Landeskog scores 1st regular-season goal since 2022, Avalanche defeat Ducks

DENVER -- Gabriel Landeskog scored his first regular-season goal since March 5, 2022, for the Colorado Avalanche, who ended the Anaheim Ducks’ seven-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory at Ball Arena on Tuesday.

“It was nice to just be done with it,” Landeskog said. “I've tried to just kind of focus on my game and what I do on a shift-to-shift basis, and the outcome is what it is. But having said that, obviously you'd like to go home and know that you at least got one on the score sheet and then just kind of move forward with it. My son will be happy tomorrow morning when he wakes up to the news. So, that'll be good. He keeps asking me. I just go, ‘Nope, not yet.’”

Landeskog, who entered the night with four assists in 16 games, gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead at 11:37 of the second period. Sam Malinski broke his stick on a shot from the point, but the puck went right to Valeri Nichushkin, who turned and put a shot on net. Lukas Dostal made the initial save, but Landeskog had inside position on Jackson LaCombe and chipped the rebound into the net.

“Sometimes you get easy ones, and sometimes you really got to work for them,” Landeskog said. “We feel like we are able to collect points and win hockey games and beat good hockey teams at the same time as we're trying to perfect our game, right? I don't think our game is perfect by any means, but I think for this point in the season, I think we're doing a good job of making adjustments on the fly and trying to really hone in on the details of what makes us successful.”

Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist, and Nathan MacKinnon had three assists to extend his point streak to 10 games (eight goals, 14 assists) for the Avalanche (11-1-5), who have won four straight and are 6-0-2 in their past eight. Scott Wedgewood made 35 saves.

“Great start. First shift, we score, obviously, and I liked our first period,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “It's a marathon, so you're not always going to have your A game. You have to find ways to win when you got some guys that maybe aren't at their best or the whole team is a little sluggish.

“It's a lot more fun winning than losing, and we're here to have fun for eight months while we get better as a team. We want to enjoy ourselves and make it an enjoyable experience for everybody, and we're trying to do that, and we still have our eye on the prize at the end.”

Leo Carlsson scored to extend his point streak to 11 games (nine goals, 11 assists), and Dostal made 32 saves for the Ducks (11-4-1).

“Terrible start for us. Certainly they got off to a great start. Goalie kept us in the game,” Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville said. “The pace was good, but we had to be better. We weren't good enough anyways tonight.”

Lehkonen gave Colorado a 1-0 lead just 28 seconds into the first period, scoring five-hole with a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from MacKinnon.

“It settles you in,” Wedgewood said of having a quick lead. “You obviously feel like you got to be dialed, but it's just a little bit of like, 'All right, there's cushion.’”

Carlsson tied it 1-1 during a 4-on-4 at 18:16. He played the puck around the boards, where Jacob Trouba knocked it to himself around Devon Toews behind the net. Trouba then fed the puck back out front to Carlsson, who was left all alone at the edge of the crease.

“[I was] out there for a while, I think. A little tired, but then I saw [Trouba] flying in,” Carlsson said. “I was just alone in front of the net and he found me. So, amazing pass.”

After Landeskog put the Avalanche back in front, Martin Necas extended the lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal at 7:02 of the third period. MacKinnon's shot from the above the circles hit off Lehkonen before it was deflected by Necas past the skate of Dostal at the right post.

Parker Kelly scored into an empty net at 17:39 for the 4-1 final.

“Too many penalties, probably, to take against that team, and they capitalized,” Trouba said. “They’re a good team. I think that's been a good team in the League for a long time, and that's what we're striving for. And I feel we're getting closer.

“We're right there. I don't think we're far off it at all.”

NOTES: Nichushkin left with a lower-body injury at 4:13 of the third period. There was no update on him postgame. ... MacKinnon recorded his 11th career point streak of at least 10 games, passing Joe Sakic and Peter Stastny (both with 10) for the most in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history. ... Carlsson's goal was his 100th NHL point (43 goals, 57 assists in 147 games). At 20 years and 320 days, he is the youngest player to reach the mark in Ducks history, surpassing the previous mark set by Paul Kariya (21 years, 109 days).