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Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart greeted each other with big smiles and bro hugs while they were introduced as the New York Giants’ newest first-round draft picks.

It was a lot more cordial — and less painful — than the last time the two got together on the field.

Carter put a huge hit on Dart during the Peach Bowl on Dec. 30, 2023, sending the Mississippi quarterback to the turf and leaving him with a bit of a limp after an incomplete pass.

“I definitely got a good shot at him,” recalled Carter, the former Penn State pass rusher. “But he’s tough. He got right back up, kept playing throughout the whole game. So, I knew right there he was a good player.”

Dart also got the last laugh, leading Ole Miss to a 38-25 victory while throwing for 379 yards and three touchdowns.

“Well, he beat us,” Carter said. “So if you beat Penn State in a big game like that, I know you’re the real deal, especially at quarterback.”

The Giants would certainly agree — on both players.

With the No. 3 overall pick Thursday night, New York took Carter to add to an already solid pass rush that includes Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns.

A few hours later, general manager Joe Schoen traded back into the first round to get the No. 25 pick from Houston and took Dart.

While Carter could have an immediate impact, Dart should be able to sit and learn for at least a season with veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston ahead of him on the depth chart. But both Carter and Dart could be major foundation pieces for the Giants for years to come.

“I’m fired up about the two players that we were able to get (Thursday night),” Schoen said.

Oh, and as far as that hit, Dart remembers it well. And he looked forward to seeing Carter again on the field — as teammates.

“I actually told my family before this that I hope I get the chance to play with him because I know how great of a player he is,” Dart said. “I’ve seen what his teammates have said about him and how he’s able to set a culture for the team, and I see it the exact same way. I’m excited to compete with him and be a teammate with him.”
Hitting the bull’s-eye

Schoen and coach Brian Daboll enter this season on the hot seat after last season’s 3-14 finish had co-owner John Mara insisting that marked improvement was needed. Mara also wanted to solidify the quarterback position.

Schoen did that for the short term by signing Wilson and Winston and then put a potential long-term solution in place by drafting Dart.

One of Daboll’s biggest strengths has been developing quarterbacks, and he now gets his first real chance to do so with a top rookie prospect with the Giants.

“I think this guy has gotten better every year he’s played,” Daboll said. “He’s a leader. He was smart. He has the attributes that we were looking for. … He’s got a lot to learn (and) it’ll be a process here with him, but he’s a guy we look forward to working with.”
Bowling ’em over

The Giants got a potential running mate for Dexter Lawrence in the middle of their defensive line by taking Toledo tackle Darius Alexander in the third round.

The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Alexander saw his draft stock soar after an impressive performance at the Senior Bowl, where he seemed unblockable at times.

“I feel like a lot of people had me underrated, thinking I couldn’t play with the best of the best or go out there and compete,” Alexander said. “So that week, I wanted to go out there, show I could dominate the game and dominate other players out there, as well, and show that I could compete against the best of the best, and I think I did that well.”
Getting physical

The Giants drafted Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo in the fourth round, adding a powerful presence to their backfield to complement the speedy Tyrone Tracy and versatile Devin Singletary.

The 5-foot-9 1/2, 220-pound bulldozer had a school-record 1,711 yards rushing last season, with 1,202 of them coming after first contact. He was also a scoring machine for the Sun Devils with 24 touchdowns, including 21 rushing — both also Arizona State records.

“You can go back, watch some film from back in the day — It’s always been a very physical game for me,” Skattebo said. “Since the age of 6 years old, I’ve been doing the same thing.”

Does that mean he was driving opposing 6-year-olds into the ground in his Pop Warner days?

“Yeah,” Skattebo said, “absolutely, absolutely.”
Depth pieces

The Giants wrapped up their draft by getting potential backups in the later rounds, including Purdue offensive tackle Marcus Mbow (fifth round), and Nebraska tight end Thomas Fidone and Oklahoma State cornerback Korie Black in the seventh.

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Armand Membou doesn’t like you — at all — if you’re lining up against him on defense.

And it shows.

The smiles and pleasantries quickly fade as soon as the helmets and pads go on. And then the big, physical offensive tackle goes to work.

“When I get on that field, I just flip the switch,” the New York Jets’ first-round draft pick said. “No friends out there. So just get after everybody.”

