Despite having his attempt stopped by Jimmy Howard in the shootout on Saturday night, Cam Atkinson may have been partially responsible for the Jackets’ win in Detroit.
With the shootout going nine rounds, head coach John Tortorella was running out of ideas for who to send out. As he told it after the game, Atkinson insisted to assistant coach Brad Larsen that Tortorella give Jack Johnson a chance to win the game.
“I said, ‘I’m not using Jack.’ Jack just turned around and said ‘I’m good,’” said Tortorella after the game. “I said, ‘Are you any good at these?’"
Jack’s response? Another “I’m good.” And he was, sliding the puck past Howard after a nice deke to win the game for Columbus. It was Johnson’s first shootout attempt since Mar. 13, 2015 – one he didn’t convert – and he hadn’t gotten a chance under Tortorella until Saturday’s winner.
"I hadn’t done a shootout in a long time,” said Johnson. "You’re half watching for entertainment and half watching in case it goes in."
Jack Johnson with the game-deciding goal in the ninth round of the shootout. Never in doubt.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/MegY7zVNex
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 12, 2017
After his teammates had tried to shoot it past Jimmy Howard, Johnson figured it was time to try something new.
"Every guy had shot, [Howard] was really challenging, so I knew I was going to go down and deke him,” said Johnson. “I didn’t know if I was going to go backhand or forehand.
"My skating down the ice was pretty bad, so I decided to keep it on my forehand."
Johnson’s modesty is admirable – he’d been in that situation before, and delivered.
His last shootout goal was also a ninth-round game-winner. That one came in December of 2014 over the Chicago Blackhawks. That game was another vintage Sergei Bobrovsky performance, as he stopped 39 of 41 shots in regulation and overtime (the Jackets scored twice on just 19 shots) and then stopped eight shootout attempts.
Here’s the kicker – it was an identical move, too. It was even the subject of an All-Star fan vote video starring Jody Shelley, spoofing the NHL’s Department of Player Safety incident videos. Enjoy.
Prior to his trade to Columbus, Johnson was a frequent participant in shootouts for the Los Angeles Kings, with 24 attempts – and 10 goals – over six seasons. That’s roughly 30%, right in line with the league’s average. After his ninth-round heroics on Saturday, expect to see Johnson out there a lot earlier going forward.
“He’s in the top three now,” said Tortorella.
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