THE NEW GUY
Bednar praises goalie’s effort
Jonas Johansson’s fresh start in the NHL began on Tuesday night with his Avalanche debut in net. It quickly turned into a goalie’s worst nightmare.
The Arizona Coyotes, with only three shots on Johansson in the first period, led 2-0.
“I felt bad putting him in that position,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. “It’s his first game with a new team. I’m sure he was excited to play, but also, I’m sure a little bit nervous.”
The first chapter in Johansson’s story with the Avalanche ended with a 5-4 loss in the desert. The 25-year-old Sweden native — acquired Saturday via trade from the Buffalo Sabres — made 28-of-32 saves through regulation and overtime before allowing all three goals in a shootout.
It wasn’t pretty. But coaches and teammates see no reason to panic over the Avs’ new backup goalie.
“It’s good to get Jonas in the net,” coach Jared Bednar said. “He did some really good things for us at times. There are probably one or two (goals) that he would like back. … He had a little bit of tough luck, but I liked his work ethic, and I liked some of the things he did. He’s only going to get better as he settles in and gets more comfortable with our team.”
Landeskog added: “The first two goals are definitely not on him. … Two defensive zone breakdowns that shouldn’t happen.”
Johansson eventually settled into the game, shut out Arizona in the second period, and the Avs took a commanding 4-2 advantage early in the third. But the Coyotes beat Johannson twice — both from rebounded shots — to send the game to overtime. Johansson stood tall in the extra period with three impressive saves.
“He comes up with those big saves in overtime to give us a chance,” Bednar said. “It went to the shootout, and unfortunately, they were the better team.”
The Avalanche still has the opportunity to trade for another goalie before the April 12 deadline if the team lands on a different backup for Philipp Grubauer. Johansson is on a two-way deal this season that would pay him $200,000 if he is sent down to the American Hockey League.
Forward depth. Avalanche winger J.T. Compher was a healthy scratch on Tuesday night with Logan O’Connor placed on the team’s fourth line.
“Tough decisions,” Bednar said. “We’ve got 13 healthy forwards that can really help us. Logan has been out for a couple of games and was playing really well when I took him out. … He’s a big part of our penalty kill and plays with energy. (He has) fresh legs in a back-to-back.”
Goals streak. The Avs set a franchise record on Tuesday with a goal scored in 20 consecutive periods. It breaks the previous mark of 18 reached back in 1996. Forward Mikko Rantanen has been the catalyst with at least one goal in each of the past five games.