Capitals center Marcus Johansson could have gone one of two ways after being a healthy scratch for Saturday’s season opener against Carolina at Verizon Center. A 13-goal scorer as a rookie and a virtual lock to center one of the top two lines for Washington this season, Johansson struggled at times during training camp. When Mathieu Perreault not only made the team, but saw practice time with the second line several times last week we knew something might be up.
It was. The coaching staff had Johansson watch from a suite as his teammates began their season with a 4-3 overtime win over the Hurricanes. That’s a blow to anyone’s ego. For a 21-year-old kid it can be a defining moment. Back on the ice tonight against Tampa Bay, Johansson responded with one of the best games of his career. He was a force all night with the puck on his stick. His hustle directly led to his goal in the first period. He assisted on another.
“That’s absolutely what you’re looking for,” Caps 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].”
Midway through the game, teammate Jason Chimera was so taken with Johansson’s performance he actually told the young Swede it was one of the best games he’d seen from him yet in his brief NHL career.
“[Johansson] was hitting, he was skating, he was shooting. That was maybe one of the best games he’s played as a pro,” 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. He proved it tonight by playing such a good game.”
That’s not always second nature for a second-year player – especially one who played such a big role last season. Johansson didn’t appear all that comfortable talking with the media a few times leading up to his healthy scratch against Carolina and then again in the aftermath. He answered questions directly, but made it clear he would have to get back in the coaching staff’s good graces. There was nothing else he could do. Even during the morning skate on Monday at Kettler Iceplex Johansson wouldn’t let slip if he was going to play at all against Tampa Bay.
“When I was young I was pouting for days when you get benched by a team,” Chimera said. “Marcus bounced back pretty good. He wasn’t happy about getting sent to the bench, but he had a good attitude, he worked hard in practice. He came out tonight with a little piss and vinegar.”
The veterans noticed. 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 hard for the wrap-around goal. He dished out a couple of hits in that first period, too – not something we saw from him much in 2010-11 – and drew a pair of penatlies with his speed. There’s also no question Johansson looks physically stronger after a summer of training.
And, yes, Tampa isn’t the best defensive group at this point and announced Monday it lost a key veteran with defenseman Mattias Ohlund undergoing surgery on both knees. But Johansson was still making NHL players look like traffic cones out there.
“Marcus was outstanding tonight. His work ethic was there, his skating ability was phenomenal,” teammate Matt Hendricks said. “I like to see that character in him come out tonight, that aggressiveness. It’s a lot of fun to watch him skate…We got a little saying “Put the hard hat on and grab the work boots.’ That’s what he did tonight. Everybody saw it.”
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