DENVER -- Gabriel Landeskog's right knee feels "really good" two days after his first NHL game in nearly three seasons. No issues whatsoever.
His thumbs may soon be a different story, as the Colorado Avalanche captain has vowed to respond to the more than 130 unread text messages from family, friends and fellow players congratulating him on his comeback.
An apology in advance: He said he may not reply in a timely manner with the playoffs and all, but they do mean a lot.
Landeskog is now ready to settle into his role as captain/left winger and put the comeback behind him. His team trails the Dallas Stars 2-1 in their first-round series heading into Game 4 on Saturday night in Denver.
"I understand all the attention around it. I get it. It's a unique situation and what-not, and I can appreciate that for what it is," the 32-year-old Landeskog said. "But I think as a competitor and as an athlete and as a Colorado Avalanche, that's my focus. Excited to get ready for the game tomorrow and knowing that it's kind of less about the first game back and more about us trying to win the hockey game."
On Wednesday, Landeskog was greeted by constant cheers from the capacity crowd when he made his first NHL appearance in 1,032 days during the 2-1 overtime loss. He had been sidelined because of a chronically injured right knee -- one that has required several procedures -- since his last game on June 26, 2022, when the Avalanche beat the Tampa Bay Lightning to capture the Stanley Cup.
Colorado kept his playing time modest in his return at 13 minutes, 16 seconds. He still made an impact with his team-leading six hits.
He is in line for an increased role Saturday, possibly a promotion to the top power-play unit as Colorado searches for ways to ignite it. The Avalanche were 0-for-6 on the power play in Game 3, including one for four minutes at the end of regulation that carried into the extra period. They have now lost the past two games in overtime despite starting both extra periods on the power play.
"He just has a skill set that we hope to utilize in a bunch of different ways in this series," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "That's a credit to him, the work that he's put in and just the poise he had with the puck. ... I thought it was really impressive."
Just how close he is to the Landeskog of old, well, Bednar didn't want to put a percentage on it.
"I don't think it's fair," Bednar said. "The only guy that's missed any kind of time like that, that I know of, that's come back and was equally as good or better than when he left, was Mario [Lemieux].
"I don't think it's fair to say the expectation has got to be to where [Landeskog] was. I think he's going to get there eventually, but it's going to take some time."
The comeback was everything Landeskog envisioned -- except for the overtime loss. But he is ready to turn the page and focus purely on hockey.
"The beauty of being in a playoff series like this is you've got to jump right in," Landeskog said. "There's no time to feel around and see how things are going. You've got to adapt on the fly and improve on the fly. Right now, for me, every game is super useful. Every shift is super important.
"I'll continue to improve on it and continue working. Excited to get another crack at it."