Avalanche-Stars Game 3 slapshots: Gabe Landeskog makes emotional return, but Mikko Rantanen comes away winner

Instant reaction from the Avalanche’s 2-1 OT loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series.

1. Passion for the captain: Gabe Landeskog’s return to NHL action for the first time in 1,032 days was as chill-inducing as you’d expect. “Landy” chants rained down on the forward during warmups and in the moments following the opening puck drop. Landeskog wasted no time setting the tone in his opening shift, decking former teammate Mikko Rantanen to the ice 26 seconds into the game, much to the delight of the Ball Arena crowd. The Attitude broadcast had a picture-in-picture box in the bottom left corner that tracked him the entire first shift, a bonus for Avs fans watching from home. And the team played a video tribute to No. 92 from “Avs faithful” on the scoreboard at the first TV timeout, prompting Landeskog to raise his stick toward the crowd in acknowledgement, as a maroon banner proclaiming “Welcome Back Cap” was unfurled from the second level of the arena. Vibes.

2. Val’s wowing goal: After leaving the Avs in the playoffs each of the last two years — and then being sidelined for nearly two months with a lower-body injury in the middle of this season — Valeri Nichushkin showed just how critical he is to a Stanley Cup run for Colorado. In a 4-on-4 situation, 8:09 into the first period, the Russian possessed the puck and skated a circle around the Dallas defense. He got a basketball screen from Brock Nelson along the way — a pick that might have been a missed interference call — that freed Nichushkin up in front of the net right in the middle of the ice. He had plenty of time, and sensed that, as he pulled off multiple fakes before eventually beating Jake Oettinger’s sprawling skate in the bottom left corner of the net as the Dallas defenders looked at each other in disbelief.

3. Nice net-minding. Both goalies turned in impressive performances once again, as the goal each gave up in regulation (Nichushkin’s and a power-play tip-in for the Stars) can’t be blamed on them. After Mackenzie Blackwood made a statement in his playoff debut in Game 1, he turned in another strong performance coming off the gut-punch OT defeat in Game 2. Blackwood stopped six high-danger chances in regulation, while Oettinger stonewalled on the other end of the ice, stopping 12 high-danger chances. That included multiple point-blank saves for each goalie as the offenses were unable to take advantage of creases in the defense. Some solid defense underscored the potent play between the pipes, as seen in the frantic final minute of the second period. Oettinger denied Nathan MacKinnon’s slap shot with 48 seconds left, then Rantanen blocked Cale Makar’s shot on the other end. Blackwood finally cracked in the goalie duel as Tyler Seguin netted the deciding OT goal.

Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.