BOSTON — New York Islanders backup goalie Chad Johnson will make his second start of the season Thursday night at TD Garden against his former Bruins teammates.
Islanders head coach Jack Capuano confirmed the news during his morning availability.
Johnson is 1-0 with the Isles in two appearances, with a 2.25 goals against average and a .897 save percentage. The 28-year-old excelled in the backup role for Boston during its 2013-14 Presidents’ Trophy-winning campaign, going 17-4-3 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.10 GAA in 27 games.
Bruins backup Niklas Svedberg will oppose Johnson. The 25-year-old Swede earned the first shutout of his NHL career in Saturday’s 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres, making 32 saves and helping Boston finish 7-for-7 on the penalty kill.
“When you look at last year, (Svedberg) had a pretty good camp and Johnson kind of won that battle and proved us right,” B’s head coach Claude Julien said. “At the end, I think Johnson was a real good goaltender for us, but he’s one of those goaltenders that shows up in the games, plays fairly well, has always played well for us when we relied on him.”
Photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images
