Avalanche winger Marek Svatos, the team’s leading goal-scorer with 26, was diagnosed as having a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He will require surgery and will miss at least the rest of this season, the team announced today.
Veteran winger Ryan Smyth was determined to have a suffered a concussion and a minor lef shoulder separation, and the team said he will be out indefinitely. The Avalanche said he would not be allowed to exercise until the concussion symptoms disappear, and the team didn’t specify a possible timetable for when that might be.
Both were injured in Colorado’s 5-2 victory over Los Angeles Saturday night.
Svatos slammed into the boards after a collision with Kings defenseman Jon Klemm, and had to be helped off the ice. Svatos missed all but four regular-season games in 2003-04 and the final 20 games in 2005-06 with shoulder injuries, but this is his first knee problem.
Smyth smashed into the partition at the end of the Colorado bench after a hit from Los Angeles rookie defenseman Jack Johnson.
