Landeskog to return for Game 1, lead 'hungry' Avalanche in quest for Cup

DENVER --The first part has gone according to plan.

Gabriel Landeskog will return from knee surgery when the Colorado Avalanche play the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN 360 JIP]*
Landeskog had knee surgery March 14 for a reason.
At that point, he had scored 59 points (30 goals, 29 assists) in 51 games, leading Colorado in goals. He was on pace to set NHL career highs in goals and points, and the Avalanche were 42-13-5, atop the NHL standings.
But he wanted to be at his best when it mattered most.
"There was no specific play where it happened," Landeskog said. "It was just one of those things, wear and tear. It wasn't getting any better. It was going the other way, so we decided to go that route."
There are always risks and never guarantees when you have surgery. The 29-year-old hadn't had many surgeries in his career, either. But he said he spoke to a lot of doctors, weighed opinions and felt confident then.
He said he feels more confident now that he has been skating for about 10 days.
"I feel like I made the right decision for myself but also for the team, specifically because I'm looking forward to a long playoff run here and that was a goal, making sure that I was healthy for this part of the season," he said.
Landeskog said at first after surgery he spent time with family to get away from hockey and recharge. Perhaps that will be a blessing in disguise if the Avalanche go on a two-month run.
Eventually, he started watching more hockey, then got back on the ice. Now his challenge will be to jump back into the NHL at playoff pace. Adrenaline should help.
"Hopefully, the adjustment period of coming back won't be too long," he said.
A healthy Landeskog obviously can help the Avalanche in his own right.
"He's a really good player, especially net front," Predators defenseman Roman Josi said. "He's tough to play against down low. Obviously [he's] a very important player for them, and yeah, he's going to be a lot of work for us."
And a healthy Landeskog can make the rest of the forward corps stronger.
If Landeskog plays left wing on the first line with center Nathan MacKinnon and right wing Mikko Rantanen, that reunites what might be the best line in the League. If Landeskog plays on the second line, Valeri Nichushkin stays with MacKinnon and Rantanen. Either way, the second line gets better, and there is a domino effect down the lineup. A good forward will be scratched.
"We'll have tough decisions to make on the lineup every night, so that's a positive for us," coach Jared Bednar said Sunday.
Landeskog can reassume his position as a leader too.
He has been with the Avalanche since they selected him with the No. 2 pick of the 2011 NHL Draft. He has missed the playoffs, suffering through a 48-point season in 2016-17, and made the playoffs only to fall short again and again.
When the Avalanche blew a 2-0 series lead to the Vegas Golden Knights and lost in six games in the second round last year, it stung badly. Landeskog speaks in detail about what went wrong -- blowing a 1-0 lead in Game 4, blowing a 2-0 lead in Game 5 -- and lessons learned.
"You have to go through the heartbreak," he said, "and I feel like we're better off for it."
Landeskog pointed out that the further you go in a series, the less the margin for error. Every momentum swing matters more. Every bouncing puck. Every board battle. Everything. The urgency needs to be there from the first period of Game 1.
"Another year has gone by where the hunger is that much more, and we've learned that much more about ourselves in the regular season," he said. "We're looking forward to a deep run here."
Landeskog had knee surgery March 14 for a reason. This is it.
"I think everybody realizes what a team we have in there and what an opportunity this is," he said, next to MacKinnon on a podium. "I'm sitting here in my 11th season, 'Nate's' in his ninth, and you don't get that many cracks at the can, especially with a team like this. So, we're excited, and definitely everybody's on the same page and hungry."