In the biggest game, on the biggest stage, the captain of the Avalanche led the way

So many times, Gabe Landeskog had to just sit there and take it.

“What went wrong out there, Mr. Captain of the Avalanche? Why did your team look like it didn’t care out there when it mattered? Why do you fail again as a team?

The captain of the Avalanche just sat there again Saturday night, taking it. Taking it all in, the glorious scene in front of him. Guys high-fiving each other. Guys hugging each other.

Playoffs, baby.

How does it feel to win the biggest game of the year, Mr. Avalanche captain? What does it feel like to be able to tell the pundits to go to H-E-DOUBLE-HOCKEY-STICKS? How does it feel to have played the best game of anyone on the ice tonight?

How good was Gabe Landeskog Saturday night, in the biggest game of the season? Try these numbers on for size: One goal, two assists, 10 hits, 8-for-11 on faceoffs, two takeaways, one blocked shot, six shots on goal. And a partridge in a pear tree.

It was one satisfied look the 25-year-old, bearded Swede wore in that dressing room afterward. Real, real satisfied. It’s been a long time coming, too.

Did he make a big pregame speech to get people fired up?

“Sometimes I talk before the game, sometimes I don’t. Tonight, I didn’t. I didn’t think I had to,” Landeskog told BSN Denver. “But I did kind of make sure guys knew we were here for a reason. We’ve earned this chance to be here, and I’m not ready for this season to be over. Nobody else (was). And we went out and played like it.”

Landeskog never was and never will be a locker-room screamer or a rah-rah guy or a philosopher-poet. He’s a pretty meat-and-potatoes guy actually. Don’t let the model-worthy blond looks fool you – he’s a mucker, a grinder at heart. His helmet in this one might as well have been a construction hard hat. He worked harder than anyone wearing a Blues sweater, leading by example when his team needed it the most.

“We tried to stay aggressive, and the guys did a really good job of sacrificing, blocking shots, and Bernie (Jonathan Bernier) was huge,” Landeskog said. “When we heard that, and figured out we had to win in regulation, it was just one of those things where ‘Well, we’ve won a lot of games in regulation this season. Let’s just go out and get a good start and key off of that.’ And that’s what we did.”

This will be Landeskog’s second trip to the playoffs as a player. The first, 2014, was fun and all, but Landeskog had to admit: This one feels sweeter. It was harder-earned. It was done by a team that had 48 points last season. Nobody expected them to be here.

“That year, everything was going right for us. Every puck was going in, every time we pulled the goalie we scored and we’d give up 45 shots a game, but Varly would save all of ’em,” Landeskog said. “It was definitely a different season, a different feel. We win the division and go into the playoffs and all of a sudden, there’s some pressure on you. Now, we’ve really been playing playoff hockey for a couple months. That’s why I’ve got a beard going on because that’s the mentality it’s been.”

Now? Now, it’s on to the playoffs. Sure, there is a feeling that the Avs are going in playing with house money, that they know they’re the underdog against the Presidents’ Trophy winner Nashville, that most pundits will probably pick the Predators in a sweep.

So be it. They said the Avs had no shot before. How’d that work out for ’em?

“We got a day off tomorrow. I’m gonna enjoy that, at home with my fiancee, my dog, and watch the Masters,” Landeskog said. “Just gonna lay on the couch. But as soon as we get to the rink on Monday? It’s gonna be business-like. It’s going to be ‘Nashville, Nashville, Nashville.'”

Indeed, the Avs have some bags to pack soon. They’re going to the Music City. Not for spring vacation.

For more hockey.