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Johansson to start vs. Blues; O'Brien will make season debut

April 2, 2021, 4:49 PM ET [0 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Goalie Jonas Johansson will make his first home start for the Avalanche on Friday when they play the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena.

Acquired from the Buffalo Sabres on March 20 for a sixth-round pick in the 2021 NHL draft, Johansson made 28 saves in a 5-4 shootout loss at Arizona on March 23; the Coyotes scored on all three of their shots in the shootout.

Johansson is 0-5-2 in eight games this season with a 3.78 goals-against average and .883 save percentage.

Here are the GAME NOTES.

Philipp Grubauer, who has played 30 of the Avalanche’s first 35 games (29 starts), will be in net Saturday in the second game of the back-to-back set against the Blues.

“He’s been OK, he’s been pretty good (in practice),” coach Jared Bednar said of Johansson after the morning skate. “I think he’s settling in here a little bit for us. Although we haven’t had a lot of team practices, we’ve had a lot of goalie practices.

“We have three guys here and they’re working on the off-days – (Adam) Werner, Johansson and then on game days too both those guys are getting some work because Grubi’s just taking the net a bit in pregame skates. (There’s been) a lot of one-on-one teaching and video with (goalie coach) Jussi (Parkkila), and they’re getting lots of shots with both the taxi squad and the regular roster on the days off.

“They’ve been working hard and trying to improve and develop. This is one of those weekends now where we’ve got him going back in since he’s had a chance to settle in here a little bit, got us a big point in Arizona, so hopefully he has a good game for us tonight.”

The Avalanche will make one more change, with Liam O’Brien filling in for Logan O’Connor on the fourth line. O’Connor sustained a lower-body injury Wednesday against Arizona and will be out for weeks, Bednar said.

O’Brien, 26, was on an American Hockey League contract until signing a one-year deal with the Avalanche earlier this week.

The 6-foot-1, 213-pound O’Brien is from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He had eight points (four goals, four assists) and 15 penalty minutes in 12 games with the Colorado Eagles.

O’Brien played parts of three seasons with the Washington Capitals and had a goal, an assist and 28 penalty minutes in 17 games with them.

He had 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) and 83 penalty minutes last season with the Hershey Bears of the AHL.

O’Brien missed training camp with an undisclosed injury.

“He’s a wrecking ball, he’s hard-nosed, a heavy guy, plays with physicality, has good skill, can contribute,” Bednar said.

O’Brien said he’s feeling “some butterflies,” adding, “it’s hockey. I’ve done this a million times, so I’m just excited to play.

“When it comes to a sandpaper game, that’s kind of the way I play. I just want to keep people honest, play hard and chip in offensively.”

The Avalanche will welcome ticketed fans for the first time – 4,050 in all – after playing before health care providers, frontline staff, first responders, players' families and employees of owners Kroenke Sports and Entertainment against Arizona on Wednesday.

The lineup:

FORWARDS
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Brandon Saad -- Nazem Kadri -- Andre Burakovsky
Valeri Nichushkin – Tyson Jost -- Joonas Donskoi
J.T. Compher -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Liam O’Brien

DEFENSE
Devon Toews -- Samuel Girard
Ryan Graves -- Cale Makar
Dan Renouf -- Jacob MacDonald

GOALIES
Jonas Johansson
Philipp Grubauer



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