Jonas Johansson of Gavle, Sweden recorded his first career National Hockey League shutout on Friday. Johansson, who was acquired by the Avalanche from the Buffalo Sabres on March 20, 2021, for a sixth-round draft pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, made 28 saves for the Avalanche in a 2-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.
Johansson made eight saves in the first period, 12 saves in the second period, and eight saves in the third period. Rickard Rakell of Sollentuna, Sweden led the Ducks with five shots on goal in the game, but could not beat the Avalanche goaltender from the same home country.
Colorado had one goal each in the second and third periods. In the second period, Valeri Nichushkin of Chelyabinsk, Russia, scored from Ryan Graves of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and Tyson Jost of St. Albert, Alberta. Nichushkin scored the game-winning goal at 17:12 of the middle frame. Then in the third period, Mikko Rantanen of Nousiainen, Finland, scored an insurance marker from Nathan MacKinnon of Halifax, Nova Scotia with 34 seconds left in the contest into an empty net.
Johansson now improves to a record of three wins, eight losses, and one shutout on the season, with a goals against average of 3.22, and a save percentage of .895. This was also Johansson’s second win with the Avalanche. The first win came against the St. Louis Blues on April 2, in a 3-2 Avalanche win.
It appears that Johansson will continue to backup the Avalanche number one goaltender, Philipp Grubauer of Rosenheim, Germany, for the foreseeable future. That is because Pavel Francouz of Plzen, Czech Republic, is still out with a lower-body injury.
The Avalanche currently lead the West Division with 58 points. They have a record of 27 wins, nine regulation losses, and four losses in extra time. The Vegas Golden Knights are in second place with 54 points.
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