Sabres' Erik Johnson returns to Denver to face Avalanche

The sight of Erik Johnson down on the ice in a bear hug with Nathan MacKinnon after Colorado won the 2021-22 Stanley Cup will be an enduring image in Avalanche lore.

Johnson was the longest-tenured player on the team, and he finally got his ring after Colorado's six-game win over Tampa Bay in the Final. So it was tough for Avalanche supporters to see the veteran defenseman leave this past offseason, another casualty of the salary cap.

Johnson will play his first game in Denver since leaving when the Buffalo Sabres visit the Avalanche on Wednesday night.

Johnson, 35, again is the veteran on a young Buffalo team -- much like he was with Colorado when the Avalanche began their ascension to the Cup. He is the oldest skater on the roster -- although he only has three weeks on Kyle Okposo -- and one of three players over 30.

Like the Avalanche when their corps was very young, the Sabres are trying to form the foundation for a title team. They are coming off of a 5-2 win over Arizona on Monday, are 2-0-1 in their last three games, and embark on a three-game road trip starting with Colorado.

They feel their recent play is a blueprint for further success.

"Now we have a template of how we need to play, how we need to work," said Okposo, who had a goal and two assists against the Coyotes. "And now we can get better from there. And I think that's the mantra is continuing to get better every night and build off that. And it's not hard to play like that. It's just a commitment to it."

The Avalanche have their blueprint in place, but it's a matter of following it. Colorado rallied with three goals in the third period Monday night to beat Calgary 6-5 and end a two-game skid. The Avalanche have a chance to finish their season-long five-game homestand with a 3-2 mark but will have to do it against a Buffalo team that shut them out 4-0 in October.

Mikko Rantanen tied Monday's game 5-5 with his first goal in 10 games and MacKinnon won it on a breakaway. MacKinnon extended his points streak to 12 games and he has at least one in all 14 home games this season.

"I'm doing everything I can to be ready to go off the ice," MacKinnon said. "Obviously no one sees that stuff, but that's kind of what is making me play well on the ice right now. It's a lot of time and effort, so I'm glad it's paying off."

Rantanen's struggles created some controversy in his home country of Finland. Ismo Lehkonen, an analyst for the Finnish broadcasting company YLE and father of Rantanen's teammate Arturri Lehkonen, told the outlet that Rantanen might have not worked out as much this past summer.

Rantanen said it served as motivation for Wednesday's game -- and hit back at Ismo Lehkonen.

"One of our Finnish NHL player's dad was talking (stuff) about me in media, that I didn't train last summer like I used to," Rantanen said after the game Monday. "He was making things up. I think that was for him."