In his head, Landeskog has several times seen himself standing there on the ice with the Stanley Cup buckle in his hands.
– Yes, the thoughts run away, especially now that we have reached the final for the first time since I came here in 2011. The most important thing to deal with during the playoffs is not the game schedule or the matches, but it is the fight you have with yourself. It may sound like boring clichés, but it is, says Gabriel.
He is happy that he and his wife Melissa are now parents of two children.
– I have two small children to come home to and just be a father. But when I put my head on the pillow, the thoughts come to how it would feel to lift the trophy. And I think you should allow yourself to have those thoughts, he says.
“A bit like a big brother to me”
About the friendship with Victor Hedman and their contacts via Snapchat during the season in recent years, Landeskog says:
– Now we have to put aside the friendship, which has grown strong over the past ten years. Victor is someone I look up to, he is one of the greatest players we have in the NHL. I’m two years younger than Vigge, so he’s a little big brother to me. I’ve learned a lot from him over the years and was a little star-struck when we first met.
– Now we have both done many years in the league and formed a family, so it is mostly about the children and the family we talk when we have contact during the season.
Now you will meet in a final series, which is expected to be tough and of an epic class. How are you going to handle it?
– Haha, as they say: ‘You have no friends in the corners.’
You’ve been waiting a long time for this moment to experience a Stanley Cup final?
– Yes that is how it is. You might just get a chance to play for the Stanley Cup. It has always felt so far away, but now it is suddenly real. Now we are one of the two teams that can win.
It is said that you must have lost a few times when you were close to be able to take that last step, do you believe in that theory?
– Yes, I believe in that. You probably have to stumble on the finish line a few times to learn how to be a winner. We were the league’s worst team in the 2016-17 season, so I know how difficult it is to go the long way from the bottom to the top.
Colorado has not won the Stanley Cup since 2001, when you were only nine years old and Peter Forsberg was a superstar in Denver. Does it feel like a long time?
– Yes it does. I had a poster of the champion team from 2001 on the wall at home in the boys’ room in Älvsjö. Foppa was a big idol for me.
What do you need to do to twist the dent from the champion of the last two years, Tampa Bay?
– It will be a tough test for us, as they have a good goalkeeper and lots of experience. We play fast, that’s the way we have been successful and we will continue to do so. We have skilled defenders and good depth in the team line-up.
What does it mean if Nazem Kadri has time to return to the team during the final series?
– Kadri has been cruel to us this year. He is so important to our second chain. He is smart and difficult to play against. Kadri is useful in all situations.
You have 12-2 in matches in this year’s playoffs after three rounds?
– We have found different ways to win matches. I think we have beaten eight of the matches we have won, so that’s a strength. I think we as a team have matured in recent years. I thought we were close to going all the way a few years ago and had a good team, but you have to learn to win to become champions. I understand that now. It is important to stick together and be patient.
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