Erik Johnson Out|Colorado Avalanche Players Need to Step Up
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Colorado Avalanche defenseman
Erik Johnsoncannot play in Tuesday’s game against the Nashville Predators. According to NHL rules, if he has an injury severe enough to force him to miss the NHL All Star weekend, then he has to miss at least the first game back from the break. This rule is obviously put into effect so that stars don’t use the All Star break to rest up despite being healthy and voted in. If they play, they’ll be suspended by the NHL.
Some people speculated that a rash of injuries that affected All Star invitees late were just that — a ploy to get to rest. That is highly unlikely to be the case with Erik Johnson as he was showing signs of injury as early as last Tuesday.
That said, Johnson will miss at least that first game back. This means several players in the Avalanche lineup will have to step up.
Defensemen
The most obvious players who need to step up are Johnson’s fellow defensive corps. However, this will not be easy as none of them are as skilled as Johnson.
Erik Johnson is typically paired with Jan Hejda during regular play. They are the top defensive pairing, and they see big minutes against the big lines. (Johnson averages 24 minutes a game — and they’re not easy minutes.) Hejda has been playing well this season. He’s more of a shut-down defenseman, so he’ll be able to step up in the defensive gap.
There is no one on the team to “replace” Johnson, but the only player I can imagine being paired with Hejda for those big minutes is Brad Stuart. Stuart typically sees about 19 minutes of ice time. He hasn’t had a stellar offensive season, but he’s been jumping into the play a lot recently, and his physicality is well known. In fact, he was picked up to play on a line with Johnson, though that didn’t work out. (They never really meshed.)
The Tyson Barrie–Nate Guenin pairing is #2 on the team. Barrie is renowned for his offensive skills, which is as it should be. He’s fourth on the team for scoring, above even forwards Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan O’Reilly and Nathan MacKinnon. His big weakness is physicality — he essentially has little to none.
Guenin is certainly more physical, but he’s nowhere near as talented as Barrie. They work well because Guenin shuts down the gaps Barrie’s jumping into the play causes. With Johnson out, they need to play a simpler game.
Zach Redmond and Nick Holden are both wild cards. They can make plays that greatly impact the team — both positively and negatively. For that reason they see a lot less ice time than Johnson. That probably won’t radically change.
Forwards
The Colorado Avalanche are known for their speed and offensive skill. Nonetheless, head coach Patrick Roy has stressed the defensive side to the forwards’ game as well. He expects them to backcheck. The forwards follow this expectation to varying degrees.
Well, with the big, fast defenseman Erik Johnson out, backchecking needs to be a focus. Johnson is fast enough to get back to his own blueline if a rush happens the other way, and he’s big enough to do something about it.
Jarome Iginla, Alex Tanguay, Gabriel Landeskog, Max Talbot and Cody McLeod all have great two-way games. They simply need to stay sharp.
John Mitchell, Ryan O’Reilly, Marc-Andre Cliche and Daniel Briere are good at backchecking. Mitchell is also quite physical, and Briere is a scrappy sort. It would be good if Cliche and O’Reilly ramped up their physicality a notch.
Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene have upped their backchecking under Roy’s system. It’s tough to say that needs to be a focus for them, though, because scoring has been an issue team-wide. Plus, those two have been warming up offensively, which is something we’ve all been waiting for.
Dennis Everberg, though, could benefit the team with a little more defensive play.
Goalie
Goalie Semyon Varlamov can be great, and he can be phenomenal. With Johnson out, he needs to be phenomenal. He’s going to see a lot of shots from some quality players in Nashville. He’s just going to have to employ that laser focus and look like the Vezina finalist from last season.
Erik Johnson is the cornerstone of the Colorado Avalanche defense. Some fans don’t realize just how good he is until he’s out. Let’s hope the rest of the team tightens up enough that such viewers remain oblivious.