Evan’s Daily: Cale Makar’s Acting Resume Growing, Landeskog Not Returning in Regular Season

Cale Makar may be the best defenseman in the NHL, but is he the best actor? Okay, maybe not, but on Saturday afternoon, his new commercial was all over ABC.

Hearing that Gabriel Landeskog will not play before the end of the regular season isn’t really a surprise, but it’s still a tough pill to swallow for Colorado Avalanche fans.

All that and more in this Sunday edition of Evan’s Daily.

Colorado Hockey Now

Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet confirmed that Gabriel Landeskog will not play in the final week of the regular season. Will he play in the playoffs? We’ll see, but it’s tough news to swallow. Back in September, could you have imagined the Avalanche going the entire season without their Captain? Crazy how this has all played out.

The Avalanche went into Los Angeles and won one of the ugliest games of the season, thanks to their goaltender.

They had to do it without Bowen Byram, but they got some good news: Pavel Francouz will return on Sunday.

We took a look at the playoff odds on Saturday, and probably will keep updating it.

Around the NHL

We’ve all seen Makar and Landeskog’s Pepsi commercial. Great Clips must have loved Makar’s work, because they hired him for their new ad. Take a look at the commercial below.

Some of my new work just aired this week. Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, for Great Clips. #GoAvsGo #dp #director #nhl #calemakar #commercial pic.twitter.com/UhXuHDOzli

— Brook Aitken Cinematographer (@Brookaitken) January 27, 2023

In the Central Division, the Dallas Stars won again. They beat the Vegas Golden Knights in a shootout. It was a pretty ugly game to watch, but the Stars put pressure on the Avalanche with the win. Luckily, the Avalanche responded.

Also winning were the Minnesota Wild, as they got Kirill Kaprizov back on Saturday night. It helps that they got to face Jordan Binnington.

National Hockey Now

PHN: Sidney Crosby scored his 1,500th point, which really makes you feel old. But he only cared about the win, as the Penguins kept pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race.