It marked his first NHL appearance since June 26, 2022, when he and the Avalanche beat Tampa Bay to win the Stanley Cup. He had been sidelined because of a chronically injured right knee.
The Avalanche posted a video of Landeskog driving to Ball Arena, which he concluded, “Hey Avs Faithful, it’s Gabe here, just wanted to shoot you guys a quick message — thank you guys for all the support over the last few years and I’ll see you tonight.”
It’s his first game with the Avalanche in 1,032 days. He becomes the fifth player in NHL history — among those with a minimum of 700 games played — to return to his team after 1,000 or more days without a contest, according to NHL Stats. The last one to do so was longtime Avalanche forward and Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg.
“I feel surprisingly calm and in control right now. I know the butterflies and the nerves will come, I’m sure,” he said during a pregame interview. “I found myself thinking about this moment a lot over the last three years. And now that it’s here, it’s the reverse — I’m thinking a lot about the hard work that’s gone into it, some of the ups, a lot of the downs, sacrifices and support I’ve had along the way.
“Thankful for everybody and all their support, but now it’s go time so I’m excited to get out there.”
The first-round series with Dallas is tied at 1-1.
Landeskog’s presence on the ice provided a big boost not only for his teammates but also for the capacity crowd. His No. 92 sweater is a frequent sight around the arena.
The crowd chanted “Landy, Landy” as he led the Avalanche on the ice for pregame warmups. The chants continued during player introductions. Later, a video chronicling Landeskog’s three-year journey back was shown on the arena scoreboard.
“Everyone is rooting for him. It’s a great comeback story,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said after morning skate. “I trust in Gabe’s preparation, and what I’m seeing with my own eyes that he’s getting close and ready to play. I think he feels really good about where he’s at.
“Adding him back into our locker room, he’s almost an extension of the coaching staff, but he’s still one of the guys and the guy that everyone looks up to. You can’t get enough of that this time of the year.”
Landeskog’s injury dates to the 2020 “bubble” season when he was accidentally sliced above the knee by the skate of teammate Cale Makar in a playoff game against Dallas. Landeskog eventually underwent a cartilage transplant procedure on May 10, 2023, and has been on long-term injured reserve.
He was activated Monday before Game 2 in Dallas and skated in pregame warmups but didn’t play.
Stars forward Matt Duchene was teammates with Landeskog and they remain good friends.
“We’ve been rooting for him to come back,” said Duchene, who was the No. 3 pick by Colorado in 2009. “Obviously, it makes our job harder having a guy like that out there, but on the friends side, the human side and the fellow athlete side, I think everyone’s happy to see the progress he’s made. … I’m just really happy that he’s gotten to this point.”
It doesn’t mean the Stars will take it easy on Landeskog.
“It’s remarkable he’s coming back, if he’s coming back, as a friend,” said longtime teammate Mikko Rantanen, a 2015 first-round pick by Colorado before being traded in January to Carolina and on to Dallas in March. “As an opponent, obviously, no mercy.”
The 32-year-old Landeskog recently went through a two-game conditioning stint with the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles. He practiced with the Avalanche leading up to their playoff opener.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, who left the Nittany Lions’ stunning 22-21 loss to Northwestern on Saturday, is out for the season, coach James Franklin said in his postgame media availability.
Allar hobbled off the field after a third-down play in the fourth quarter, and was eventually carted off to the locker room. He was replaced by Ethan Grunkemeyer.
“Drew will be done for the year,” Franklin said.
Penn State (3-3) has now lost three straight games, with two of those coming in Happy Valley. The reeling Nittany Lions will take on Iowa next Saturday.
It’s a different story for the Wildcats. They surged to 4-2 as Caleb Komolafe ran for 72 yards and a touchdown to stun the Beaver Stadium crowd. Preston Stone threw for 163 yards with a touchdown pass to Griffin Wilde, and Jack Olsen kicked three field goals for the Wildcats, who won their third straight and moved to 2-1 in the Big Ten.
The Wildcats, who hadn’t won in Beaver Stadium since 2014, took the lead for good with 4:51 remaining when Komolafe bulled his way through Penn State’s defense to cap a 75-yard drive.
The Nittany Lions, who fell to 0-3 in the league, got the ball back, but that’s when Allar suffered his injury. Grunkemeyer was immediately stopped on a fourth-down run, and the Wildcats ran the clock out from there.
“It’s 100 percent on me,” Franklin said of the loss. “And we got to get it fixed. And I will get it fixed.”
Allar, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen ran for touchdowns for the Nittany Lions. It was the fifth time a Franklin-coached Penn State team has lost at least three consecutive games in a season.
The Nittany Lions, who committed six penalties for 71 yards in the first half, could never get out of their way. Meanwhile, the Wildcats played steady, almost mistake-free football in front of a flat Penn State crowd that chanted “Fire James Franklin!” early.
