“I played like s*** last game”: Erik Johnson’s failures fuel great Game 4 response

In a lot of ways, Erik Johnson has been Avalanche hockey. Maddeningly inconsistent at times, tantalizingly talented, and perpetually on the verge of putting it all together and ascending to new heights but never quite actually getting there and wondering if that day will ever come. Yes, it’s easy to look at Johnson’s time as a leader and member of the Avalanche and think no player better defines this era of ‘almost’.

As we’ve seen this group begin to put real distance between its recent history of failure and turn the page towards believing in a bigger, brighter, better future of Avs hockey, there are still the occasional speed bumps to remind us who this group has been for so long.

We saw the Avs play a lethargic, mistake-filled Game 3 in front of a Pepsi Center crowd desperate for a reason to believe this time it really will be different. At the forefront of those frustrations was Johnson, who made a ghastly turnover and watched Timo Meier turn it into a goal against and give San Jose a two-goal lead in a game the Sharks would eventually win behind the power of a third-period push.

“I played like shit last game,” Johnson said. “So it’s nice to have a little bit of a bounce-back game. I played well, me and Colesy didn’t play very good last game so it’s all about the response, right? We knew we needed to have a good one tonight and if we’re going to have a chance in this series we have to play well. We knew we had to be better and we were.”

Game 4 was Colorado’s chance to turn the page and put the negativity behind them. Behind another raucous crowd, the Avs broke through Martin Jones and the Sharks’ smother neutral zone game to get the game’s first goal and added a power-play goal to push ahead to 2-0 in the third period. The special teams battle has been hotly contested in this series and Colorado decisively won the matchup tonight. The Sharks went 0-for-2 on the power play, pushing their series total to just 1-for-10 with the man advantage. San Jose began the third period on the power play and the Avalanche killed it with ease, allowing zero shots on goal in the process.

“Our penalty kill has been dynamite this series,” Johnson said postgame. “When you see them start rimming pucks and they’re flipping guys on their flanks, I think, hopefully, they’re getting a little bit frustrated but a lot of that has to do with the work of the PK guys and how prepared we are. Still got a few games left that we we have to be good on, be sharp and you got to keep it going.”

Johnson’s struggles at even strength in the series have been buoyed by excellent play on the penalty kill. In just over 12 minutes on the ice on the PK, the Avalanche have yielded just five shots on goal and the only goal they allowed came when San Jose was on a 6v4 advantage with 17 seconds left late in Game 2 when the Avalanche were leading by two. Down a man again after the Sharks pulled Jones for the extra attacker, Johnson provided the dagger tonight when he ignored the threat of icing and fired the puck the length of the ice for the empty-net insurance goal, giving Colorado a 3-0 lead and Johnson his second goal of the playoffs.

The matchup against the Sharks has provided a nice stylistic contrast as San Jose’s recognition that they can’t skate with the Avalanche has forced them to play a more defensive game overall. Sharks coach Pete DeBoer has opted to steal the only page in Guy Boucher’s playbook and roll a 1-3-1 alignment through the neutral zone, bracketing Colorado’s breakout and preferred style of play.

“They’re doing such a good job,” Johnson said, giving credit to the Sharks. “They’re really doing a good job of slowing us down through the neutral zone. To exploit that, I think we played a little bit quicker tonight. We play a little faster and got the puck out of our hands and in the forward’s hands a little quicker. There’s a noticeable difference. It was a good game from us, maybe one of our best of the playoffs.”

What adjustments did Colorado make in attacking the neutral zone trap the Sharks have been setting up? It’s all about that quickness Johnson mentioned.

“I think if you watched us, we’re a little bit quicker,” Johnson added. “I think we’re going north a little faster. I think last game especially we were slowing it down too much. When we’re playing fast and on our toes, we’re tough to handle so making the D get it out and then putting it right back in, making them turn and go get it I think that was the key tonight. We’re just playing quick hockey and I think we tried to slow it down too much in the neutral zone last game. Part of that was their good neutral zone forecheck there. They’re in a 1-3-1 so they’re doing a good job slowing us down but we just played faster tonight. And didn’t give them a whole lot.”

The theme of the night, for both Johnson and the Avalanche, was the response. They lost Game 3 and instead of heading back to San Jose, where they’ve won just twice in their last 17 attempts, facing elimination, Colorado saddled up and got back to doing what makes them successful: skating the opposition into the ground. Their ability to handle failure and turn it into fuel for success is something this team (and organization, honestly) has not had in years. This year’s group clearly has it, though.

“It’s not always going to go your way every night but it’s just believing in yourself and being confident in your abilities and you’re going to have a bad game now and again,” Johnson said. “Like I said, it’s just how you bounce back from that. I was really pissed at myself last game. I was not a happy camper but I made it about coming out tonight and playing a solid game. That’s what I did and that’s what the team did.”

Colorado instead heads back to San Jose tied at two wins apiece. The series is down to a best-of-three situation. Win Game 5 and Colorado could close out the series on home ice Monday night in Denver in front of another crazy crowd.

“It’ll be fun,” Johnson said of playing in front of the Avalanche faithful in Game 6. “It was loud there at the end, wasn’t it? It was a lot of fun. Hopefully, we can close one out on the road and close one out back here. Wouldn’t that be somethin’?”

After all the ups and downs Johnson and the Avalanche have experienced getting to this point, it sure would be something.