Johnson's long wait likely to end tonight
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Brent Johnson scored the last in goal Jan. 10 in a 5-1 loss to Ottawa
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At least one thing did not change over the NHL's All-Star break: Goalie Brent Johnson was in his usual position at the end of the Penguins bench Tuesday when their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs began at Consol Energy Center.
Marc-Andre Fleury made his 23rd consecutive appearance -- all but two of them as a starter -- to extend the longest such streak of his career.
Johnson, though, appears to be a good candidate to get his first start since Jan. 10 when the Penguins visit Toronto tonight in a rematch.
And, while his two most recent starts have ended badly -- he allowed three goals on eight shots against the Ottawa Senators and five on 19 in a Dec. 16 game against the Senators -- Johnson said he has not been dwelling on those disappointing performances.
"Just because my last two outings didn't go so well, I'm not like, 'Oh me, oh my,' " Johnson said. "I'm not worried about it.
"If I get back in there, I obviously want to do well for my team. I want to give them a chance to win. ... I've been through this before in my career, where it's been a long stretch without playing, and, when I did play, it wasn't so good.
"But I'm quite content with my game. I feel good out there. I'm not trying to change too much, just maybe simplify it a little bit."
Johnson -- who has a 2-5-2 record, 3.47 goals-against average and .876 save percentage -- said he has, for the most part, not altered his off-day routine, which includes video work with goaltending coach Gilles Meloche and going on the ice 15 or 20 minutes early for extra work.
Fleury has started 41 of the first 51 games, and said that he did not enter the season with a particular number of regular-season appearances he hoped to make.
"I don't really set a number on it," Fleury said. "I just go one game at a time."
Coach Dan Bylsma said the Penguins entered the season intent on giving Fleury about 60 starts, and that the coaching staff has, for the most part, not deviated much from the way it divides the workload going into each month.
First Published February 1, 2012 12:00 am
