Setting a road block - St. Louis thinks Johnson is back to form

ST. LOUIS -- Just in time for a five-game trip, the St. Louis Blues believe they've got their No. 1 goalie back on his game.

Brent Johnson was pulled after two periods three games ago against the Detroit Red Wings. On Thursday, he lasted only four shots before coach Joel Quenneville brought out the hook again.

The slump coincided with the Blues' release of Tom Barrasso, once believed to be the veteran who could push Johnson in the team's drive for a possible Stanley Cup. The call to start Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning was unexpected by Johnson, considering his recent track record, while it also was confirmation that he's the man.

"The message to him is go forward," Quenneville said. "It's a long season and we expect him to recover and be on top of his game quickly here.

"We all know the importance of a goaltender to a team, and guys really feed off the confidence he has."

Teammates told Johnson how much they needed him to be at his best. He was the NHL player of the week the previous week after missing the first 28 games of the season with a high ankle sprain.

"I had a couple talks with a couple players and I could see they weren't too happy with the way I've been playing," Johnson said. "Not saying they were pointing fingers or anyone was pointing fingers, but I felt I had to do something about my performance.

"There's so many games and if I'm going to get the bulk, so be it, I've got to be up to the challenge every night."

Johnson met the first challenge with 26 saves against the Lightning, the best of the bunch robbing Pavel Kubina on a Lightning power play in the second period with a glove save. He said the key was keeping it simple and staying at his post.

"I felt like I was seeing the puck much better and that's pretty much it," Johnson said. "I need to stand on top of my crease and not worry about any extra-curriculars like playing the puck. Just stopping the puck."

Quenneville stopped short, well short, of raving about Johnson's return. The message this time was the Blues expect a lot out of Johnson.

"In the first period he looked like he probably was pulled the last two games, but I thought he got some composure and made the big save and really was more comfortable as the game progressed," Quenneville said. "I liked how he rebounded and kept pushing himself to be a little more in control as the game went along."

Quenneville also said he almost gave backup Fred Brathwaite the start against the Lightning.

"I know that could have gone either way," Quenneville said. "It was an interesting decision amongst us as coaches, but we wanted to get him going."

The five-game trip begins today at Nashville and also includes stops in San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim and Phoenix. The Blues' next home game is Jan. 16 against Atlanta.

Quenneville wants to see better production out of everybody, not just Johnson, on the trip. Before beating the Lightning 5-1 on Saturday, they lost 4-1 to the Blackhawks and 5-1 to the Red Wings, and he wants them to remember it's a defense-first team.

"We don't mind scoring like that, but we have to get it back that every game it's our thought process," Quenneville said. "The first instinct is defensive play and checking."