- MacKinnon called Landeskog ‘a void you can’t fill’ before the captain cut him off
- Avalanche took a 2-0 series lead with a 5-2 Game 2 win over the Wild
- Read below for the full press conference video and what Landeskog has come back from
Nathan MacKinnon couldn’t stop praising Gabriel Landeskog on Tuesday night. So Landeskog made him stop.
After Colorado’s 5-2 win over Minnesota in Game 2, MacKinnon was asked about having his captain back in the lineup for a deep playoff run. He started laying it on thick.
“It’s just a void you can’t fill,” MacKinnon said. “We waited a long time for him to come back, and it was worth the wait. I think every, you know, every month he got better this season. It’s a lot of time to come back from and I think obviously as a person just a human, awesome to have around and um yeah, I mean…”
That’s when Landeskog jumped in.
“That’s enough,” he said with a grin, ending MacKinnon’s rambling tribute.
The whole thing fit the night perfectly. MacKinnon racked up three points (a goal and two assists), and Landeskog chipped in with a goal and an assist. Both scored within the first 8:24, putting Colorado in a comfortable spot before this one ever felt close.
After Game 1’s 9-6 explosion, this was a much more controlled performance. Scott Wedgewood stopped 29 of 31 shots, and Martin Necas added a goal and an assist. The Avalanche are 6-0 in the playoffs and head to Minnesota with a stranglehold on this series.
Landeskog’s road back has been long. He missed all of 2022-23 and 2023-24, plus most of last season, before returning for the 2025 playoffs after years of knee issues. This year was his first full regular season in ages, and he put up 14 goals and 21 assists in 60 games heading into the postseason.
Watching him pile up points alongside MacKinnon in another playoff run feels familiar. Colorado hasn’t really looked like a team that’s lost a step since hoisting the Cup in 2022, and a healthy captain is a big piece of that.
Here are the full Game 2 highlights:
Game 3 goes Thursday at Xcel Energy Center. Colorado has a 2-0 cushion, the dominant top line, and a captain who, apparently, has heard enough kind words for one night.
