Hope is no longer a strategy, O Captain, my Captain. Not a working strategy. Not a Stanley Cup-winning strategy, at any rate. Without Gabe Landeskog, the Avs are stuck spinning their wheels in neutral, pining for the hockey gods to give them a push.

“I’d like to be able for him to come back and be able to play,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said late Friday after his team’s playoff dreams ended with a gut punch of a loss at home, this time to Dallas, for a second straight spring. “And I think that can happen. And if anybody can do it, Gabe can do it.”

Amen. If you’re not rooting like heck for Landy to be back out on that ice, raising the bar and setting the tone, you don’t have a soul. Let’s be clear: The Avs aren’t in this championship window without him.

But let’s be clear on something else, too, the uncomfortable reality even if you wear burgundy and blue glasses: This franchise has been running in place for almost two years, in part, because of him. Because of that blasted knee. Because of those blasted surgeries. Because of that blasted hope.

None of this is Landy’s fault. Are you kidding? Nobody this side of Nathan MacKinnon wants to finish what the ’22 Stanley Cup champs started more than big No. 92, where the buck, and the bull junk, always stops.

But like the castaways on Gilligan’s Island, the Avs look as if they’ve spent 18 months stranded on the beach, singing songs by the campfire, waiting for a rescue ship that may or may not ever come.

“I’m optimistic and hopeful,” Bednar said of his absent captain. “(But) I don’t think we got close to getting him back (this postseason).”

It’s the teasing, the hope, that kills you. And we get it. You completely understand why the Avs would treat Landy’s knee with kid gloves. Why they’d give him all the time he needs. As with Valeri Nichushkin, the other elephant in Bednar’s locker room, nobody on this roster steps in and does what the captain did — and presumably still can.

Landeskog’s absence was especially felt in this second-round series, when a team as sound, physical and deep as Dallas needed to have its teeth rattled a few times. When Jamie Benn cheap-shotted Devon Toews in Game 2, for example, there were no immediate reprisals, no one stepping forward to enforce on-ice justice.

“What, do you just want us to take penalties and fight?” veteran defenseman Jack Johnson replied after Game 6 when I asked about this roster’s toughness. “Is that what you want?

“I mean, toughness comes out in different ways. If you just want penalties and to fight, you’re not going to get very far in the playoffs.

“The team that won (in 2022) had plenty of toughness … I don’t think that anyone looked down the list of that (title) team and saw a lot of goons.”

No, but they did look down that list to see Landy and Nazem Kadri — two dudes who gave on this stage as good as they got.

The longer general manager Chris MacFarland is hamstrung by sentiment, the longer this championship window remains in stasis. Was MacKinnon a frustrating watch, at times, against the Stars’ defense? No question. But as long as Gabe’s future and Nichushkin’s status with the Avs are murky, so are your parade plans.

It’s that simple.

O Captain, my Captain, come back soon. Or don’t come back at all. The island’s getting lonely. Lord Stanley’s skies are getting darker sooner here with each passing year.

“I don’t know. I don’t know the answer to that,” Bednar said of Gabe and Val. “You hate having that uncertainty because it makes it hard to plan … for management, for Chris and Joe (Sakic) …

“Those are obviously a couple of guys who have significant cap hits. I don’t know where that goes or (how) far this goes this summer. That’s a challenge. That’s a big challenge.”

It is. Meanwhile, the wheels keep spinning. And this much is clear: The hockey gods are done doing Bednar any more favors. From here on out, if the Avs are going to move forward, MacFarland’s going to have get out of the car and do the pushing himself.

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MINNEAPOLIS – Napheesa Collier had 29 points, nine rebounds, five assists and six steals, Kayla McBride added 19 points and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Seattle Storm 102-93 in double overtime on Friday night.

Minnesota led 78-67 with 3:22 left in regulation before Seattle scored the next 11 points.

McBride missed two free throws with 24.1 seconds left in regulation and she fouled Jewell Loyd on a 3-point attempt at the other end. Loyd made all three free throws to tie it at 78-all. Courtney Williams missed a baseline jumper for Minnesota and Loyd was off on a jumper at the other end to send it to overtime.

