HORSE COMES IN
“Landeskog” wins for Johnson
Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson has owned racehorses as a hobby for years, and on a dirt track Saturday in Kentucky, one of his prized geldings took home first place.
A victorious horse with a familiar name: Landeskog.
“It’s a big win,” Johnson told reporters on a Monday video call from Edmonton. “Gabe was excited.”
In a normal world, without an ongoing global pandemic, Johnson spends much of his hockey offseason at the track with ERJ Racing. As he explained to The Denver Post back in 2016: “Just like people like to play golf on weekends, I like to watch my horses race.”
“It seems to be catching on a little bit around our room,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “Guys are rooting for him and his horses to have success.”
Call it a happy distraction from the Edmonton NHL bubble. Johnson, of course, is chasing a different trophy. He reiterated that horse racing is “not really my primary focus right now” as Colorado awaits the Arizona Coyotes for a first-round Stanley Cup playoff series that begins Wednesday.
“(Arizona) is a stingy team and they don’t give up a whole lot, but they can also score some goals,” Johnson said. “They have some D that can contribute to their offense and their goalie is playing really, really well. A topto-bottom solid team and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Much of the hype surrounding the Avalanche defensive corps this year is focused on youth with Cale Makar, 21, and Sam Girard, 22, signaling a new wave of speedy, offensiveminded NHL D-men. But Johnson’s experience — 12 NHL seasons and 22 career playoff games (all with Colorado) — will be indispensable for the Avs amid the strangest postseason environment any player has encountered.
The Avs listen when Johnson, 32, speaks; whether it’s about horse racing or hockey.
“It’s amplified at this time of the year, you need that,” Bednar said. “You need guys that have been through some playoffs that have that experience, (players who) can see around corners and help anticipate what may be coming your team’s way. To have that in the locker room, another voice and extension of the coaching staff, I feel like all of our leaders do that.”
Johnson enters the playoffs with 16 points (three goals) this season after missing 11 total games with a lower-body injury. Now healthy, and standing 6foot-4 and 225-pounds, the Avs will need Johnson’s physicality against an Arizona team unafraid to check.
As for all the horse stuff? Landeskog the gelding has now won three of the six races he’s entered, according to NHL.com.
“It’s something to laugh about with the guys about after the game,” Johnson said.
Footnotes. The NHL announced Monday that it has recorded zero positive COVID-19 tests in either its Toronto or Edmonton bubbles for a second-consecutive week. “We feel safe and it’s nice to know there are no outbreaks happening or anything like that,” Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon said on a Monday video call. … Bednar said he has made a decision between Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz on who will start at goaltender in Game 1 against Arizona, but declined to tell reporters. … The Avalanche and Coyotes will play at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.