It’s that approach — “They’re getting a mauler, for sure,” Membou insisted — that made coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey lock in on him as the No. 7 overall pick in the NFL draft Thursday night.

“You feel a kid that’s comfortable with who he is, in his own skin, with his personality,” said Mougey, who wrapped up the first draft of his tenure as the Jets’ GM. “He enjoys the game, you see that. He has some life to him. … He’s got a good personality, so all of it was just a natural fit for us.”

That became a theme of this draft for the Jets, who are trying to change the culture of a franchise that has the NFL’s longest active postseason drought at 14 years.

Glenn, who was hired in January after four years as Detroit’s defensive coordinator, knows what it takes to turn around the fortunes of a franchise. The Jets went about trying to add players who’ll help establish a new approach.

“Tough, physical, violent, aggressive, a resilient attitude,” Glenn said. “We continue to get guys like that, I mean, you’ll start to see the brand show up on the grass.”

That’s of course where it all matters. And it has to translate to wins.

One thing Mougey and Glenn did is address the offensive line early. By adding Membou a year after the Jets — albeit a different regime — drafted left tackle Olu Fashanu in the first round, New York believes it has two foundational building blocks.

“We’re very intentional about guys who we want to be a part of this organization,” Glenn said. “Everyone fits and we want to continue that trend because once you do that, the core of each person is the same.

“We might look different, we might act different, but the core of everyone here is the same, and that’s what we want to try to do.”
Famous footsteps

Mason Taylor used to run around town in a No. 99 Jets jersey as a youngster. Well, at least for one season, when Jason Taylor left the Miami Dolphins to play for New York in 2010.

Fifteen years later, Mason Taylor will have his own number in green and white after the Jets drafted the LSU tight end in the second round with the 42nd overall pick.

“It’s definitely crazy and eye-opening knowing that I’ll be there now older,” he said. “It’s just an amazing experience and I’m just so excited for this.”

Taylor had 129 catches for 1,308 yards and six TDs in three seasons at LSU, establishing himself as one of the top tight ends in the country. He should add another passing option for Justin Fields in the Jets’ new-look offense.

“To watch him walk through the same facility and use the locker room and take that same path that I took — you’re trying to make me cry. I’m not going to do it,” said Jason Taylor, who wiped away tears.

The elder Taylor, who played 13 of his 15 NFL seasons with Miami, won’t have any rooting conflicts when the Jets take on the Dolphins.

“I have to say it,” the Pro Football Hall of Famer said: “J-E-T-S! Jets, Jets, Jets!”
Speedy addition

New York drafted Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith with the first of its two fourth-round selections, adding a player who can help stretch the field and complement Garrett Wilson.

Smith ran the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds, but had some issues with drops as well as a few major injuries. He had a breakout season last year with 48 catches for 817 yards and four TDs.

“The elite speed, he has an explosive element,” Mougey said. “When you have a piece like that on offense, it allows you to do more.”
Secondary depth

The Jets appear mostly set at cornerback with Sauce Gardner, Brandon Stephens and Michael Carter II, but they couldn’t resist adding Florida State’s Azareye’h Thomas in the third round.

Thomas’ size — he’s 6-2 — and disruptive, two-handed punch ability at the line of scrimmage made him appealing to Glenn and the Jets.

“I’m going to smother you,” Thomas said. “And I’m going to lock down my side of the field.”

New York traded up in the next round to snatch Alabama safety Malachi Moore, a two-time team captain who changed positions last season after playing nickelback for four years.

“He’s made of the right stuff at safety,” Mougey said. “He was a guy we really coveted and kind of targeted early in the day (Saturday).”
Hurricane watch

The Jets wrapped up their draft by taking two former University of Miami players in the fifth round: linebacker Francisco Mauigoa and edge rusher Tyler Baron.

Mauigoa played two years at Washington State before transferring to Miami. Baron was at Tennessee for four years before joining the Hurricanes, where his position coach was Jason Taylor. Both have a chance to be rotational pieces on defense and play special teams for the Jets.

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GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Shedeur Sanders dealt with his shockingly long wait to get drafted by relying on the same approach that made him an NFL prospect in the first place.

