Jack Johnson became a topic of discussion a couple weeks ago, when Terry Murray removed him from all special-teams duty and talked about the need for players to “earn” roles on the team. The implicit suggestion was that Johnson wasn’t earning those roles. Well, Murray had high praise for Johnson after Saturday’s loss to San Jose. Johnson played 19 minutes, 30 seconds, and was credited with three hits and four blocked shots. And even though we’ve debated the merits (or lack thereof) of the plus-minus stat, it’s at least worth noting in passing that Johnson is plus-2 in his last two games, after being a cumulative minus-15 in his previous 16 games.

Question: Seemed to be a strong game for Jack Johnson (against the Sharks)…

MURRAY: “That’s where he was when he first came back after his injury. He was hard, he was heavy and playing with a lot of authority. He seemed to get away from that. I had a meeting with him about it and (Saturday) night he was very strong and assertive. There was a real purpose to what he was doing on his man-on-man coverage. That makes a big difference.”