St. Paul, Minn. – The next couple of days figure to be a nervous time for Marek Svatos and the Avalanche. That’s because the Avs’ leading goal scorer has pain in his right shoulder – the same one he needed surgery on in the past.
“I hope it’s not serious,” said Svatos, a spectator Sunday for the Avs’ game against Minnesota.
Svatos suffered the injury in Saturday’s game at Dallas, most likely after a big hit from Stars veteran Jason Arnott.
Svatos also took a hard cross-check in the back from Brendan Morrow and suffered a couple of chipped teeth from a high stick.
Given Svatos’ previous shoulder problems (he missed most of the 2003-04 season after shoulder surgery), the latest injury is a worry.
“We’ll see. (Sunday) morning he was kind of iffy,” Avs coach Joel Quenneville said.
Svatos leads the Avalanche in goals (32) and the NHL in game-winning goals (nine).
Footnotes
Avs defenseman Rob Blake missed a few shifts in the second period with what appeared to be a right shoulder injury. After receiving treatment in the dressing room, he returned a few minutes later. Blake’s shoulder was wrapped in ice after the game…Left wing Brad May sat out a second straight game because of a hand injury. … Captain Joe Sakic went scoreless for the sixth straight game, and was a minus-3. He has one goal in his past nine games, four in his past 24….Marian Gaborik’s goal marked the fourth straight game he scored for the Wild….The Avs are slated to practice today in St. Louis.
