Landeskog Scores First Goal of Season in Avalanche’s 4-1 Win Over Ducks

The Associated Press

DENVER — Gabriel Landeskog scored his first goal of the season, and Nathan MacKinnon tallied three assists as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4–1 on Tuesday night in a matchup of the Western Conference’s points leaders.

Landeskog’s second-period goal, which gave Colorado a 2–1 lead, marked his first regular-season tally since March 5, 2022. The 32-year-old captain, returning from a series of knee surgeries that sidelined him for over two full seasons, was met with thunderous cheers and chants of “Landy” from the home crowd after scoring. Colorado goaltender Scott Wedgewood was stellar, stopping 35 of 36 shots en route to his NHL-leading tenth win of the season. The performance marked the seventh time in 14 starts this year that Wedgewood has allowed one or fewer goals. Artturi Lehkonen, Martin Necas, and Parker Kelly also found the back of the net for Colorado. Lehkonen opened the scoring just 28 seconds into the first period, setting the tone early for the Avalanche. MacKinnon’s three assists boosted his league-leading point total to 32 for the season. For Anaheim, Leo Carlsson scored his sixth goal in four games and recorded his 100th career point, becoming the youngest player in franchise history to reach that milestone at age 20. Troy Terry added his team-leading fifteenth assist on the goal, while goaltender Lukas Dostal made 32 saves in the loss.

The defeat snapped the Ducks’ seven-game winning streak and matched their season-low for goals in a game. Anaheim entered the matchup averaging a league-best 4.13 goals per contest. With the win, Colorado improved to 6–0–1 in its last seven games and extended its dominance over Anaheim, going 16–1–2 in the teams’ past 19 meetings.

Up Next:The Avalanche continue their four-game homestand Thursday night when they host the Buffalo Sabres. The Ducks travel to Detroit to face the Red Wings, also on Thursday, for the second game of a three-game road swing.