EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Jason Allison will be lost to the Los Angeles Kings for 2-to-3 months because of a torn ligament in his right knee.

	The Kings had originally suspected Jason Allison had torn his ACL as well, but tests revealed he had only sprained it.

Allison, the team's leading scorer, tore the medial collateral ligament and sprained and sprained another ligament, tests showed Wednesday. The injury, sustained Tuesday night in a 4-0 win at Atlanta, isn't expected to require surgery to repair, team spokesman Jeff Moeller said.

Allison was injured in a collision with Atlanta's Andy Sutton. The Kings forward was skating across the red line when he cut sharply to the left, his right knee striking Sutton's left knee. Allison dropped to the ice, writhing in pain, and had to be helped to the locker room.

He flew back to Los Angeles, where he underwent an MRI on Wednesday that revealed the knee damage.

Allison led the Kings in scoring last season with 19 goals and 55 assists after being acquired from Boston. He was pacing Los Angeles again this season, with four goals and seven assists in the first eight games.

The 27-year-old center had his best season with the Bruins in 2000-01, scoring 36 goals and adding 59 assists.

Kings coach Andy Murray complained after Tuesday's game that he thought Sutton deliberately stuck out his knee.

Sutton received a penalty for roughing, and as soon as he stepped from the penalty box he was confronted by the Kings' Ian Laperriere, who received a two-minute instigating penalty as well as a 10-minute misconduct.

Thrashers coach Curt Fraser said he didn't think the play was flagrant, and several Kings players agreed.

''It was an accident,'' Kings captain Mattias Norstrom said. ''I don't think anyone would do something like that intentionally. But it's a tough loss for us if he's going to be out a while.''