The Colorado quarterback wouldn’t let himself get down about anything, even when he received a prank call while waiting to hear that a team had selected him. When the Cleveland Browns finally took him in the fifth round Saturday — four rounds later than he was expected to go — the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders reacted by dancing and jumping into a swimming pool.

“That’s what it’s about,” Sanders said. “You can’t be up too low or anything. You got to be able to celebrate. When we score a touchdown, we celebrate for a little bit and now it’s back to, it’s time to work, it’s time to go. All it is, is a football game to me, and that’s how I view it.”

Sanders wasn’t selected until the 144th overall pick, a stunning fall for the most recognizable player in this draft class.

Draft forecasts generally rated Sanders behind only Miami’s Cam Ward — who went first overall to the Tennessee Titans — among quarterbacks in this class. Five quarterbacks were taken before him instead, with one of them going to Cleveland when the Browns picked Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in the third round.

“It wasn’t necessarily the plan going into the weekend to select two quarterbacks,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said. “But you know we do believe in best player available and positional value. And you know we didn’t necessarily expect (Sanders) to be available in the fifth round.”

The Browns moved up to take Sanders, trading their own fifth-round pick (No. 166 overall) and a sixth-round selection (No. 192) to Seattle in exchange for No. 144.

After such a long delay, Sanders let out his emotions once he finally got the call.

With his brother Shilo live-streaming the proceedings on Twitch, Sanders could be seen putting on a Browns cap and dancing at his family’s Texas home. Another video shared on X by the NFL showed Sanders jumping into the pool.

“I’m just thankful for opportunity, so that’s all I can ask for,” Sanders said. “The rest is on me.”

The history of the draft includes plenty of stories of quarterbacks waiting much longer than expected to get drafted. Sometimes it ultimately worked out just fine for them.

Dan Marino was the sixth quarterback taken in the famous 1983 draft class and went 27th overall to Miami, where he would spend his entire Hall of Fame career. Aaron Rodgers was supposed to go among the first few picks in 2005 but went 24th to Green Bay, where he went on to win four MVP awards and a Super Bowl.

More recently, Will Levis was considered a near-certain first-round pick in 2023 but slipped into the second round before Tennessee took him at No. 33 overall.

But it’s hard to come up with a fall as steep as this one.

Sanders was projected to go in the first round after he finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy balloting and threw for a school-record 4,134 yards last season. He instead found himself getting passed over as other quarterbacks got selected.

The New York Giants traded up to get the 25th overall pick on Thursday but opted for Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart. New Orleans selected Louisville’s Tyler Shough in the second round. In the third round, Seattle chose Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Cleveland took Gabriel.

Sanders was asked Saturday how his tumble down the draft board might fuel him as he starts his pro career.

“I’ve just got to prove and show what I’m capable of,” Sanders said. “But what fuels me is my purpose in life and understanding the route that we’re going to have to take. Understanding that I was able to get an opportunity when a lot of people didn’t want to give me an opportunity. So that’s what I’m truly thankful for. So that’s what fuels me.”

Sanders now is part of a crowded Browns quarterback room as Deshaun Watson is expected to sit out the upcoming season with a torn Achilles tendon. The group also includes Kenny Pickett, 40-year-old Joe Flacco and Gabriel, who was responsible for a Football Bowl Subdivision-record 188 total career touchdowns during a six-year career that also included stops at Central Florida and Oklahoma.

Cleveland is the first team to draft two quarterbacks in the first five rounds since 2012, when Washington took Robert Griffin III with the second-overall pick and Kirk Cousins in the fourth round.

“I know I’m going to fit in perfect,” Sanders said. “I feel like it’s first getting in, showing the respect to the vets, showing them I’m here ready to work, show the coaches and have them understand I’m here ready to work so they can actually understand the real me.”

One criticism of Sanders was that he was sacked 94 times in his two seasons at Colorado. Concerns also arose about his arm strength. There also were worries about how he would adapt to playing for someone other than his father.

Another potential wild card was how Sanders’ outspoken father might react if he believed a team wasn’t developing Shedeur effectively enough.

Deion Sanders had talked in some old interviews about having an idea where he’d want his sons to play. He sometimes even invoked the name of Eli Manning, who got traded to the New York Giants during the 2004 draft after saying he didn’t want to play for the San Diego Chargers, who had selected him with the No. 1 pick that year.

