Ryan Smyth was taken off the ice on a stretcher, and Marek Svatos needed two teammates to help him get into the dressing room. So much for a Saturday night of celebration for the Avalanche.
On a night when defenseman Adam Foote made his return to the Avs and they beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-2, all of it was overshadowed by the frightening injuries to the Colorado forwards, particularly the veteran Smyth.
Smyth, who scored Colorado's first two goals, suffered what appeared to be a serious head or neck injury after being hit into the partition near the Avalanche bench by Kings defenseman Jack Johnson with 28.5 seconds left in the second period.
Smyth appeared to be knocked out cold at first, but he regained consciousness and was walking afterward in the dressing room. He was taken to a local hospital, however, for further observation. The Avalanche will give more of an update today.
"He walked out of the building, so that was good," Avs coach Joel Quenne- ville said. "The hit on Ryan was a clean hit. He was kind of compromised with the turnbuckle there. You see a few of those hits over the course of a year."
Avs lose forwards in win over Kings - The Denver Post
Avs lose forwards in win over Kings (Denver Post) 
