Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told Ryan Boulding of NHL.com that he doesn’t believe the injury to Jack Johnson is serious and he has the defenseman as day to day. Johnson was scratched late on Tuesday night before their game one matchup with the Seattle Kraken. Erik Johnson took his spot on the blue line in the 3-1 loss.
Jack Johnson had signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks last summer after winning his first Stanley Cup with Colorado. The Michigan alum then returned to the Avalanche in a midseason trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. Overall, the former third overall pick had two goals and six assists in 83 games split between both teams.
While Jack Johnson doesn’t possess the offensive abilities that he once did and has struggled at times in his own end, he is likely the best fit for Colorado’s third pairing. If he can play in game two on Thursday it would likely bump Erik Johnson back out of the lineup. The 2006 first overall pick has struggled this season after putting up a respectable 25 points just last year.
The Avalanche currently find themselves down 1-0 to the lower seeded Kraken as they begin the defense of the Stanley Cup. They are already missing Gabriel Landeskog and Josh Manson and can ill afford to lose any more bodies as they try to claw back even in their series with Seattle.
Not that there aren’t several injured contributors to mention along with Landeskog, but Josh Manson has already returned and played in Game 1 last night.
Mostly true, but my definition of playing looks a lot different than what Manson put out there last night