Jack Campbell occupied the starter's net today at Leafs morning skate, indicating that he will be between the pipes when the puck drops for tonight's game against the Flyers. Campbell is still working his way back into form after a rib injury held him out of the lineup for several weeks, but his recent play has been encouraging. Since Petr Mrazek went down with a season ending groin injury, the Leafs playoff fate has landed squarely on Campbell's shoulders. It's important to have him confident and in a good rhythm going into round one.
Campbell's last start against the Islanders was excellent. The likeable netminder stopped 27 of 29 shots for a tidy .931sv%. More important than his stat line was the way Campbell looked in the net. He was confident and aggressive but never lost his net. The only pucks that got by him were a shot that he never saw thanks to a perfect screen from Ilya Lyubushkin and an unfortunate own goal by Alexander Kerfoot. Aside from that, Campbell was solid, making several key saves while the Leafs defended a one goal lead late in the third period. If this is the level of play we can expect from Jack moving forward, the Leafs will be in a great position.
Campbell comes into tonight's game having won his last 6 starts. The last start he lost was a 6-4 decision to the Vancouver Canucks March 5th. He was listed as the losing goalie in the Leafs 7-6 overtime loss to the Panthers where he appeared in relief of Erik Källgren even though he only played 25 minutes.
