Johnston fitting in on Isles fourth line

Ross Johnston had a few scrapes on his right hand when he addressed the media at Tuesday's morning skate.
They're minor wounds from his Sunday scrap with Calgary's Ryan Lomberg, where Johnston leveled the Flames' tough guy with a right cross. So far Johnston is 2-0 in his NHL fights, but the Bridgeport big man has done more than just throw hands in his Islanders recall.
"He's just been really solid," Head Coach Doug Weight said. "He's been as intimidating as he can be, he comes in, knows how to hit, has good feet, he's worked hard on them and he's getting the puck in and creating some opportunities as well."

Johnston has three points (2G, 1A) in six games with the Islanders, scoring his first NHL goal against Vegas on Jan. 25 - a bank shot off a Golden Knights defenseman - and snipping his second top shelf against the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 8.
"Obviously you're pretty nervous the first couple of games you don't really want to make a mistake, but the more I play, the more success we have and it obviously helps the confidence forsure," Johnston said.

The offense is a bonus for Johnston, who has 12 goals and 327 penalty minutes in 141 AHL games, admits there's not always a ton of fitness to his game. His main duties have been playing physical, forechecking hard and getting pucks deep, or "playing in straight lines" as he calls it, though that's yielded some scoring chances in his last three games.
"It's chipping pucks in, chipping pucks out, finishing your hits and creating energy for your team," Johnston said.
Johnston has bought into the Islanders' fourth-line mentality and has been a good fit with Casey Cizikas and Jason Chimera.
"I think with me, him and Chimer we kind of found a little bit of an identity in our game," Cizikas said. "We keep it simple. Get pucks in deep, try hound the puck and just get pucks to the net. They're both big bodies, Chimer and Ross, and they use that well to their advantage. As a centerman, I'm just trying to be in the right spot for them and get open."

Cizikas has goals in two of his last four games and Johnston's goal vs Buffalo gives the line three in its past four games. When they're not scoring, they've given the Islanders a physical, grinding trio.
"They've had a lot of good purpose. Casey had a good game, I think Ross has been really good," Weight said of the line's performance against Calgary. "They're not turning it over. They're getting it in, playing heavy and getting out above the puck. You can roll your eyes and talk about systems, compete and everything else, it's imperative that it happens, so it has to happen from those guys."
That's okay by Johnston, who plans to just keep it simple.
"I play straight lines, I dump the puck in and stick to my guns whether it's the first game or the sixth or seventh game," Johnston said. "But the more you play, you still become more comfortable and it makes it easier."