Allar was intercepted on Penn State’s opening drive when he threw the ball right to defensive back Ore Adeyi in the end zone. Adeyi returned it to the Northwestern 33, and the Wildcats turned it into three points 12 plays later with Jack Olsen’s 27-yard field goal with 2:51 left in the first quarter.
The Nittany Lions finally got their offense moving with Allen. He carried five times on Penn State’s next possession and gave his team a 7-3 lead when he muscled in from 11 yards out early in the second.
Northwestern marched into Penn State’s territory on its next possession, and Stone found a wide-open Wilde for a go-ahead 28-yard touchdown pass.
The Wildcats appeared to get a stop on defense but fumbled away the ensuing punt. The Nittany Lions needed nine plays from Northwestern’s 26 but finally broke through on a fourth-and-goal when Singleton slashed around the Wildcats’ left flank for a 2-yard touchdown.
Olsen made a 34-yarder with three seconds left to cut Penn State’s lead to 14-13 at halftime.
EUGENE, Ore. — Fernando Mendoza threw for 215 yards and a key fourth-quarter touchdown and No. 7 Indiana remained undefeated with a 30-20 victory over No. 3 Oregon on Saturday.
Roman Hemby added a pair of scoring runs for the Hoosiers (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten), who frustrated the Ducks (5-1, 2-1) with stout defensive play.
The victory was Indiana’s second against an AP top-five opponent in program history. The Hoosiers entered Saturday having lost 46 consecutive games vs. AP top-five opponents, tied with Wake Forest for the longest streak in the AP poll era, according to ESPN Research.
Dante Moore threw for 186 yards and a touchdown for Oregon. He had two interceptions and was sacked six times.
With Oregon down 20-13 going into the fourth quarter, Brandon Finney Jr. intercepted Mendoza’s pass and ran it back 35 yards to tie the game with 12:42 left.
Mendoza answered with an 8-yard scoring pass to Elijah Sarratt with 6:23 to go. On Oregon’s next series, Dante Moore’s pass was intercepted by Louis Moore.
Brendan Franke added a 22-yard field goal for the Hoosiers with 2:06 left.
Both teams were coming off weeks off. In their last game, the Ducks beat Penn State 30-24 in double overtime on the road in the annual White Out game. The Hoosiers beat Iowa 20-15 on the road.
On the first series of the game, the Ducks failed at a fourth-and-1 attempt, giving the Hoosiers good field position for their opening drive. It ended with Nico Radicic‘s 42-yard field goal.
Oregon pulled ahead with Dante Moore’s 44-yard touchdown pass to Malik Benson, but Hemby rushed for a 3-yard touchdown before the end of the first quarter to make it 10-7.
Atticus Sappington‘s 40-yard field goal tied it up for the Ducks, but a later 36-yard attempt that would have given Oregon the lead went wide left.
Franke kicked a 58-yard field goal as time ran out to give Indiana a 13-10 advantage at the break.
Sappington’s 33-yard field goal in the third quarter tied it again for Oregon, but Hemby added his second touchdown for the Hoosiers, a 2-yard dash late in the period.
DALLAS — Ryan Niblett returned a punt 75 yards for a decisive touchdown in the fourth quarter and Texas got a much-needed 23-6 win over sixth-rankedOklahoma in their annual Red River Rivalry game on Saturday.
Arch Manning completed 21 of 27 passes for 166 yards and the go-ahead 12-yard TD to DeAndre Moore Jr. on the opening drive of the second half for the Longhorns (4-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), who were coming off a loss at Florida that knocked the preseason No. 1 team out of the AP Top 25.
Texas retained the Golden Hat trophy and should get back into the next poll on Sunday. More importantly, the Longhorns avoided a loss that likely would have ended any realistic chance of getting into the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row.
John Mateer was 20-of-38 passing with three interceptions in his return to the lineup for Oklahoma (5-1, 1-1) only 17 days after surgery on his throwing (right) hand.
Niblett worked up the sideline in front of the Texas bench, and after making a cut inside near midfield bounced off a teammate and continued his sprint to the end zone for a 20-6 lead with 9:59 left.
When the Sooners gained 38 yards on three plays to the Texas 27 on the ensuing drive, Mateer had an incompletion before being sacked on consecutive plays and then had another incompletion on fourth-and-22. They finished with only 258 total yards.
Mason Shipley kicked field goals of 22, 48 and 39 yards for the Longhorns. He had two long misses, the first a 55-yard attempt that ricocheted off the right upright, and was later short on a 56-yard attempt.
Tate Sandell kicked a 42-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive for the Sooners. He made it 6-0 with a 41-yarder in the second quarter, but they didn’t score again.