Some of those issues may have pushed Sanders down some draft boards.

“After we watched the first, second round go by and my name wasn’t called or anything, it was like, ‘OK, all we need is an opportunity,’” Sanders said. “So it really didn’t matter what pick, what round, or anything.”

Some other familiar names also got taken Saturday.

Cam Skattebo, the running back who led Arizona State to a surprising College Football Playoff appearance, went in the fourth round to the New York Giants. Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson, the 2024 Southeastern Conference offensive player of the year, went later in the fourth round to Cleveland. Syracuse’s Kyle McCord, who set an Atlantic Coast Conference single-season record by throwing for 4,779 yards last year, went to Philadelphia in the sixth round.

The two quarterbacks from the most recent CFP championship game went in the sixth round, with Pittsburgh taking Ohio State’s Will Howard at No. 185 and Indianapolis selecting Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard at No. 189. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, whose team lost to Ohio State in the semifinals, went to Miami in the seventh round.

Howard was one of seven Ohio State players to get selected Saturday, meaning 14 players from the reigning national champions were drafted. That left the Buckeyes one shy of the record for a seven-round draft, as Georgia produced 15 draft picks in 2022.

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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow and AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy contributed to this report.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry closed his eyes and rested his tired head on Jimmy Butler’s right shoulder as the superstars shared another postgame moment.

This time, with Butler injured and wearing street clothes — a full-length fur coat at that.

“Well first, he had a fantastic coat on,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought he was going to be way too hot in that thing.”

Sidelined for Game 3 of Golden State’s first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, Butler had a front-row seat to watch his teammate take over Saturday night in a 104-93 win that gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead.

Curry scored 36 points with five 3-pointers and had nine assists and seven rebounds in nearly 41 minutes. He had been determined to do more if Butler couldn’t play after injuring his pelvis and suffering a deep gluteal muscle contusion in a hard fall during Game 2.

Butler and Curry can compare notes on their injured backsides, given that Curry has dealt with a bruised tailbone multiple times. For now, Curry appreciates the support, whether Butler is in uniform or not.

And the fur Butler was wearing?

“I almost didn’t need a hot pack on the sideline sitting next to him. There was plenty of heat emanating from him,” Curry said before adding, “He’s a savvy veteran, high-IQ guy, he’s got a presence whether he’s active or not where his voice matters, and we needed him to lift everybody up on the bench and give us that energy. His presence matched the fit for sure.”

Kerr wasn’t ready to guess whether Butler will be able to play in Game 4 on Monday night.

“He’s literally day-to-day. We have tomorrow off. It will be helpful for him to have another day, and then it’s a night game,” Kerr said. “So he gets a few extra hours. So we’ll see. I have no idea right now if he’s going to play.”

Butler had been set to go through his pregame routine, which he does out of sight on the team’s practice court and not the playing floor before games at Chase Center. He had an MRI exam Thursday in the Bay Area a day after he was hurt in Houston.

“We had to have Jimmy’s back while he was out,” said Gary Payton II, who scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. “Hopefully we get Jimmy back for Game 4 and get back to our regularly scheduled program.”

Jonathan Kuminga, who didn’t play for three straight games before rejoining the rotation in Game 2 when Butler got hurt, was in the starting lineup for his fourth career playoff start.

Butler went down hard when he was fouled by Amen Thompson late in the first quarter and then missed the rest of the Warriors’ 109-94 Game 2 loss on Wednesday night.

Butler tried to secure a rebound when Thompson undercut him and sent the Warriors star’s feet high into the air so that he came down straight onto his tailbone. Both players thudded to the floor and Butler grimaced in pain, grabbing at his backside. He stayed in briefly to shoot two free throws before going to the locker room.

Kerr appreciated Butler’s insight on the bench.

“Jimmy is so smart. He reminds me so much of Andre Iguodala,” Kerr said. “Incredible basketball IQ and then the ability to communicate what he’s seeing to his teammates on the bench. I thought Jimmy was important for us tonight in that regard. He was talking to guys throughout the game, and giving them advice, giving some help, and that was big.”

In the Game 1 win against the Rockets, Butler had 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in 42 minutes. The Warriors are 26-9 since Butler made his debut at Chicago on Feb. 8, including 23-8 in the regular season, a play-in tournament win over Memphis and the three games against Houston.

