Gabriel Landeskog returns, Avalanche win despite Ovechkin making history

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog returned to the lineup on Sunday.

And he made an immediate impact.

Landeskog scored a goal against the Washington Capitals to tie the game 1-1 in the third period and the Avalanche eventually won 3-2 in overtime.

It was a big two points for Colorado, who now have 102 on the season while the chasing Dallas Stars sit at 97 points. The Avalanche also became the first team in the NHL to reach 100 points and clinch a playoff spot with a Friday night victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Brock Nelson was the hero in OT, scoring off a pass from Martin Necas, who had a great shift keeping the puck away from Washington.

BROCK NELSON CALLS GAME IN OT 💪 pic.twitter.com/RZ9hr5voVu

— Sports on Prime Canada (@SportsOnPrimeCA) March 22, 2026

Nicolas Roy also scored for Colorado and the Avalanche overcame history. Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin scored his 1,000th career goal combining the regular season and playoffs. He joined Wayne Gretzky as the only player in NHL history to accomplish that feat.

Ovechkin’s goal made it 2-2 with a little more than five minutes to go, but the Avalanche were able to force the extra session when Nelson found the back of the net only 1:22 into overtime.

It was a big victory and even bigger to have Landeskog back in the mix. Colorado is the best team in the league and even more so when Landeskog plays. He had missed two weeks with a “lower-body injury” after taking a puck to the mid-section  against the Stars.

Up next for the Avalanche is a trip to Pittsburgh followed by a game in Winnipeg before returning home. They’ll need to keep the foot on the gas to hold off Dallas and having Landeskog return to the ice will be huge in trying to accomplish that task.

(Update 1:44 p.m.) –

Landeskog confirmed several of his injuries postgame, including with a description of what happened most recently. A fair warning, it’s a bit vulgar.

#Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said he “had a quick surgery to fix some things” after taking a shot from Cale Makar, well … “in the nuts.”

Also confirmed that he had broken ribs earlier this year after crashing into the net in South Florida.

— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) March 22, 2026

Related

Cale Makar voted NHL’s best defenseman a fifth year in a rowAvalanche name new head coach for AHL affiliate EaglesFive most important Avalanche games during the 2026-27 seasonNHL drops schedule for 2026-27 Avalanche seasonFirst Avalanche game of 2026-27 season announced, it’s in SeptemberAvs make three more depth signings, including forward with 477 NHL games