By Jordan Long
The Colorado Avalanche received awful news on defenseman Erik Johnson. Johnson suffered a broken leg during the Avalanche’s 3-0 loss against the Dallas Stars this past weekend. Johnson broke his leg trying to block Dallas Stars’ center Tyler Seguin shot during the second period. He is now out 6 to 8 weeks.
Johnson is one of Colorado’s best defensemen. He logs an average of 22:01 minutes every game so far this season. Johnson is on the ice when the opponents’ best line is on the ice. He tries to shut them down from having a scoring chance by checking them or blocking their shots.
Johnson is also valuable on the power play and power play kill. On the power play he is the point man. This allows him to shoot the puck towards the net or set up his teammates for goals. On the power play kill Johnson can poke check the puck away and shoot it to the other end of the ice to take time off the power play kill. The Avalanche are going to miss his play.
According to ESPN Head Coach Jared Bednar said “Injuries are no excuse, but it helps to have some of those guys in the lineup. You’re missing a pair on D. I still can’t help but feel we have more to give. You still have to stick with it and work through it. That’s the only way you get out of it is to work out of it.”
With Johnson sidelined, Tyson Barrie and Francois Beauchemin become the Avalanche top pair. They are going to need to find their teammates on the open ice for them to score. When the opponents are skating with the puck they must poke check it away from them. If they can’t, they need to block the shot to eliminate the scoring chance. Hopefully the Avalanche will be able to play defense without Erik Johnson and limit opposing teams from scoring.
How will the Colorado Avalanche replace Erik Johnson for the next 6 to 8 weeks?
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