“We know they are still dangerous without Butler, so that doesn’t change anything as far as that,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “We didn’t make them pay, especially with the paint shots.”

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — As the first team to move on to the second round of the NBA playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder get some time off.

Rest for the best.

Oklahoma City, which finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA at 68-14, closed out a four-game sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday with a 117-115 victory. The Thunder, who have won eight straight dating to the regular season, await the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers-Denver Nuggets series that is tied 2-2.

The Thunder weren’t sure if the break will serve as a benefit.

“Honestly, it could work both ways against us,” forward Jalen Williams said. “It could add a little rust, or it can add a little freshness. I think trying to find a balance between those two is going to be important, however long it is that we have to wait until this next series.”

Oklahoma City dominated the first two games at home and then faced a tougher challenge on the road. After winning Game 1 by 51 points and capturing Game 2 by 19, the Thunder had to overcome a 29-point deficit in Game 3 before holding off a late Memphis rally in Game 4.

“These last two have been good for us,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “On a playoff stage with playoff pressure.”

One aspect of the Oklahoma City play that improved, particularly in Saturday’s Game 4, was the play of guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After leading the league in scoring during the regular season at 32.7 points a game, he struggled — by his standards — in the first two games. He averaged 21 points in the first two and was a combined 14 of 42 from the field.

In Saturday’s series-clinching win, Gilgeous-Alexander made his first seven shots, was 13 of 24 from the field, and finished with 38 points to go with six assists.

“He was pretty consistent with his floor game in all these games,” Daigneault said. “I thought the way he played didn’t change, and that’s what we’re focused on. I thought he had some makeable stuff in the early games that he missed, but I didn’t think he played any different. I just think he got into a groove (Saturday).”

Gilgeous-Alexander said in the past, he might have turned down his aggressiveness if he was struggling. However, he said mentally he made a jump this year.

“I try not to focus on the results and just focus on my mental development,” the Thunder guard said. “I think I’ve taken a step forward in that, and I had a night like (Saturday) because of it.

“In the past, I would definitely, I guess, shied away from the moment because of where my shooting was headed.”

Now he and the Thunder are looking ahead.

“We always say the times between the games is the days that you have to win in the playoffs,” Williams said, “And that’s (what) we’re going to try and tackle in this little break we get. Just try to be a better team.”

While some were not sure if the time off was a benefit, Daigneault said the Thunder will “always take it.”

“It’s good physically to rejuvenate,” he said. “Guys, I’m sure, are dealing with little things here and there that they get to get healthy and it allows ample prep time.

“I thought we handled it really well coming out of the regular season, getting ourselves ready to play at the start of this series. We’re going to have to replicate that.”

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DENVER (AP) — Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog scored his first NHL goal in nearly three years, Logan O’Connor had a short-handed tally and the Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 4-0 in Game 4 on Saturday night to even their first-round series.

Nathan MacKinnon added a power-play goal, Samuel Girard also scored and Brock Nelson had two assists for the Avalanche. Mackenzie Blackwood made 23 saves for his first postseason shutout.

The series moves back to Dallas for Game 5 on Monday.

Landeskog’s snap shot in the second period made it 3-0 and sent the capacity crowd into a frenzy. It was Landeskog’s first goal since June 20, 2022, against Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Final. He helped the Avalanche hoist the Cup six days later.

The 32-year-old Landeskog was sidelined because of a chronically injured right knee. He made his return in Game 3 — 1,032 days after his last NHL game.

“It’s amazing how quickly he’s picked up. It’s crazy, honestly,” said MacKinnon, who gave Landeskog a big hug on the bench after his goal. “It’s beyond all of our expectations.

“It just shows you if you’re good at hockey, you’re good at hockey.”

Landeskog also had an assist on Girard’s goal, and made sure to enjoy the moment especially given how far he’s come.

“There were moments of doubt, and I think it would be foolish not to take a second and enjoy it and really soak it in,” Landeskog said. “Really, the most reflection will probably come when it’s all said and done one day, and you understand what the journey has been like, and the ups and downs and the great days and great games.”

Jake Oettinger was under constant pressure and made several acrobatic saves to keep this game from completely spiraling out of control. He had 31 saves through two periods before giving way to Casey DeSmith for the third.

