After getting benched, center scores in return Capitals center Marcus Johansson was under the microscope on Monday night.
Benched for the season opener last Saturday against Carolina after a mediocre training camp, the 21-year-old Swede rebounded with one of the best games of his brief professional career. Johansson scored a goal in the first period of a 6-5 shootout win over Tampa Bay, assisted on another in the second period and drew a pair of penalties using his speed to repeatedly drive through and around the Lightning defense.
“I always try to play my own game and play as hard as I can,” Johansson said. “My legs felt good and the whole team worked hard and it was easier to play. [Monday] it worked. Hopefully we’ll keep it going that way.”
But it was difficult to predict exactly what the Caps (2-0-0, 4 points) would get from Johansson after that benching. He scored 13 goals as a rookie last season with another 14 assists and seemed a lock to at least start as the second-line center in his second season in North America. Washington coach Bruce Boudreau even paired Johansson on the top line with star left wing Alex Ovechkin throughout training camp and in several preseason games.
But it might have been a case of too much, too soon. And when Johansson’s play suffered, Mathieu Perreault earned the nod as second-line center in the season’s first game with Nicklas Backstrom assuming his normal role alongside Ovechkin on the No. 1 line. Johansson was left watching from a Verizon Center suite, out of the lineup altogether.
Instead of pouting, however, Johansson showed why he was one of the NHL’s top rookies last year. And that performance against Tampa Bay, with a distinct lack of complaining in the press or behind the scenes in the days beforehand, didn’t go unnoticed amongst the team’s veteran players.
“[Johansson] was hitting, he was skating, he was shooting. That was maybe one of the best games he’s played as a pro,” Caps forward Jason Chimera said. “I told him I was proud of him on the bench because he deserved it. He didn’t want to be sitting there. He’s a good player, and he shouldn’t be sitting.”
It wasn’t just his skating, which is always beautiful to watch. Johansson’s hustle driving to the net in the first period allowed him to get a puck on net, poke it away from Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson and then swoop around the cage for the wrap-around goal. He even distributed a couple of big hits in that first period, too. The Caps were off on Tuesday. But that kind of effort should ensure Johansson a spot in the lineup for Thursday’s game at the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“That’s absolutely what you’re looking for,” Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Here’s a guy that sat out a game, he came out and … he just said, ‘I’ll show them.’ And that’s the kind of attitude you’re hoping [for].”
