Gabe Landeskog on long-awaited Avalanche return: “Memory of a lifetime”

Children can make you wonder where the time’s gone. That’s why when Gabe Landeskog looked at his kids in the stands during warm-ups on Wednesday night, he almost broke down.

The Avs captain, who hadn’t played in nearly three years due to issues with his right knee, made his NHL comeback in Game 3 of the Avalanche’s first-round series against the Dallas Stars at Ball Arena.

And as Dad warmed up for his first NHL game in 1,032 days, Landeskog’s two children — Linnea, 5, and Luke, 4 — held up a sign that read “So proud of you Daddy!”

“That was as close as I got to losing it during warm-ups, is when I looked over at them and saw their big smiling faces,” said Landeskog, who at one point skated over to the glass and flipped his kids a puck. “That was very special. They probably have been thinking that I’ve been lying this whole time, that I play hockey.

“(Tonight I showed them) that I really do. They were 1 and 2 when I last played, and now they’re 4 and 5, and growing up, and we’ve got another one coming on the way this summer. It puts it in perspective how much time has passed.”

Colorado fell 2-1 to Dallas in a second straight gut-punch OT defeat, swinging the momentum of the first-round playoff series decisively in the Stars’ favor. But Landeskog’s performance was a silver lining for the team and the stunned fans filing out of a quiet Ball Arena.

No. 92 led all players with six hits, including one on friend and former teammate Mikko Rantanen less than 30 seconds into the game. He also blocked a shot, won a faceoff and had a few nice passes in the offensive zone amid 13:16 of ice time.

The Avs’ anemic power play (0 for 6, including squandering a four-minute double minor at the end of regulation and OT) cost them, but Landeskog’s physicality and the emotional bump he provided couldn’t be overlooked.

“He was physical right away, and involved right away in a lot of different aspects of our game,” Avs head coach Jared Bednar said. “I was pleasantly surprised with the poise he showed with the puck and being able to make plays. It’s happening fast. There’s not a lot of room (for acclimation). But he looked pretty relaxed and made a lot of plays for us tonight.”

The crowd chanted “Landy” at the captain during warmups, and then again at the beginning of the game as he started on the first line opposite Rantanen.

When the first TV timeout rolled around, the team played a video tribute to him from “Avs faithful,” prompting Landeskog to raise his stick toward the crowd in acknowledgement. Then, a white banner proclaiming “Welcome Back Cap” was unfurled from the second level of the arena.

“Avs faithful, they made it special,” Landeskog said. “Regardless of the outcome of the game, that was a memory of a lifetime for me.”

Defenseman Cale Makar echoed Bednar’s sentiment, assessing that Landeskog “played really well” in his return. The forward played two tune-up games with the AHL Colorado Eagles earlier this month, and said he still has plenty to get better at in order to provide more of an impact.

“I felt pretty good — speed-wise, legs, physically I felt good,” he said. “It’s still only my third game, so I’ve got a lot of things to improve on in terms of my timing, seeing the right plays, executing them. That’s one of the positives, is there’s a lot of areas of improvement. I think every game, I’ll continue to get better.”