While Colorado will have head coach Jared Bednar back behind the bench tonight, they will be down a defenseman as Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now reports that Jack Johnson has been placed in COVID protocol. He’s presently asymptomatic but will be out indefinitely. The team has confirmed (Twitter link) that Johnson is in the protocol.
It has been a tough few days for the Avalanche on this front with star center Nathan MacKinnon also missing time due to a positive test; he won’t be back for tonight’s game either. With the team also without Gabriel Landeskog (suspension) plus Valeri Nichushkin and Devon Toews (injuries), Colorado’s depth is getting tested early on.
The positive test for Johnson derails what was a good first few weeks in Colorado for him. He was able to land a one-year, one-way contract off a PTO and scored in his Avalanche debut while logging nearly 19 minutes. Unfortunately for him, he’ll be out of the lineup likely for the next few games at a minimum.