Colorado Avalanche Defenseman Erik Johnson Scores Sexy On-Sides Goal

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson’s on-sides goal against the Calgary Flames was a thing of beauty.

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson has solved the mystery of the hockey-verse. No one else can figure out what an on-sides goal is, but our cornerstone defenseman has.

Well, he scored one anyway. One of only three goals the Avalanche scored was a tally that was so-close to being offsides. Luckily for Avs Nation, Johnson appears to have big feet — it was just the heels of his skates that remained on the blueline as forward Matt Calvert drives into the zone:

It’s hard to tell from any of the angles in this replay, but Johnson keeps his feet flat as he enters the zone a nano-second after the puck. Altitude TV analyst Mark Rycroft telestrated it after the game, but those videos aren’t made available unfortunately.

Besides being an Erik Johnson — and, by extension Avalanche — goal, there are a few other things I like about this tally. For one, it shows Johnson’s speed. I do love to see our Condor fly.

Second, it shows Johnson jumping into the play, which is an Avs hockey special for a defenseman. Johnson used to do it a lot more before he had to be the cornerstone of defense on the team.

Finally, the reason Johnson feels comfortable jumping into the rush is that the seconds are winding down in the period. You can hear the announcers already winding down their commentary, figuring the period is as good as over. However, 20 seconds is quite a lot in hockey, as Johnson shows us. It is, in fact, enough time to score the game-tying goal.

I also like how Johnson seems to praise “Calvert baby!” in his celebration as the forward skates to join him.

A lot of Avs fans have been stating Erik Johnson isn’t having a good season. That was only Johnson’s third goal of the season. I mean, that does put him on-pace for six goals, which is a little low.

He has 14 points on the season. That puts him on-pace for 28, which is about middling. We have to remember Johnson is a two-way defenseman, not an offensive defenseman.

We also have to remember Johnson’s role is changing. He’s 30 now and just about to enter veteran territory in the next couple years. He’s had to change not only his playing style to accommodate that, but probably also his training to some level.

What’s more, part of his changing role is he’s having to take on more of a mentorship role. He’s always been a leader. But now he’s the guy on the blueline who coaches the young blueliners on how to play NHL hockey.

As GM Joe Sakic would say, Erik Johnson plays hockey the right way. Sometimes that way doesn’t put a lot of points up on the boards for a two-way defenseman. However, as we saw last night, EJ can still score for the Colorado Avalanche.