Avalanche Briefs LANDESKOG STILL OUT, BUT GETS BACK ON ICE

Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog, who missed his eighth consecutive game Saturday night, skated on his own and briefly joined his teammates on the ice at the morning skate.

That seemed to be a positive step for the Swedish winger, who has been out with a lower body injury. He went on the injured list last week, but it was retroactive and he could be activated at any time.

“He’s been working in the gym the last couple of days,” coach Jared Bednar said. “He’s been progressing. He feels better again today. He skated slightly on his own there for a few minutes, and that seemed to go well. I’ve already talked to (trainer Matt Sokolowski) about that. I would expect he’s a guy who’s going to continue to move forward here and probably be on the road trip with us.”

That four-game road trip begins Tuesday at Nashville. Bednar said Landeskog wouldn’t make the trip just to be with the staff for rehab purposes, and the goal would be for him to at least participate in practices and skates. “So we’re hopeful that’s the way it will progress,” Bednar said.

After he was a healthy scratch against Columbus on Thursday, center Joe Colborne returned to the lineup against Dallas on Saturday. Going in, he didn’t have a goal since his opening-night hat trick.

“It’s been frustrating,” Colborne said after the morning skate. “There’s been games when I had chances and they haven’t gone in. It’s a grind, but that’s part of being a pro hockey player. You play so many games, you’re going to go through ups and downs. It’s easier said than done, but you have to keep as positive as you can, and when you get a chance, go out there and do everything you can to help the team out.

“Scoring cures a lot of things. When you’re playing in a role like I have the last while, it’s more than that, it’s go out there, bring some energy, be physical. If you’re playing on the top two lines, you’re out there on a regular shift, it’s a little easier to get the hands going. But when you’re playing like I have, you have to go out there and make sure the other parts of your game are there.”

After the shuffling of the previous few days, with Sam Henley and Gabriel Bourque coming up from San Antonio and going right back down after one game, and with Rocco Grimaldi coming up and stepping into the lineup against Dallas, Cody McLeod again was the healthy scratch among the forwards Saturday. Fedor Tyutin, with a lower body injury, was the scratch among the defensemen and Eric Gelinas returned to the lineup after sitting out five in a row.