave up six runs in the fourth inning on the way to a 10-4 loss.

“We need better, frankly,” Counsell said.

Brown cruised through the first three innings, striking out five, but then fell apart after hitting Kyle Schwarber to lead off the fourth. After Nick Castellanos hit an 0-2 pitch for a single to left field, the Phillies began piling on.

Brown went from getting ahead of hitters, inducing swings and misses and soft contact, to giving up six hits and six runs in the inning. He lasted just 3 2/3 innings, which has been a trend in his starts.

“It’s the length in the game that we need more from, and whether it’s pitches within innings that kind of get you in trouble or an inning like today as a starter, you got to be able to navigate and limit damage,” Counsell said. “Give up runs, yeah, it’s going to happen. But you got to be able to navigate the damage to get your way [through] the game.”

Brown has completed at least five innings in just two of his five starts this season. Counsell noted that the Cubs have had a lot of off days and so they’ve been able to navigate the shorter outings, but that won’t be the case all season.

Brown concurred.

“Even last week with the four innings against Arizona, the team needs better out of me,” he said. “The bullpen needs a break when they can get it, and I think I was cruising towards that today, and what happened just didn’t seem like there was an end in sight, which is unfortunate.”

Saturday’s outing raised Brown’s ERA to 6.04, though he has shown the ability to miss bats, especially with his curveball. He has 31 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings this season but simply isn’t going long enough into games.

“So there’s been some bright spots here and there,” Counsell said. “The inning just snowballed a little bit on him, and that’s where the big inning comes from.”

Brown was excited to face the Phillies, who traded him to the Cubs in the summer of 2023. It looked like he was in for a pitchers’ duel against Philadelphia starter Jesus Luzardo as the game was scoreless after two innings. Instead, a hit batter, five singles, a double and a sacrifice fly ended his afternoon.

The Phillies snapped a five-game losing streak.

“I’m not going to go out there and try to reinvent it myself and try to be someone else,” Brown said. “I’m going to go out there and just keep executing pitches.

“I have to wake up tomorrow and do my best to get out there in six days and give that length that the bullpen needs and that the team needs.”

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin will be activated off the injured list and is expected to make his first major league start in 20 months against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made the announcement Saturday.

Gonsolin’s last start also came against the Marlins, when he was rocked for 10 earned runs and eight hits, including five home runs, over 3 1/3 innings of an 11-3 loss in Dodger Stadium on Aug. 18, 2023.

Roberts revealed after that game that Gonsolin, a National League All-Star when he went 16-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 24 starts in 2022, had been “dealing with an arm issue” for four to six weeks. Gonsolin had season-ending Tommy John surgery two weeks later.

Gonsolin regressed, mostly because of arm troubles, in 2023, going 8-5 with a 4.98 ERA in 20 starts.

He attempted a comeback last summer in hopes of boosting the team’s injury ravaged rotation in the playoffs, making three rehabilitation starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City in September. But he was not activated for a postseason that ended with the Dodgers beating the New York Yankees in the World Series.

Gonsolin competed with Dustin May for the fifth rotation spot this spring but was placed on the 15-day injured list because of back tightness at the end of camp. He has made four rehab starts for Oklahoma City, going 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA, with 16 strikeouts and six walks in 14 innings.

With left-hander Blake Snell on the injured list because of shoulder inflammation, the Dodgers resorted to a bullpen game against the Chicago Cubs this past Wednesday.