Gabe Landeskog isn’t lighting up scoreboards, but he helped Avalanche ward off Lightning in variety of ways
The Colorado Avalanche was missing a few collective spark early on Tuesday night Then the captain helped the Avs find their way While the broad canvas of his regular season remains a work in progress Gabe Landeskog is finding techniques to positively influence the best organization in the NHL right now It s awesome Avs forward Ross Colton reported of having No back shortly after a - win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Ball Arena I mean you saw it tonight I felt like we came out kind of flat They were playing well Then he strategies up and fights kind of juices the building juices us Then at the end of the tournament you see him out -on- creating turnovers I just love everything about his championship I didn t get to play with him last year when he came back because I was hurt but I just try to be a sponge with everything he does He s not the -foot all-around monster that he was before the series of knee injuries Not yet And maybe not ever But this version of the captain is adding value Landeskog engaged in his first regular-season fight since March when he dropped the gloves with Tampa Bay rookie Charle-Edouard D Astous just into Tuesday night s championship The Lightning had a quick - lead and there just wasn t a lot of juice in the building Preponderance fights can be overrated but this one wasn t staged And it wasn t just the fight While his teammates were grasping for avenues to get engaged Landeskog looked more like the younger version of himself against the Lightning than he has on certain nights this year He was great Avs coach Jared Bednar declared He got a couple days rest here We kept him off the ice and that was one of the greater part energized games he s played It s a battle for him still to get to the top of his tournament So when we get him the rest he seems to be playing better His competitiveness and his commitment to our squad and the detail that he plays with has been there every competition Landeskog has played in all games He still doesn t have a goal though one was controversially wiped off his ledger in Utah He has four assists including one when he and Victor Olofsson combined to help create what became the latter s second goal of the night and gave Colorado a - lead against Tampa Four points in games doesn t stand out but this company is far more focused particularly without the puck at the start of this season than it has been the previous two Landeskog has certainly had chosen influence on that There are plenty of other reasons why the Avs are atop the NHL standings in both points and points percentage Strength particularly among the top-nine forwards is a big one Scott Wedgewood s play is a big one Having two Hart Trophy candidates in Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas is another obvious one But the closest this company has come to posting a dud was in Boston and that was still a one-goal encounter Landeskog hasn t had the same burst in his skating stride every night but it s there in flashes It was there more than the typical challenge this season on Tuesday night against the Lightning He helped coax specific of his teammates into it as well Olofsson was the star and now has five goals in the past five games He s been playing with Landeskog on the third line in those five contests It s great Olfosson declared He s obviously a very skilled contestant but just the way he competes every night It definitely gets me going even more I just want to follow his work ethic He s so experienced in every aspect of the challenge and he can do it all Related Articles Mackenzie Blackwood full-steam ahead in return from procedure that sidelined goalie for first three weeks of season Taylor Makar s NHL debut with Avalanche became impromptu family reunion It s pretty special Martin Necas penalty kill help Avalanche prevail against Vegas Renck Avs deal with Martin Necas is easy to evaluate The payoff must come in playoffs Avalanche signs Martin Necas to eight-year contract extension Bednar decided to flip Colton and Landeskog five games ago The captain has handled the demotion with the grace expected from a world-class leader It s all little things right now The defensive aptitude The leadership The fight This band has been a Stanley Cup contender without him the past couple of seasons With all of the other key offensive weapons healthy the Avs don t need Landeskog to drive the offense But there are nights when even the world-class talents on this roster need their captain And he s finding means to chip in for the best band in the NHL I m really proud of him Bednar mentioned He played really good tonight He s engaged physically gets in a fight He s doing all the little things to help our association Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis
