First Shift 🏒
Johnston’s goal streak halted at six games on Saturday.
His impressive run in 2025, however, is still very much alive.
Johnston has been one of the best players in the NHL since the calendar turned to Jan. 1, with 22 goals in 40 games. That’s fifth best in the NHL in that span. He has bounced around the lineup and done everything his coaches have needed, and in the process has earned a ton of respect from everyone in the organization.
“He’s making it look easy,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “He’s been great.”
Johnston is an interesting phenom at just 21, but he has played 240 NHL regular season games and another 38 in the playoffs. Jumping into the NHL as an 18-year-old has helped. Spending two seasons living with veteran Joe Pavelski and his family was also crucial. Now, he often wears an “A” as alternate captain and is seen as one of the team’s leaders.
“We see it every day, so I’m happy that everybody else is seeing it, too,” said goalie Jake Oettinger. “He’s a great player and a great kid and obviously a big part of the future. He’s maturer off the ice, too. He’s a great kid, he was raised very well, he learned a lot from Joe and the older guys he has been around. He’s already a leader and he’s 21.”
Johnston has been playing mostly on a line with Benn and also has seen time with Evgenii Dadonov and Mavrik Bourque. That’s effectively the Stars’ third line, as the top line of Roope Hintz with Jason Robertson and Rantanen is coming together, and the second line of Duchene with Mason Marchment and Mikael Granlund also seems to be gelling. Rantanen and Granlund were acquired in trades and are somewhat new to the team.
The scoring balance has helped in a lot of ways. Since Jan. 1, Dallas has four of the top 15 scorers and ranks first in both record (28-9-3) and in scoring (3.63 goals per game). Robertson is fifth with 49 points (24 goals, 25 assists) in 40 games. Duchene is eighth with 45 points (15 goals, 30 assists) in 40 games. Hintz is 12th with 43 points (12 goals, 31 assists) in 35 games. And Johnston is 15th with 43 points (22 goals, 21 assists) in 40 games.
“You’re really happy for the group,” DeBoer said. “I think about when we got here the labels that were on this group – that they couldn’t score or they were a one-line team. I think the fact that the script has been flipped and we have depth scoring everywhere, I think that’s a credit to the group.”
Johnston is a big part of that. He leads all Stars forwards in time on ice in that span at 18:41 per game and plays in all situations. He’s among the leaders on the best penalty kill in the league and also leads the Stars in power play goals (8) and power play points (16) since Jan. 1. He is definitely starting to become one of the most important players on the team.
“He’s just trying to raise his level as a player,” Stars captain Benn said. “We all know he’s a great player, but he’s trying to raise his level even more, not only on the ice but as a young leader.”
Benn said he’s impressed by Johnston every day.
“He’s got all of the abilities to do that. He seems to step up in big moments. He’s been pretty fun to watch behind the scenes with the steps he’s taking,” Benn said. “Good on Johnny for accepting that role and wanting to make a difference.”
