Brent Johnson stops pucks and critics
by Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Online 4-25-02
After Brent Johnson walked through an electronics store on
Wednesday and grabbed a couple heavy-rock CDs and a
handful of DVDs to supplement his 600-strong collection, it's
clear he's getting his wish.
It was about 10 days ago that Johnson, sitting at his stall at
the Savvis Center, summarized his regular season. Having
posted a top-five goals-against average and the third-most victories in Blues history, he
would like for people to believe in him.
As he browsed the racks of DVDs, a half dozen fans -- one clad in Cardinal gear and
whispering, "Greater than Grant Fuhr" -- congratulated him. Johnson is winning games and
believers. Amazing what becoming the first goalie since 1945 to have three consecutive
postseason shutouts will do. It doesn't fit his heavy mettle, but if he wanted to belt out, "Told
you so!," who would blame him?
"There is a little bit of gratification there that some people were saying this team couldn't go
anywhere or whatnot because of the goaltending," Johnson said. "I definitely think my game,
my level, my performance needed to be a lot better coming in (to the postseason). I'm just
trying to step it up and keep it going.
"We haven't won anything yet."
Johnson takes a shutout streak of 183 minutes 10 seconds against Chicago into tonight's
Game 5 of the club's playoff series at Savvis Center. Defense got the credit for the first two
shutouts. When the Blues couldn't muster anything more than one goal and Chicago pelted
them with an unrelenting offense in game three of the streak, Johnson was there with 27
saves.
He bloomed into way more than just Johnny on the spot. If Johnson, who is 65 1/2 minutes
shy of the NHL's scoreless streak record, puts together another shutout tonight he will be
the first to have four consecutive postseason shutouts. He also will usher the Blues to the
second round.
"I don't know how to say this any clearer," said Johnson, who had never had three
successive shutouts at any level before Tuesday's 1-0 victory in Chicago. "I just want to win
the series."
Johnson is too savvy to buy into this hype. He only has to flip the calendar back a year to see
where it can lead. His friend Roman Turek stole a second-round series, remember. Turek
faltered in the Western Conference finals and was gone by June. Johnson, 25, knows how
fickle a memory can be.
Sure he's the fourth of five goalies to win three consecutive playoff shutouts and the first
since Toronto rookie Frank McCool did it 57 years ago. Ottawa's Patrick Lalime joined him
Wednesday as the only goalies to do it in their first three postseason wins.
But all the zeroes mean zilch if the Blues don't win the series.
Johnson's coolness during this postseason seems rooted in a reluctance to dwell on
history. He loves talking about his grandfather, Hall of Famer Sid Abel, and will do it when
asked. But he doesn't flaunt his lineage. Ray Ferraro offered him a puck from Game 3.
Johnson declined. Fred Brathwaite offered him a Game 4 puck - the one from the
record-tying game - and Johnson declined. He didn't have the first one, so he didn't want any
of them.
Such a slave to superstition.
He eats the same pregame meal, a dish from Macaroni Grill. He likes to listen to the same
pregame songs, but the Blues left the disc with Danzig's "Mother" on it in St. Louis and didn't
have it in Chicago. (Johnson would not reveal the stand-in song.) He even mutters the same
mantra during the national anthem:
"Focus. Concentrate. And be confident in yourself."
"He's learned to come to grips with doing amazing things and not change how he
approaches things," said Bob Johnson, Brent's father, who played goal for the Blues among
several pro stops. "I was feisty, and he's got some of that. But the Abel in him puts it in
focus."
Those genes must have been his compass through this season.
Johnson, whose contract has a club option for next season, was the most media-doubted,
fan-questioned goalie in the league. Pundits didn't doubt the Blues, they doubted the
goaltending. Even in his current stretch, a 12-save shutout was questioned.
"How many shots has he faced?" Chicago captain Tony Amonte asked. "He's seen every
shot. We didn't even test him (in Game 3). If he thinks he's playing well, great for him."
Johnson set the Blues' record for consecutive scoreless playoff minutes midway through
Chicago's 15th unsuccessful power play in the series. His grandmother, Sid's wife, couldn't
watch. Powered by nervous energy, she does 10 to 12 crossword puzzles during his games.
The shutout countdown forced her to switch channels and peek at the ticker for updates.
The shutout survived. And, when a fan at a lunch spot Wednesday eased toward Johnson to
congratulate him, he struggled to put the shutout feat into words. Before the trade deadline,
a fan asked Johnson if he would be back the next day. Funny, now it's just assumed he'll be
back next season.
"When the Blues' management brought in the high-priced talent and spent the money they
did, everyone said you don't have a high-priced goaltender, you're not going to win anything,"
teammate and friend Reed Low said. "Some times you don't need a proven guy, you just
need to give a chance for a guy to prove he can."
