DENVER (AP) — Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog scored his first NHL goal in nearly three years, Logan O’Connor had a short-handed tally and the Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 4-0 in Game 4 on Saturday night to even their first-round series.
Nathan MacKinnon added a power-play goal, Samuel Girard also scored and Brock Nelson had two assists for the Avalanche. Mackenzie Blackwood made 23 saves for his first postseason shutout.
The series moves back to Dallas for Game 5 on Monday.
Landeskog’s snap shot in the second period made it 3-0 and sent the capacity crowd into a frenzy. It was Landeskog’s first goal since June 20, 2022, against Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Final. He helped the Avalanche hoist the Cup six days later.
The 32-year-old Landeskog was sidelined because of a chronically injured right knee. He made his return in Game 3 — 1,032 days after his last NHL game.
“It’s amazing how quickly he’s picked up. It’s crazy, honestly,” said MacKinnon, who gave Landeskog a big hug on the bench after his goal. "It’s beyond all of our expectations.
"It just shows you if you're good at hockey, you're good at hockey."
Landeskog also had an assist on Girard's goal, and made sure to enjoy the moment especially given how far he's come.
“There were moments of doubt, and I think it would be foolish not to take a second and enjoy it and really soak it in,” Landeskog said. “Really, the most reflection will probably come when it’s all said and done one day, and you understand what the journey has been like, and the ups and downs and the great days and great games.”
Jake Oettinger was under constant pressure and made several acrobatic saves to keep this game from completely spiraling out of control. He had 31 saves through two periods before giving way to Casey DeSmith for the third.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer said the move was made to get Oettinger some rest.
“We knew they were going to come out with a big push,” DeBoer said. “This is as close to a must-win as you can get for them.”
Added Matt Duchene: “We’ll lick our wounds here tonight and get reset tomorrow and get ready for Game 5.”
The Avalanche outshot the Stars by a 48-23 margin. Colorado found rare open ice against the Stars and utilized its speed. Case in point: Nelson zoomed into the Dallas zone and dished it over to Landeskog for the goal.
“When everything clicks, it’s just a testament to how we can play,” defenseman Cale Makar said.
The Avalanche juggled their power-play unit after going 0 for 6 in Game 3. They added Landeskog to the top line and Valeri Nichushkin to the second team.
It paid off as MacKinnon scored.
“We were just on our toes, highly competitive, puck decisions were all good, guys were willing to skate with the puck and force them to defend,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar explained. “It came together there for a while tonight, which was good to see.”
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Pat Graham, The Associated Press
