SUNRISE, Fla. — Gabe Landeskog left the Colorado Avalanche’s game Sunday against the Florida Panthers after crashing into the opposing net and then the end boards behind it.
It is an upper-body injury, according to a team spokesman.
“He’s going to miss some time,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said after a 2-1 loss to the Panthers. “He’s still being looked at and diagnosed, but he did not look comfortable.”
The Avs captain was down on the ice for several minutes after he went headfirst into the net at 1:22 of the second period. His left skate appeared to stumble, then Landeskog crashed into the Florida net and then the end boards behind it.
He was helped off the ice by Avs head athletic trainer Matt Sokolowski and Nathan MacKinnon without using either leg to stride, and immediately down the tunnel towards the team’s locker room.
“It was scary, obviously,” MacKinnon said. “When he’s down, he’s really hurt. He’s not just going to lay there. … It’s not the knee. I can tell you that. I was wondering that myself.
“It’s not his knee, which is great. But yeah, he was in a whole lot of pain.”
Landeskog has played in all 41 regular-season games this season. He missed the previous three regular-seasons and 1,020 days because of right knee issues. He had four procedures, including cartilage replacement surgery in May 2023.
The captain made a remarkable return last season, first playing two AHL games for the Colorado Eagles on a rehabilitation stint and then the final five contests of the Avs’ first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Dallas Stars.
Landeskog has seven goals and 22 points this season, including the first goal Saturday night in a 5-3 comeback win against the Carolina Hurricanes.
“I haven’t had a chance to see him yet, but I heard it was more, I think, in his rib cage area,” Avs goalie Scott Wedgewood said. “You obviously don’t want anything to happen, but after what he’s gone through that leads to an emotional string that gets pulled through the whole team.
“Guys kept battling and we had a chance to win a hockey, and obviously I was just praying for him.”
Colorado was already without defenseman Devon Toews in this game. He missed his first contest of the season with an upper-body injury after crashing into the end boards Saturday night in Raleigh.
