Gabriel Landeskog's first NHL game in nearly three years will have to wait.
The Colorado Avalanche activated their captain off injured reserve Monday, but he didn't return to the lineup for Game 2 against the Dallas Stars.
Landeskog took warmups but didn't participate in line rushes.
Head coach Jared Bednar told reporters before the game that Landeskog could enter the lineup if Ross Colton can't go. Colton is dealing with a lower-body injury, and Bednar said he's not feeling great.
Forward Miles Wood drew into the lineup in Colton's stead Monday.
Landeskog hasn't made an NHL appearance since Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning, which the Avalanche won 2-1 to secure the third championship in franchise history.
The 32-year-old underwent knee cartilage transplant surgery in May 2023, a procedure no NHL player has successfully returned from. It was his third knee surgery in 15 months.
Landeskog recently suited up in a pair of games with the AHL's Colorado Eagles while on a conditioning loan. He recorded a goal and an assist in those two contests.
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound winger was one of the NHL's premier power forwards before his injury. He tallied 30 goals and 29 assists in 51 games during the 2021-22 campaign before adding 22 points in 20 postseason appearances that spring.
It remains to be seen what kind of impact Landeskog might be able to provide after three years off.
"It's mental toughness at its finest," teammate Erik Johnson said. "He had multiple times where I'm sure he wanted to pull the plug and didn't think it was getting better but stuck with it."
The Avalanche drafted Landeskog second overall in 2011. He became, at the time, the youngest captain in NHL history when he was given the "C" ahead of his sophomore season in 2012. He ranks sixth in Avalanche history in games played (738) and ninth in points (571).
Colorado won Game 1 against Dallas 5-1.
