The beginning of the end for Jack Johnson’s goal drought was at first intermission.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar identified an adjustment he wanted to make Monday night in Anaheim. The veteran third-pairing blueliner Johnson delivered.
“We went over a couple things after the first period that we felt like we could do, in order to create some offense,” Bednar said. “And shooting it from the point was part of it. Taking the middle of the ice from the point was part of it, if (the Ducks) were slow to get out there. And he did both. It’s a little bit of an extended shift. We get a low-to-high to him, he charges the middle. While he charges the middle, we get a great screen from Nieto in front. He blasts it.
“So it sort of followed what we talked about in the locker room after the first. I like to see guys rewarded for doing things right.”
Bednar chatted with Johnson about the goal again Wednesday before the Avalanche faced Minnesota in a battle for first place. Specifically, in relation to his last one. Johnson scored the Avalanche’s first goal of the 2021-22 season
Here are the stats of Johnson’s drought: 529 days; 159 games played, including 73 in 2021-22, 13 in the 2022 playoffs and 73 more in 2022-23; 3,561 shifts; 132 shots on goal denied; one Stanley Cup ring; and two different teams, with a new contract then a trade back to the first team.
“It was getting kind of embarrassing,” Johnson told The Post. “It’s always fun to score. With all the chances I had at the beginning of this year, I probably should have five or six.”
He was being tongue-in-cheek, to an extent. The reason Colorado traded to get Johnson back from Chicago before the deadline was to regain his defensive steadiness, durability and playoff experience. He’s not in Denver to score goals, even if it is a nice perk.
“There was a time in my career where definitely I would have felt some pressure,” Johnson said, “but I think now that with the role I’m in and everything, I just worry about playing my game.”
The transition to a new, old team has been smooth, he said — “as easy a transition as you’re going to have, right? You know everyone coming in. Players, coaches, staff. I don’t have to hit the navigation (app) to figure out where I’m going.”
Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.
