Artturi Lehkonen is expected to miss “weeks” after crashing head-first into the end boards Thursday night, per Colorado coach Jared Bednar.

Lehkonen collided with Seattle defenseman Jamie Oleksiak during the second period of a 4-3 loss to the Kraken at Ball Arena. He went to a local hospital as a precaution for further evaluation.

“We’re still gathering information, but he’s going to miss weeks,” said Bednar, who reiterated upon further review that he didn’t believe Oleksiak’s hit deserved a penalty. “Can’t give you a timeline yet.”

Bednar said it is not a head injury, but didn’t offer further details on the issue. It is the first significant blow to the Avalanche during the 2023-24 regular season. The Avs have had two players miss one game each from the opening-night roster because of injury.

Lehkonen is a key secondary scorer for the Avs. He’s relied upon in all three phases of the game. Cale Makar called him “hard as nails” and Andrew Cogliano referred to him as “an ultimate warrior” after the game Thursday.

How do the Avs replace Lehkonen?

“You don’t,” Bednar said.

Cogliano, who was hit from behind by Seattle defenseman Vince Dunn but did return to the game Thursday night, will also not play Saturday against the St. Louis Blues. Bednar said he hopes Cogliano’s situation is just day-to-day. This is the first game this season that Colorado will be missing two players from the regular roster because of injury.

The Avs remain without captain Gabe Landeskog and backup goaltender Pavel Francouz, who are both on long-term injured reserve while recovering from serious injuries and have not been on the ice with the club since the start of training camp.

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