Stars coach Pete DeBoer said the move was made to get Oettinger some rest.

“We knew they were going to come out with a big push,” DeBoer said. “This is as close to a must-win as you can get for them.”

Added Matt Duchene: “We’ll lick our wounds here tonight and get reset tomorrow and get ready for Game 5.”

The Avalanche outshot the Stars by a 48-23 margin. Colorado found rare open ice against the Stars and utilized its speed. Case in point: Nelson zoomed into the Dallas zone and dished it over to Landeskog for the goal.

“When everything clicks, it’s just a testament to how we can play,” defenseman Cale Makar said.

The Avalanche juggled their power-play unit after going 0 for 6 in Game 3. They added Landeskog to the top line and Valeri Nichushkin to the second team.

It paid off as MacKinnon scored.

“We were just on our toes, highly competitive, puck decisions were all good, guys were willing to skate with the puck and force them to defend,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar explained. “It came together there for a while tonight, which was good to see.”

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DENVER (AP) — Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog took a moment — a few even — to let the reality that he scored his first NHL goal in nearly three years sink in.

It was all so much to absorb — his teammates mobbing him on the ice, his good friend Nathan MacKinnon bear-hugging him on the bench, the crowd thunderously chanting his name.

These were all things he wasn’t sure he’d ever experience again as he worked his way back from a chronically injured right knee.

“There were moments of doubt,” said Landeskog, who also had an assist as the Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 4-0 on Saturday night in Game 4 to tie the first-round series. “I think it would be foolish not to take a second and enjoy it and really soak it in.

“The most reflection will probably come when it’s all said and done one day, and you understand what the journey has been like, and the ups and downs and the great days and great games and what-not. But for now, yeah, you enjoy it.”

It was almost a surreal scene when Landeskog’s second-period snap shot found the back of the net after a pass from Brock Nelson. The crowd instantly erupted and Landeskog’s teammates on the ice rushed over to celebrate. The Avalanche bench was elated, too, as he passed through for glove taps — and eventually that bear hug from MacKinnon.

This was Landeskog’s first goal since June 20, 2022, against Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Final. He helped the Avalanche hoist the Cup six days later.

The 32-year-old Landeskog was sidelined for three regular seasons. He made his return in Game 3 — some 1,032 days since his last NHL game.

“It’s amazing how quickly he’s picked up. It’s crazy, honestly. It’s beyond all of our expectations,” MacKinnon said. “I was kind of laughing in my head, but he’s like, ’I don’t think there’s a difference between a month off or three years off.’ And I was thinking, like, ‘Hmm, whatever. OK.’ But he was right. It looks like he’s been out for four weeks.

“It just shows if you’re good at hockey, you’re good at hockey. He can come back and he’s one of our best players out there. It’s amazing. We missed him.”

Landeskog’s injury traces back to the 2020 “bubble” season when he was accidentally sliced above the knee by the skate of teammate Cale Makar in a playoff game against Dallas. Landeskog eventually underwent a cartilage transplant procedure on May 10, 2023, with no timetable for a return — or even if he could return.

“It was kind of more than just a playoff goal,” MacKinnon said. “I think it was a life goal. It meant a lot to all of us for him to score a goal, and then he had an assist.”

After the game, his teammates made Landeskog wear the oversized Avalanche hat, which is part of the celebration to recognize the team’s top player in a win. To think, that particular celebration was his idea.

“It’s been quite entertaining seeing guys put it on and wear it and look quite silly,” said Landeskog, whose team plays Game 5 on Monday in Dallas. “And then I got to put it on and guys always joke about how big my head is, so it was quite snug on me. But it was fun to finally put it on, no doubt.’’

He remains at a loss to explain all of this.

“Every day, you’re trying to improve, no matter if that’s in the gym or on the ice or whatever,” said Landeskog, who logged 14:37 of ice time Saturday and had three shots. “There’s no difference now that I’m healthy and back in the lineup.

“This morning, I woke up and it’s just no excuses. I don’t want to make this about me missing X-amount of days or whatever. It’s a huge playoff game for us, a must-win here at home and and I think our team played that way, and played real hard and real well. I think I was no different than anybody else tonight. I thought we all brought our ‘A’ game.”

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