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Liberty Lake’s Debbie and Ken Johnson attend a game of the Stanley Cup Finals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. The Johnsons’ son, Tyler, is a standout on the team and finished as the leading goal scorer of this year’s NHL playoffs.
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Parting Shots: 'You can't believe it's your kid'
6/30/2015 10:58:03 AM
By Dave Trimmer
Splash Contributor
The message arrived just after the national anthem and the puck dropped for the first game of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals.
"Just another game, duh!"
Ken Johnson wasn't serious, you don't watch your son play on hockey's biggest stage and call it just another game.
But with the way things were going at the time, maybe it was.
The Tampa Bay Lightning were playing for the grand prize in part because Tyler Johnson had become a household name in the hockey world.
A quick recap to understand why the Central Valley graduate was the hottest name in the game:
• He had a goal and an assist just 1-minute, 17-seconds apart late in the third period to send a critical game into overtime and then scored the game winner 2:25 into overtime, allowing the Lightning to even their best-of-seven series with Detroit 2-2. They went on to win the opening series four games to three.
• He scored with less than 2 seconds remaining to give Tampa Bay at 2-1 win over Montreal for a 3-0 lead in the second-round series with Montreal. The Lightning won 4-2.
• He had a hat trick in Madison Square Garden to help the Lightning tie the series with the New York Rangers, a series they would go on to win in seven games over the team that had the best record in NHL during the regular season. After his performance, he told the press, "I think every morning I'm just happy to be here, and I'm living my dream. So that's what's driving me is to try to be the best I can and play for my family. They sacrificed so much for me to be here, and I'm living my dream, so I want to keep living it as long as possible."
By the time the Finals against Chicago started, the undersized, undrafted kid from Liberty Lake and the Spokane Chiefs had notched 12 goals and 9 assists to lead all playoff scorers.
"You know, it was pretty much surreal," father Ken Johnson said. "The atmosphere was unbelievable, first of all. Home game. Game one. You can't believe it's actually happening. That's almost like it's been since Tyler left the Chiefs, even during the Chiefs, you can't believe it's your kid out there and he's beating the odds."
The magic didn't continue. Johnson had one goal and Tampa Bay lost to the Blackhawks in six games.
However, it wasn't until after the last game it was revealed Johnson had broken his right wrist in the opening game of the Finals.
Of course, Ken and Debbie Johnson knew immediately their son was hurt after he collided with Chicago's Brent Seabrook during a first period penalty kill.
"It was nerve-wracking, but once they play a shift and get going it was fine," Debbie Johnson said. "It was hard for me knowing Tyler was hurt and didn't want him to get hurt any more. But it was very exciting. The arena was electric."
Added Ken: "We knew something was wrong with him, we know him better than anyone, but it was still the Stanley Cup Finals. We're fans of Tampa Bay, too, we're not just fans to Tyler. We didn't shut it down or anything."
Tyler Johnson quit taking faceoffs. As the series continued, his production dropped off. With the first five games decided by one goal, people noticed. A goal in the second game and an assist in the third were his only statistical contributions.
"When people asked, 'Is Tyler OK?' I'd say he's a little banged up, it's late in the series," Debbie Johnson said. "We didn't tell anybody but immediate family."
They shut out the outside distractions and hoped for the best.
"It was a disappointment to see that," Ken Johnson said. "He had a pretty good second game, considering circumstances. As the series went on, the games got tougher and the wrist got worse.
"We've been around hockey long enough to know players play hurt, and that the average fan isn't going to know and the media didn't pick up on it."
The Johnsons traveled to Tampa Bay for the Stanley Cup games but watched the rest of the playoffs at home in Liberty Lake, where they could concentrate on the games.
Despite what other people were saying about their son, they took his success in stride, as usual. Johnson was a finalist for NHL Rookie of the Year in 2013-2014, and this season ended two games short of an NHL title.
"It was very exciting," Debbie Johnson said. "Yes, it's unreal. You never expect that, especially his second year. Unbelievable."
"It was a blast," Ken Johnson added. "You couldn't wait for the game to come on."
Each parent had their own favorite moment.
"I would have to say the game when there was no time on the clock," Debbie Johnson said. "That was an important win, a big win for us, so I would say that one, even more than the hat trick."
Ken Johnson had a lot to choose from as well.
"Probably the overtime winner against Detroit," he said "They needed that badly, obviously. … Of course, the hat trick game was the close second.
"I don't even know if I remember them all."
As has been the case throughout his career, Tyler Johnson deflected the praise to his teammates and his parents. It's a trait he comes by naturally.
"Tyler's on a good line," Debbie Johnson said. "He plays with two guys that are going to get even better. … Without those guys, he wouldn't have done what he did."
Ken Johnson shared similar praise for the team as a whole.
"There were other heroes, too," he said. "We've been around hockey long enough to know it's not a one-man game, but somebody has to be the hero, somebody has to step up and do it. That's probably why I liked that (Detroit) game, because Tyler stepped up."
And like their son, when the credit went to them, they deflected it.
"We didn't sacrifice anything," Ken Johnson said. "We did it as a family. You had kids in sports; it wasn't a sacrifice to take them to the fields. That's what parents should do.
"When he said that, it hit home, but he doesn't owe us anything. It was a family thing. It happened to be a sport he loved, and he excelled."
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