Don’t look now, but Boston goaltender Chad Johnson may be coming around.
It had been almost a whole month since Johnson’s last start -- a disaster in Buffalo where Johnson surrendered four goals on just 23 shots to the league-worst Sabres -- but a start in Dallas against Tyler Seguin and the Stars provided the 27-year-old with a shot at some much needed redemption. And such was found for Johnson and the Bruins in tonight’s 32-save victory.
Though it was a messy start for Claude Julien’s squad, with six minor penalties against the B’s in the opening two periods, the Bruins struck first behind David Krejci’s strike with just four seconds remaining in the middle frame. Enough for Krejci’s 10th of the year, and first since Dec. 31, yet another buzzer beating tally for the Czech centermen gave Boston a 1-0 edge through 40.
But with Erik Cole deflecting home an errant Seguin toss into the back of the net just 1:18 into the third period (yet another power play against for Boston), the time for the hot-and-cold Bruins to jam around Kari Lehtonen was now, and ripe for Brad Marchand.
Taking the puck to the front of the net and jamming away, the 5-foot-9 agitator swatted home his 12th goal of the season just two minutes after Cole’s equalizer, and put the B’s back in their comfort zone.
Milan Lucic tipped home a power play shot from Krejci at the 15:46 mark of the third period for his 13th of the year, and while a goal from Dallas captain Jamie Benn with 1:11 to go made it close, an empty netter from Patrice Bergeron at the 19:44 marker squashed any hopes of another Stars vs. Bruins comeback, much to the chagrin of Vern Fiddler, I’m sure.
It’s tough to call a game where your aching penalty kill was forced to kill six penalties ‘perfect’, this was about as close to a four-line effort from the Black-and-Gold that you’ve seen since the Dennis Seidenberg injury and return of Loui Eriksson and Shawn Thornton.
Finishing with 41 shots on goal for the second straight game, the biggest difference for Boston came in terms of where their shots were generated throughout the lineup. The Campbell line and Krejci line peppered five each and the Bergeron line and Spooner line led the way with nine shots on goal for each line, with Marchand and Carl Soderberg accounting for five shots each.
Everyone was visible tonight. And finally, after a six-game disaster, the Krejci line rolled. The Bruins’ trio of Lucic, Iginla, and Krejci -- a group that had combined for just one goal and three points on 33 shots in their previous six contests -- finished the night with a sound two goals and four points.
But if there was a player that shined above the rest tonight, it was Johnson.
Much has been made about Johnson’s role with the Bruins, and whether or not it makes sense to carry such a ‘lesser talent’ while Niklas Svedberg looks ready for backup duty in the NHL simply because he’s a cheaper option, but No. 30 came to play tonight.
Even when Zdeno Chara’s stick tried to take him out. Caught in the cat eyes of his mask by the 6-foot-9 captain’s blade, Johnson was cut under his eye, and even lost a contact on the clip, forcing him to finish the second period with just one contact in.
(Whatever it takes, right?)
Excluding almost becoming the Governor from the Walking Dead on the Chara accident, Johnson's surprises were all positive ones tonight. And you'll take that, again and again.
It’s Johnson’s unofficial job to fly under everybody’s radar when he plays well (what else is a backup to a $7 million goalie going to be known for, really?), but going back to his nightmare in Buffalo, the 6-foot-3 goaltender has stopped 65 of the last 69 shots thrown his way in three appearances (one start). That’s good for a .942 save percentage, and a streak that could push Johnson for more ice time, something that Bruins fans won’t necessarily mind if it means getting the 26-year-old Rask -- currently paced to start 65 games -- some much needed rest. Especially with Sochi around the bend.
Up next
The Bruins are off ‘til Sunday afternoon, when they’ll skate in a matinee against the 2013 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. It will be the first meeting between the two since last year’s Cup Final, where the ‘Hawks ultimately sank the Bruins behind two goals in 17 seconds in Game 6 in Boston. “Should be a lot of fun,… he said, still in search of the voodoo witch doctor that cursed Jaromir Jagr’s sticks for four damn playoff rounds.