It wasn't only the offense that deserved credit during the winning streak.
Given Colorado's relatively inexperienced group of defensemen, Johnson is relied upon to play tough minutes to a greater extent than arguably any defenseman in the NHL. The Avalanche have used 10 defensemen this season; five had previously played fewer than 40 NHL games. Besides Johnson, who played 575 games prior to this season, and Tyson Barrie (338) the average Colorado defenseman had 61 games of NHL experience.
Johnson averages 25:45 of ice time per game, which ranks sixth in the NHL. That's 4:26 more than Barrie, who ranks second on the Avalanche. Barrie has been on injured reserve since Dec. 23 because of a hand injury.
Johnson's importance is magnified in shorthanded situations, when his average ice time of 3:49 ranks second in the NHL to Ron Hainsey of the Toronto Maple Leafs (4:19). Colorado's penalty kill of 84.7 percent ranks second in the League behind the Los Angeles Kings (85.9) .
At 5-on-5, Johnson has boosted Colorado's share of shot attempts from 47.14 to 49.41 percent, for a Relative SAT of plus-2.27 percent that ranks first among Avalanche defensemen. Given that he has boosted Colorado's share of shot attempts in each of his six previous seasons, Johnson should continue to be reliable down the stretch.