Colorado Avalanche no. 1 defenseman Erik Johnson is expected to miss three to eight weeks after undergoing a knee scope on Monday, head coach Patrick Roy announced.
Coach Roy: He is, first of all, very disappointed about the situation. It’s out of our control. Nashville is what we need to focus on.
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) January 26, 2015
Johnson sat out of Sunday’s All-Star game in Columbus, Ohio, with what was then called a lower body injury after he was selected to the game for the first time in his seven-season NHL career.
The news if especially unfortunate for Johnson, who has been proving his critics wrong with a career-best season. The 26-year-old is tied for the NHL lead in goals by a defenseman with a career-best 12 goals in 47 games this season. He leads the Avalanche in average ice time (24:25) and blocked shots (107) while his three power play goals are also in a four-way tie for the team lead.
Colorado still has six healthy defenseman without Johnson, making it unclear if a call-up from the Lake Erie Monsters is imminent or not.
The Avalanche also announced on Monday that the club recalled goaltender Reto Berra and forward Dennis Everberg from Lake Erie.
Berra went 3-1-1 with a 2.57 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage during his conditioning assignment. The 28-year-old made highlight reels across the world by scoring an empty-net goal against the Chicago Wolves on Jan. 16.
Nathan is a staff writer for Mile High Sports. He can be reached on Twitter at @TheRealNatron.