Avalanche report: Healthy Svatos a goal-scoring machine

The Rocky

Published January 15, 2008 at 12:45 a.m.

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Photo by Karl B Deblaker / Associated Press

Marek Svatos tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee when he hit the boards awkwardly after a check Saturday night.

Knock on wood

If Marek Svatos could stay in one piece for an entire season, there's no telling how many goals he might score.

But since turning pro with the Avalanche six years ago, the 25-year-old right wing has separated a shoulder three times, fractured a shoulder, suffered a hip ailment and suffered numerous groin injuries.

Now that he's healthy, Svatos has turned into a goal-scoring machine with four in the past three games and 10 in the past 11. His team-leading 20 goals in 42 games are five more than he scored in 66 games last season, when he was coming off offseason shoulder surgery and groin problems that prevented him from playing 13 times.

"I don't know that I ever felt good coming off the surgery," said Svatos, who had 32 goals in 61 games in 2005-06. "I think I struggled from the start."

Svatos got off to a good start this season with seven goals in the first 13 games, then hit a dry spell with two in 18; he missed three games with a groin injury in that stretch before going on his current tear that includes 11 goals (three winners) in 14 games since Dec. 15.

"I try to go to the front of the net and watch the puck and where it goes," he said. "The loose pucks are there and sometimes you get rebounds. It's nice to get those bounces."

Because of injuries and team slumps, coach Joel Quenneville frequently has changed line combinations. Svatos has played with just about everyone and currently is skating with Wojtek Wolski and Tyler Arnason.

"We've played well the last couple games, and, hopefully, we'll continue to do that," Svatos said. "I'm happy for the team and for myself. We had a tough stretch, but now we've gotten two (wins) on the road and, hopefully, we've some momentum going into Tampa."

Theodore again

Goalie Jose Theodore will make his sixth start in a row tonight, his longest regular-season stretch since the Avalanche acquired him from Montreal on March 8, 2006. He played in all nine playoff games in 2006.

Theodore, who is in the final year of a contract worth $6 million this season, has posted a 3-2 record in his past five starts with a 2.17 goals-against average and .921 saves percentage.

"Jose's had a nice little run here," Quenneville said. "He's played real solid and we haven't had many nights where we've given him any (offensive) production on the ice. He's had some real tough losses, and it's nice to see him get some wins. He wants to play. He hasn't played a lot this year, but he's got a little momentum going right now."

Theodore has a 10-10-1 record in 21 games with a 2.72 average and .896 saves percentage. Peter Budaj, who last played Jan. 2 against Phoenix, has a 14-8-2 record in 26 games with a 2.63 average and .901 saves percentage.

He said it

"We had two brutal losses to start the trip. Now we're back to .500 and we'd like to sustain this momentum."

Quenneville

sadowskir@RockyMountainNews.com

Avalanche at Lightning

* When: 5:30 MST tonight.

* Where: St. Petersburg Times Forum, St. Petersburg, Fla.

* TV/radio: Altitude; KKFN-AM (950).

* Leading scorers

Colorado (24-18-3) G A P

C Paul Stastny 16 31 47

RW Milan Hejduk 16 16 32

LW Andrew Brunette 8 22 30

LW Wojtek Wolski 13 15 28

RW Marek Svatos 20 2 22

Coach:

Joel Quenneville

Tampa Bay (17-23-5) G A P

C Vincent Lecavalier 28 35 63

RW Martin St. Louis 17 36 53

C Vaclav Prospal 19 26 45

C Brad Richards 13 25 43

D Paul Ranger 8 15 23

Coach:

John Tortorella * Injuries: Colorado - C Joe Sakic (hernia surgery), D Kurt Sauer (concussion/neck) and LW Ryan Smyth (fractured ankle) are on injured reserve. Tampa Bay - D Dan Boyle (wrist), C Ryan Craig (knee) and RW Michel Ouellet (shoulder) are on injured reserve.

* Sidelight: Remember goalie Marc Denis, the Avalanche's first draft pick in 1995? Now 30, he is playing for the Lightning's American Hockey League affiliate in Norfolk, Va. Denis is in the second year of a three-year, $8.6 million contract, but he had a 1-5 record, 4.05 goals-against average and .859 saves percentage with the Lightning when he cleared waivers.

* Notes: A victory would give the Avalanche its first three-game road winning streak of the season, but the team is 2-4-1 in road games against Tampa Bay since 1995-96. . . . Wolski has one goal and four assists in nine games. . . . D John-Michael Liles has gone 28 games without a goal. . . . The Lightning has lost four home games in a row.

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