DALLAS >> It’s the four words Colorado Avalanche fans have waited nearly three years to hear.

Gabe Landeskog is back.

The Colorado captain was activated from long-term injured reserve Monday afternoon, hours before Game 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs opening-round series against the Dallas Stars. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar did not confirm that Landeskog would play in Game 2 after the team’s morning skate, but he did indicate Landeskog could replace Ross Colton, who was injured in Game 1.

It was Landeskog’s first NHL game since June 26, 2022, when he ended the night of Game 6 in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final by lifting the championship trophy.

“He’s a really good player,” Stars forward Mikko Rantanen, who spent parts of 10 seasons with the Avalanche, said Monday morning. “So when he comes back, we’ve got to be ready for him and adjust our game. Even though he’s missed a lot of time, he’s still a veteran guy with a lot of experience, so whenever he plays we’ve got to be ready.

“He’s done so much work the last three years, almost three years, to come back. It’s been ups and downs and disappointments and excitement and back to disappointment. So to see him now do well and be back on the ice,I am happy for him.”

Colton took only one shift, which lasted 15 seconds, Saturday night in Colorado’s 5-1 win against Dallas. When asked how Colton was feeling Monday morning, Bednar responded, “not great.” When the Avs coach was pressed further on who might play if Colton can’t go, he said, “We’ll see. I haven’t decided yet.”

Landeskog practiced with the Avs throughout the week leading into Game 1, but did not play. He participated in the morning skate Saturday, but then stayed off the ice when the club had an optional practice Sunday.

The captain was back out there Monday morning ahead of Game 2.

“He’s kind of on his own page when it comes to when he goes on (the ice) and when he does not,” Bednar said. “He’s still building to the point of a return. (Landeskog and the team’s staff) are kind of living in the moment now. He’s getting close enough that every day they reevaluate.”

Landeskog did not play an NHL game for 1,030 days because of his issues with his right knee. It started with an accidental skate cut just above the knee during the 2020 playoffs inside the NHL’s “covid bubble” in Edmonton, Ontario.

He played through pain off and on throughout the next two seasons, culminating in winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. Landeskog has had a series of procedures since, including knee cartilage replacement surgery in May 2023.

The Avs captain will be the first player to have that procedure and return to NHL action. Lonzo Ball had the same surgery in March 2023 and returned for the Chicago Bulls earlier this season.

Landeskog made his return to professional hockey last weekend in Loveland, playing two games for the Colorado Eagles during a conditioning assignment. He made an emotional return April 11, then had a goal and an assist the following night.

“I was happy to see him play (for the Eagles),” ex-Avs star Mikko Rantanen said. “I watched his first game. He looked good out there. I talked with him after the game, and I was really happy for him. It’s been a grind for him, and he’s a good friend of mine, so I was happy to see him back on the ice.”

Landeskog and Fresh Tape Media have chronicled his recovery process with a docuseries, “A Clean Sheet,” which has aired over the past five weeks on TNT and can be streamed on Max. It was originally announced as a five-part series, but the fifth episode promised a sixth “TBD.”

It’s going to have quite the ending.