This Day in Hockey History – April 23, 2002 – Johnson’s 0 for 3

At the end of the 2001-02 season, the sixth-place St. Louis Blues (with 98 points) played against the eighth-place Chicago Blackhawks (with 96 points) in the quarter-finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Blues goalie Brent Johnson helped make the series much more interesting when he shutout the Blackhawks in three consecutive games. He was only the fourth goalie in NHL history to have three playoff shutouts in a row and tied six others for having three in one playoff series.

Johnson, a grandson of Sid Abel (who had won three championships with the Detroit Red Wings), had been drafted in 1995 and traded to St. Louis in 1997. He played his first NHL game in 1998. The Blues lost in his only appearance during the 2000 playoffs. In 2001, the Blues failed to acquire Dominik Hasek (who then played for Detroit), so Johnson was promoted to the lead goalie. As such, he had a 10-game winning streak during the regular season. Johnson would stay with the Blues until they traded him to Phoenix in March 2004. He spent the final three seasons of his NHL career (2009-2012) with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and those were the only other seasons he played in playoff games. He played a total of 309 NHL games (140-112-31).

The 2002 quarter-finals looked like the teams might be evenly matched. Game 1 ended with a 2-1 Chicago victory. However, that remained as far as the Blackhawks lasted. For luck, before Game 2 on April 20, a Blues staff member placed a figurine of a gnome (wearing an acorn hat and sitting on a puck) on top of Johnson’s cubicle at the Savvis Center. That night, Johnson made 26 saves to lead his team to a 2-0 victory. He brought the gnome to Chicago, and he did not even have to do much to see Game 3 end similarly. With Johnson’s 12 saves, the Blues won 4-0 on April 21.

Johnson and his gnome worked their magic again in Game 4 held April 23, 2002 as the Blues won 1-0. A little more than 18,000 fans (over 2,500 fewer than the previous game) served as witnesses at Chicago’s United Center. Johnson had to make some big saves, particularly as he blocked Steve Sullivan three times, but he managed to stop all 27 shots. At one point he told the press, “I’m just trying to pick up my game in the playoffs. It’s so much more important. I just want my game to be up there.” However, he also raved, “I’m having a great time. It’s just a blast.” 

His team certainly appreciated the effort. “He’s really played well and gotten better,” noted veteran winger Keith Tkachuk. “The most important thing is that he’s held his composure when it got tough, which is really a positive thing for a young goaltender.” Scott Young, who had been with the Blues even longer, commented, “It’s the best game I’ve seen him play. It just shows what kind of confidence he’s playing with. He really kept us in the game.” Finally, Coach Joel Quenneville praised, “That was definitely a goaltending win tonight. He did everything.”

With this third victory, Johnson became the first NHL goalie to have his first three playoff wins be shutouts. He was the fourth to have three shutouts in a row during playoffs. Clint Benedict had done it for the Montreal Maroons in 1926, and he was followed by John Ross Roach for the New York Rangers in 1929. The most recent goalie to have three consecutive playoff shutouts was Frank McCool back in 1945 for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Of his accomplishment, Johnson merely commented, “It’s very neat, but that’s about it. It’s a good feeling but it’s the team that does it. They’re playing awesome in front of me. I love playing for them.” Furthermore, Johnson’s 183 minutes and 10 seconds without letting in a goal beat the record set back in 1993 by his predecessor Curtis Joseph. That series had also been against Chicago.

The Blues won Game 5 on April 25 even though it was not a shutout, the score being 5-3. Unfortunately for the Blues, their semi-final opponent ended up being the Detroit Red Wings, who had finished first in the NHL. With Hasek in net, Detroit eliminated St. Louis in five games. The only game the Blues won was Game 3, which they finished 6-1. Detroit went on to beat the Colorado Avalanche then the Carolina Hurricanes for the Stanley Cup.

Additional Sources:

• “2-0! 4-0! 1-0!!!” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 24 April 2002, pp. D1, D3, D6.
• Bob Foltman, “Johnson draws blanks,” Chicago Tribune, 24 April 2002, section 4, p. 6.
• http://thepinkpuck.com/2019/03/04/this-day-in-hockey-history-march-4-1941-and-1999-bruins-do-shots-while-leafs-do-not/