Johansson Earns First NHL Shutout In Anaheim

The Colorado Avalanche skaters might not have had their best game of the year, but goaltender Jonas Johansson stood tall behind his teammates and did not allow any shots to get past him.
Johansson stopped all 28 pucks he faced to record his first shutout in the NHL as the Avs won 2-0 on Friday against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.
He didn't need many words to describe his emotions postgame.
"Just happiness right now," he said.

"I am proud of how the guys played in front of me there at the end," Johansson elaborated later on. "I don't think [the Ducks] really had a lot of great scoring opportunities in the third, so the guys played really good in front of me. Good to get the win even though we didn't really have our best game."

The contest was labeled as "a greasy road win" by forward Tyson Jost postgame, as the outing didn't have much of a flow to it.
"That wasn't pretty by any means. J.J. was awesome and we are pretty ecstatic for him to get his first shutout, that's awesome," said Jost. "He did a great job. He was our rock back there tonight, and we relied on him really heavily. We didn't help him out too much and we knew we got better, but that's a greasy road win and we'll take the two points."
As the game went on, the Avs found their legs and began to generate more offensively and got on the board at 17:12 of the second period. Valeri Nichushkin's ninth marker of the year was the only tally of the contest until Mikko Rantanen scored into an empty net in the final minute of play.
"I thought he was really good," head coach Jared Bednar said of Johansson. "He as well got better as the game went on. He looked more confident, he was out on top of his crease, square to the shooter, didn't leave any rebounds laying around the front of the net… For Jonas to come in and do the job he did tonight was impressive, especially considering our team wasn't at its best and lacked some energy, so great job by him."
It was his third start with the Avs after the club acquired him from the Buffalo Sabres on March 21. Since joining Colorado, Johansson has a 2-0-1 record with a .920 save percentage and 2.13 goals-against average in four appearances.
"I haven't really changed that much, I have only been here for not even a month I believe, but I got a good connection right away with Jussi (Parkkila), the goalie coach here," said Johansson. "He had some stuff he thinks I can improve in my game, so we worked on that a lot, but when it comes to a game it's just trying to relax and play hockey. I haven't really changed anything I would say. The guys are playing great in front of me right now, and I feel comfortable out there."

MIDDLETON MAKES DEBUT

Keaton Middleton played his first game in the National Hockey League and the 23-year-old finished with one shot on net, one hit and a penalty in 10:41 of ice time.
He was the 14th blueliner that has played for Colorado this year, the club's most since dressing 16 different D-men in 2010-11. Since the franchise moved to Denver, it is just the third season that the Avs have dressed 14 or more defensemen in a campaign (also 14 in 2008-09).
Middleton has appeared in 14 games this season for the Avs' American Hockey League affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, recording one assist. He has totaled 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 116 career regular-season AHL contests with the Eagles and the San Jose Barracuda, where he spent the 2018-19 and 2019-20 campaigns.
The Edmonton, Alberta, native signed a two-year deal with Colorado on March 31 after beginning the year on an AHL deal with the Eagles.

FINDING NEMO

Prior to the contest, Colorado acquired defenseman Patrik Nemeth from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for the Avs' fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
The Stockholm, Sweden, native was in his second campaign with the Red Wings and tallied eight points (two goals, six assists) in 39 outings with Detroit this year.
Nemeth previously spent two seasons with the Avalanche from 2017-2019 after being claimed on waivers from the Dallas Stars on Oct. 3, 2017 and produced 25 points (four goals, 21 assists) and a plus-32 rating in 142 games with Colorado. The 6-foot-3, 228-pound rear guard finished the 2017-18 campaign with a plus-27 rating, tied for the fifth-best plus/minus rating for a defenseman in Avalanche history (since 1995-96).
"Nemo is a guy we know real well, and we need some experienced D back there," said head coach Jared Bednar. "He is a guy that has been real strong for us in the past on the penalty kill. He's had a couple good years in Detroit, plays a major role on their hockey team, and there is certainly a spot for him on this team. We have some of those heavy lifting minutes that he can bring. He is a player a lot like (Ryan) Graves in that regard where he'll be one of our top penalty killers and fill in with some tough D-zone starts.
"He is a big-body guy that plays physical. He's hard to play against in front of the net. He's a real good defender, knows what he is. He'll be able to take some of those minutes that say (Samuel) Girard and (Cale) Makar and (Devon) Toews are playing on the penalty kill and give them a little bit extra rest so they can use their energy to some of their strengths."
Bednar also said after the game that he was unsure when Nemeth will be joining the team.

MORE POSTGAME NOTES

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The Avalanche equaled its best record after 40 games in franchise history (58 points).
The Avs have scored the first goal of the game a league-best 28 times this season and are 23-3-2 when lighting the lamp first, the most wins in the NHL.
Colorado is now 5-1-1 against Anaheim this season with the final game of the regular season between the clubs set for Sunday afternoon at Honda Center.
The Avalanche has held its opponent scoreless in six games this season, tied with the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders for the most shutouts in the league. Colorado's 2.35 goals against per game ranks third in the NHL.
Mikko Rantanen scored his team-leading 23rd goal of the season and is tied for second in the NHL in goals with Edmonton's Connor McDavid.
Nathan MacKinnon (one assist) extended his point streak to eight games, the longest active streak in the league. He has collected 13 points (five goals, eight assists) during the stretch and 48 points (15 goals, 33 assists) this season, tied with Toronto's Mitch Marner for fourth in the NHL.