The beauty of the Calgary Flames bringing in two goalies without long-term contracts is that they enjoy rare flexibility. That means being able to run with Chad Johnson, even if Brian Elliott’s the guy with “All-Star” on his resume.
It’s probably reasonable to watch this situation, but at this point, it’s extremely difficult to deny that Johnson is the man for the Flames. At least right now.
Wednesday presented the latest exhibit, as Johnson stopped 39 Toronto Maple Leafs shots in a 3-0 win for Calgary.
With that, he now has three shutouts in November, matching some admittedly specific team history:
Chad Johnson becomes the first #Flames goaltender with 3 shutouts in a calendar month since Fred Brathwaite in December 1999 pic.twitter.com/2rnCt9vbZm
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) December 1, 2016
Maybe more importantly, head coach Glen Gulutzan acknowledges that Johnson bailed the Flames out more than once on Wednesday. This was the most exciting example:
Here’s the thing: with a career .918 save percentage, it’s possible that Johnson’s been worthy of a chance to be “the guy” for some time. In Elliott’s struggles, the Flames may have stumbled upon their brick wall.
Live look at Chad Johnson. #TORvsCGY pic.twitter.com/WGzKRsUxNq
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) December 1, 2016