Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson said after practice Sunday morning that he didn't deserve the 5-minute elbowing major penalty and game misconduct he was given Saturday for his hit against Wild forward (and fellow University of Minnesota Gopher) Erik Haula in the 3-0 loss at the Pepsi Center.

Johnson, who is 6-feet-4 and 232 pounds, was immediately ejected at 2:23 of the second period for leaving his feet and hitting the 5-11, 190-pound Haula in the head along the boards.

"Looking at the replay a few times it wasn't worth 5 minutes and a major," Johnson told Hockeybuzz.com. "They're trying to take out embellishment and I mean, Haula could be up for an Academy Award after that. He wasn't hurt, he kind of put on a show like he was, and that's what they're trying to take out as well as the high head hits, I understand.

What do you think?

"I grazed him," Johnson said. "I don't think I got him clean at all. I don't expect a call from the league. It definitely wasn't a vicious hit or anything. It looked worse live and I hit the boards hard and made a big commotion. Probably wasn't worth a major at all, maybe it was worth 2 minutes. I don't expect any further discipline."

Haula remained in the game. "I saw it coming," he told Minnesota reporters. "I just chipped it in and tried to get out of the way of the hit, and he just caught me with his hand, I think. That happens sometimes."

Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said after the game: "There was no elbow there. I watched it about 20 times. I understand that I had the video to look at it."

Said Wild coach Mike Yeo: "I’d like to see it again. There will be people that will look at that, it was dealt with on the ice and we move on."

Johnson was given a two-game suspension by the NHL last season for a two-handed slash Feb. 8 against the New York Islanders' Frans Nielsen, who sustained a non-displaced fracture in his hand. Johnson was assessed a match penalty in a March 14 game against Anaheim for high-sticking Mathieu Perreault in the face, but Perreault remained in the game and no further discipline took place.

*****

Center John Mitchell, who missed all eight preseason games and the first two regular-season games because of migraines, practiced Sunday and accompanied the team on a four-game road trip that begins Monday afternoon in Boston.

Mitchell, a valuable and versatile forward, missed the final two regular-season games last year and all seven playoff games against the Wild because of a head injury he sustained in an April 10 game against Vancouver.

Mitchell is hopeful that he'll be able to play at some point on the trip, which after Boston continues with games in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

"I can't say yes or no," he told Hockeybuzz.com. "Obviously the possibility is there. I was able to skate with the team, skate with the guys out there, and I feel good. I feel like I'm not too far off. It's just a matter of getting in a couple practices, some physical practices, trying to get some bumps in and stuff like that and see how that feels. If that feels good, I should be good to go."

Mitchell had 11 goals and 21 assists in 75 games last season, and he'd be centering the third line if he was healthy. He said some vision problems have been more problematic than headaches and doesn't know if the issues are related to last season's head injury.

"It's obviously tough to tell," he said. "I'm sure some of these things stem from that. You hit the boards that hard, I'm sure you're going to jar loose a few things. Some things are going to get thrown out of whack.

"It's not so much the headaches, it's kind of a visual thing with me more than anything. It's not even a big headache problem, it's just an eye thing. It's very hard to describe. The small problem that I have with my vision, we're just trying to work things out. I do a lot of exercises for my eyes just to retrain them, I guess, or get them back to where they used to be. I think those things are progressing and we just have to stick with it and keep doing it. Eventually it'll all come back.

"It's obviously taken longer than I expected and everyone else expected for it to heal, but you just have to be cautious and make sure you're good to go out there. I mean, there's a lot of big guys out there, the game's moving quick and you want to make sure you can see out there, see plays developing."

*****

Roy wasn't available Sunday -- he left quickly to get ready for the trip -- but he used the same lines in practice that the Avalanche did for most of the game Saturday:

Jamie McGinn - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla
Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O'Reilly - Dennis Everberg
Alex Tanguay - Nathan MacKinnon - Daniel Briere
Cody McLeod - Marc-Andre Cliche - Max Talbot

*****

Johnson on Saturday's second consecutive shutout loss: "It was a much better effort, but that's not what we're trying to do. We're trying to get wins every night. You can look at progress, but it's got to be the result at the end of the game. We were a good road team last year and we have no choice but to start off on the right foot, and I think we will.

"We have to find a way to put the puck in the net and just be a better group all around. I don't think anyone at the start of the season would think goal scoring would be an issue for us. Sometimes the things you excel at you have to work even harder to produce. We have to continue to grind away and do our best to score some of those dirty goals. The pretty plays will be there sometimes, but you have to go to the net and get some of the greasy ones."



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