Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog is back.
Landeskog played competitive hockey for the first time in more than a month on Wednesday, but it came for Team Sweden in the Olympics.
It was great to see after Landeskog suffered a scary injury on Jan. 4 in Florida against the Panthers, crashing into the goalposts and needing help off the ice.
But that’s now a thing of the past, as not only did Landeskog suit up for Sweden in their Olympic opener, he also scored a snipe of a power-play goal. Trailing Italy 1-0 in the first period, Gabriel Landeskog found the back of the net off a pass from Rangers center Mika Zibanejad.
Gabriel Landeskog gets @Trekronorse on the board! 🚨
📺: Sweden vs. Italy is LIVE at the #MilanoCortina2026 #WinterOlympics on @peacock, @USANetwork, @cbcsports, @cbcgem, & @Sportsnet! pic.twitter.com/7MPZ1SXX50
— NHL (@NHL) February 11, 2026
Team Sweden struggled with Team Italy a little more than expected, but ultimately earned a victory by a final score of 5-2.
Landeskog had four shots on goal and laid a big hit early, looking perfectly healthy in his return. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar had made it clear it was Landeskog’s decision to play in the Olympics — and no one took it lightly.
He’s the captain for his country, just like with Colorado, and chasing a gold medal makes sense. Landeskog got off to a great start in that pursuit; he and Sweden will be back in action on Friday against Team Finland and Avs teammates Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Kiviranta.
Let’s hope for more good health and goals before Gabriel Landeskog returns to the Avalanche later this month and their pursuit of another Stanley Cup heats up.
