The Colorado Avalanche has scored in bunches since entering the NHL bubble, with 14 different players recording at least one goal in Edmonton.
One notable absence from that scoring list? Gabe Landeskog.
The Avs captain has zero goals in eight games.
“Obviously, I’d like to put the puck in the net,” Landeskog said after Game 3 against the Coyotes, “but I know it’s going to come.”
Scoring wasn’t a problem for Landeskog before the bubble as his 21 regular-season goals were second to only Nathan MacKinnon (35) among all Avalanche players. However, a healthy roster in Edmonton and the emergence of more scoring threats seems to have altered Landeskog’s role. Six Colorado teammates currently have more shots on goal than Landeskog (16).
Just don’t expect his scoring drought to cause Avs coach Jared Bednar to lose any sleep for the second round.
That’s because Landeskog has quietly been one of Colorado’s top setup men — as evidenced by eight postseason assists in the bubble. Five of those helpers occurred on the Avalanche’s dominant power-play unit.
“(Landeskog) impacts the game in a lot of different ways and not just getting on the scoresheet,” Bednar said. “He’s in there creating chaos and getting into the goalies’ eyes. He doesn’t see the puck real clear, and all of a sudden, we come up with a rebound and put it in the back of the net. It’s just one of the little things that he does for us.
“The goals will come if he keeps continuing to play the power forward game that we’re used to seeing from him. … He’s been really good since we’ve been in the bubble.”
AVALANCHE PLAYOFF GOALS
Breaking down which Colorado Avalanche players have scored goals during the team’s eight playoff games (including round-robin play) so far in the Edmonton NHL bubble.
Nazem Kadri: 6
Nathan MacKinnon: 4
Andre Burakovsky, J.T. Compher, Joonas Donskoi, Mikko Rantanen: 3
Cale Makar: 2
Matt Calvert, Sam Girard, Ryan Graves, Tyson Jost, Vladislav Namestnikov, Matt Nieto, Nikita Zadorov: 1