Johnson, a retired NHL forward, current analyst with NHL Network and TSN, and a co-host on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio, joined the "NHL @TheRink" podcast Thursday. Part of the discussion he had with co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke focused on the eight teams in the East, in particular the goaltending.
"(Tampa Bay) obviously looks at their goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy] and says, 'Yeah, we are all set, we love him, we don't spend one second thinking about that guy,'" Johnson said. "Rangers do the same thing even though [Igor] Shesterkin hasn't played in the playoffs. They don't spend one second worrying about anything with their goalie.
"Every other team in the East [does], even the best ones. Florida, you don't think there is a little seed of doubt where [Sergei] Bobrovsky, he's been OK, wins a ton but hasn't played great. Jack Campbell, it's been well-documented his tale of two seasons. [Tristan] Jarry's injury. [Frederik] Andersen's injury. Is it [Jeremy] Swayman or is it not? Is it [Ilya] Samsonov? These are all Stanley Cup-worthy teams with huge questions in net."
Rosen and Roarke supported Johnson's take.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have reason to believe in Vasilevskiy after he helped them win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. The Rangers' trust in Shesterkin is warranted since he's a favorite to win the Vezina Trophy voted as the best goalie in the NHL this season.
But Campbell has been up and down for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes don't know if they'll have Jarry and Andersen, respectively, for the first round because they are out with lower-body injuries.
The Boston Bruins have two goalies, Swayman and Linus Ullmark, who have never played an NHL postseason game. The Washington Capitals have Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek, who combined have played four playoff games.
And even though the Panthers have won 11 consecutive games, Bobrovsky has a 3.11 goals-against average and .892 save percentage despite going 6-0-0 in eight starts.
"Exactly, that's the thing," Johnson said. "He never loses. Well, OK, he gets five goals a game. His stats are not good. Now, if you can keep scoring four or five, I guess he can keep having a 3.00 and a .895 and that's fine. And I was very bullish on 'Freddie.' … I think he was great, and I liked Carolina to come out of the East, but it's all in a state of flux."
The interview with Johnson started with Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin scoring 50 goals again, tying Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky for the most 50-goal seasons in NHL history with nine, and dove into the Western Conference playoff race with the conversation focused on the Vegas Golden Knights.
Johnson also gave his prediction for the Hart Trophy. Rosen and Roarke followed with a discussion, and disagreement, on their choices for who will be voted the most valuable player in the NHL.
A discussion on the St. Louis Blues' active 13-game point streak and a tribute to the late Mike Bossy were also part of the show.
The podcast is free, and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on
[NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts
and the NHL app.
---
Listen: New episode of NHL @TheRink
