Report: John Tavares out for season with torn MCL
Islanders captain John Tavares leads the team with 66 points (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
New York Islanders captain John Tavares will miss the final 22 games of the NHL season after tearing an MCL in his left knee on Wednesday during Team Canada's quarterfinal win vs. Latvia, according to a report Thursday morning from Arthur Staple of Newsday.
The 2009 first overall pick went down in the second period when he was slammed into the boards by Latvia's Arturs Kulda. The 23-year-old captain left the ice and did not return.
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According to the report, Tavares will remain with Canada for its final two games and will attend the medal ceremony before returning to Long Island from Sochi. Once back in the United States, however, he may need surgery to repair a torn medial collateral ligament and a torn meniscus in his left knee, according to Staple.
Tavares, who leads the team with 66 points, has missed only four games with the Islanders, including one this season because of a minor hip injury.
The Islanders resume NHL play on Feb. 27 with a game at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
