Adirondack Phantoms coach Terry Murray had said the team wouldn't know the extent of Ben Holmstrom's right knee injury until the swelling subsided and the captain underwent surgery.

That procedure was today, and the news was likely not what Murray or the Phantoms wanted to hear.

The Philadelphia Flyers announced Holmstrom had his ACL reconstructed in that right knee, a procedure that carries a four-to-six month recovery time. The Phantoms are scheduled to play their last game April 21, so the best case scenario is that Holmstrom would return for that game and a playoff run.

If it winds up being closer to a six-month recovery time, the captain is probably done for the season.

Holmstrom originally injured the ACL in the second period of a Dec. 8 game against the Syracuse Crunch. He dumped a puck in, felt something and needed to be helped off the ice, the Phantoms said. 

The third-year pro had recorded eight points and posted a plus-three rating in 22 games with the Phantoms, but was a fixture on the team's power play and penalty killing units and was one of the team's top defensive fowards. He is the only forward on the team with a positive plus-minus rating.

Defenseman Oliver Lauridsen is a plus-seven, and there's a story in tomorrow's paper about him.

Murray had said he would consider naming another alternate captain -- likely a forward -- if it was determined that Holmstrom would miss an extended period of time.

Since that's now the case, we'll see if anyone is wearing a letter Friday or Saturday night.

Also Thursday, the National Hockey League cancelled another round of games -- this time through Jan. 14. The league has now cancelled 625 games, more than half its regular-season schedule.

EDIT: Saturday's opponent, Bridgeport, has announced another way it is going to honor the victims of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The team is wearing black jerseys for the next month, and each one of them will bear the name of one of the child victims in lieu of the player's.

Tom McVie and Don Sweeney are the honorary captains for the AHL All-Star Game. Word is Providence's Trent Whitfield will be one of the actual playing captains, Mark Diver reports.