Johnson's comfort level

A lot has been made of Jack Johnson’s plus-minus rating, and after years of covering hockey, I still don’t know exactly what to make of that statistic, but that’s a debate for another time. Whatever you make of it, if you put any value on it at all, it’s probably worth noting that Johnson is plus-2 in his last six games, and also has one goal and one assist in his last four games after a long stretch without much offensive contribution.

Terry Murray’s concern, though, is more about Johnson’s defensive side, and today Murray had a very positive response when asked if Johnson appeared to be increasingly comfortable on the ice of late…

MURRAY: “I think the comfort level has really expanded in his play, in his D-zone, inside of his own blue line. You go through the road trip, five games, and he played in four of them. Everything was very positive in his play. There was a noticeable absence in the game that he did not play. His focus, from the start of the year, at our request and his own positive reinforcement in meetings that we had, was to continue to get the focus to get better in that area. On the other side, we’ll be there for him. So I’m seeing a much more confident player on that side of the game. That’s really a good thing. Once you get that foundation in your reads on a consistent basis, your game will really start to go to the next level.”