Collier made the first of two free throws to tie it at 88-all with 2.7 seconds left in the first overtime. But she missed the second free throw and Seattle was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer.

Collier and McBride each made a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to start the second overtime to put Minnesota ahead 94-88. Alanna Smith made Minnesota’s 13th 3-pointer with 1:25 left to seal it.

The teams combined for 52 turnovers, 38 steals, and 54 free-throw attempts.

Smith finished with 16 points and six blocks and Williams added 10 points for Minnesota (2-0), which was coming off an 83-70 win at Seattle on Tuesday.

Nneka Ogwumike had 24 points, 11 rebounds and five steals for Seattle (0-2). Skylar Diggins-Smith added 22 points and Loyd finished with 20 before fouling out with 59.2 seconds left in the first overtime.

Ogwumike scored the opening points of the first overtime to give Seattle its first lead since it was 4-2.

Loyd struggled again from the field, combining to go 7 for 40 in two games.

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San Jose, Calif. (May 17, 2024) – San Diego Wave FC (3-4-2, 11 points) fell 2-1 to Bay FC (3-7-0, 9 points) at PayPal Park on Friday night. 

Kyra Carusa opened the scoring for San Diego in the 23rd minute with her second goal of the season, tied for the team lead. Midfielder Savannah McCaskill hit an inswinging corner kick that was bouncing in the box before finding the feet of Carusa. The San Diego native was able to connect with the ball and hit a first-time shot into the bottom left corner. 

Bay FC pulled one back in the 55th minute by way of Scarlett Camberos to find the equalizer. The home side then grabbed the go-ahead goal through an own goal that garnered through the pressure of Bay forward Racheal Kundananji in the 87th minute. 

Next on the schedule: San Diego Wave FC travels to face Angel City FC on Thursday, May 23 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. The match will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. PT. 

Social: Twitter – @sandiegowavefc | Instagram – @sandiegowavefc | Facebook

Notes:

• Forward Kyra Carusa scored her second goal of the season. The goal marked the San Diego native’s fourth NWSL career goal, all of which have been scored on the road for the Wave.  
• Defender Naomi Girma earned her first start since April 27. The 2023 U.S. Soccer Player of the Year played the first 45 minutes of the game after returning from a thigh injury. 
• Defender Abby Dahlkemper came in as a second-half substitute for Girma. Dahlkemper played her first minutes since April 19 as the central defender returned from a thigh injury. 
• Midfielder Sofia Jakobsson came on as a substitute in the 65th minute. The Swedish international last appeared for the Wave on April 19 due to a lower leg injury. 
• Alex Morgan (lower leg), Jaedyn Shaw (lower leg) and Makenzy Doniak (lower leg) were unavailable for today’s match. 

Box Score:
San Diego Wave FC 1:2 Bay FC 

Scoring Summary:
SD – Carusa (2) 23’
BAY – Camberos (1) (Pickett, 1) 55’
BAY – Own goal 87’

Misconduct Summary:
BAY – Boade 35’ (Caution)
SD – McCaskill 80’ (Caution)

San Diego Wave FC: GK Sheridan ©, D Westphal (McNabb 59’), D Girma (Dahlkemper HT), D Wesley, D Lundkvist, M van Egmond, M McCaskill (Ali 89’), M Colaprico, F Jones (Jakobsson 65’), F Carusa (Bennett 59’), F Sánchez

Subs not used: GK Beall, D Torpey, D Enge, M Ascanio

Bay FC: GK Rowland, D King (Malonson 89’), D Dydasco, D Menges, D Sharples, M Pickett, M Anderson (Bailey 76’), M Boade (Castellanos 89’), F Kundananji, F Oshoala, F Camberos (Beattie 90+’)

Subs not used: GK Proulx, M Shepherd, M Conti, F Princess, F Hill

Stats Summary: SD / BAY
Shots: 16 / 6
Shots on Target: 4 / 2
Saves: 1 / 2
Corners: 5 / 6
Fouls: 5 / 8
Offsides: 0 / 2
Possession: 49% / 51%