Jack Johnson to replace Sam Girard in Avs lineup for Game 4

ST. LOUIS – Jack Johnson will play in place of the injured Sam Girard in Game 4 Monday night in St. Louis, sources tell Colorado Hockey Now.

For more on why I think this is the right decision, I wrote about this earlier on Sunday.

The Avs will lose Girard’s speed out of the defensive zone on breakouts, but gain some toughness in the corners and in front of the net with JJ. He played 74 regular-season games with the Avs, so this won’t be a big culture shock either for JJ or Avs fans.

How rusty will he be? We’ll find out. This is a tough thing, jumping into Round 2 of a playoff series after not having played since April 29. One unanswered question: will JJ play with Josh Manson? Or, will Bo Byram now play with Manson, and JJ goes back to playing with Erik Johnson, like he mostly did in the regular season?

We’ll find out.