It\u2019s going to be a good Wednesday morning for Luke Landeskog.<\/p>\n
He was already in bed Tuesday night when his dad scored his first goal of the season, which was also the first regular-season tally in 1,347 days for the Colorado Avalanche captain.<\/p>\n
After two goals erased by offside challenges, Gabe Landeskog opened his account for the 2025-26 season, and it was a huge goal for the Avs in a 4-1 win against the red-hot Anaheim Ducks at Ball Arena.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Luke) keeps asking me, and it\u2019s just been, \u2018No, not yet,’\u201d Landeskog said. \u201cThis will feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Avs scored on the first shift of the game, but it was 1-1 midway through the second period and Anaheim had the better of the play for a while. Then, one strong shift from the top line led to another, and Landeskog was in front of the net to clean up the rebound of a Valeri Nichushkin shot from the high slot.<\/p>\n
Given the bad breaks Landeskog has dealt with this season, Sam Malinski\u2019s stick snapping in two pieces when he tried to shoot the puck turned into a blessing \u2014 his attempt went right to Nichushkin and left the Ducks\u2019 defense unsettled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had some tough luck,\u201d Avs coach Jared Bednar said. \u201cHe\u2019s still playing well. He\u2019s been chipping in, but finally gets one on the board that counts. It\u2019s really nice to see. I loved the ovation from the crowd. They were into it. Big goal for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Landeskog\u2019s first regular-season goal since March 5, 2022. He had a memorable goal in Game 4 at Ball Arena during the 2025 playoffs, his second contest back after missing the previous three regular seasons with knee issues.<\/p>\n
Landeskog has been impactful for the Avs, both on and off the ice. Goaltender Scott Wedgewood called him the \u201cvoice of reason\u201d in the locker room. It can\u2019t be a coincidence that Landeskog\u2019s return has coincided with a dominant start to the season, fueled by focus, concentration and commitment to play without the puck.<\/p>\n
This was another night where the Avs were not firing at their best. But the Ducks had won seven straight and were second in the NHL standings. The Avs still dispatched them with a three-goal win, winning at all three phases and backed by another sound effort from Wedgewood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think our game is perfect by any means, but at this point in the season, I think we\u2019re doing a good job of making adjustments on the fly and trying to really hone in on the details of what makes us successful,\u201d Landeskog said. \u201cThe power play has been a little better of late. I think we showed our depth tonight, and that\u2019s what we need moving forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think for us, it\u2019s a standard thing. You enjoy the wins, but you learn from the wins and from the losses. That\u2019s the way it is. This one, against a good team, is no different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Landeskog now has a goal and five points in 17 games. His ice time at 13:43 per contest is nearly one-third less than what he was playing in 2021-22.<\/p>\n
But he\u2019s also played in all 17 games. That wasn\u2019t a given, even after he played so well against Dallas last year in the playoffs. TSN\u2019s Ray Ferraro said Sunday during the Vancouver game that Landeskog told him he has good days and bad days.<\/p>\n
What does a bad day look like for Landeskog this season, compared to the past three when he was desperate to return?<\/p>\n
\u201cBad days aren\u2019t bad at all anymore,\u201d the Avs captain said. \u201cThere\u2019s just things that I have to do on a day-to-day basis to make sure I feel good and feel good enough to play. You\u2019re never going to feel 100 percent. I don\u2019t think many guys are, so no different with me. But I would say the difference between the good days and the bad days are smaller now than they\u2019ve been in years past for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
The top line scored. The power play scored. The fourth line was impactful, and Parker Kelly collected a well-deserved empty-net goal. It wasn\u2019t the \u2018A\u2019 game like the 9-1 win in Edmonton, but it was enough for another comfortable win against a foe high in the NHL standings.<\/p>\n
And it means exciting news for Landeskog to deliver to his son. Dad didn\u2019t just score \u2014 he had the game-winner against the second-best team in the league.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is nice to move on. I think it was the second-longest goal drought of my career,\u201d Landeskog said. \u201cIt is nice to just be done with it. I had a decent amount of looks and some bounces that don\u2019t go your way. That\u2019s the way the game works. Sometimes you get easy ones and sometimes you really have to work for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of guys in this room and this league that make it look easy to score goals, but it\u2019s really not. Nonetheless, that\u2019s a big two points for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Footnotes: Nichushkin left the game in the third period with a lower-body injury. Bednar did not have an update on his status afterwards. \u2026 Nathan MacKinnon had three assists, extending his NHL-leading point total to 32. \u2026 Wedgewood became the first goalie in the league to reach 10 wins.<\/p>\n