TORONTO — The special teams and goalie Jack Campbell provided the right stuff for the Toronto Maple Leafs to pass a challenging mid-season test against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
Campbell made 45 saves against the red-hot Penguins, while defenceman Morgan Rielly scored a dandy goal on the power play and set up a short-handed marker from David Kampf in the 4-1 victory before 8,139 at Scotiabank Arena as relaxed provincial COVID-19 restrictions allowed the building to be at half capacity.
Auston Matthews also extended his point streak to nine games, scoring his 33rd goal 21 seconds into the game on a breakaway thanks to a perfect pass from TJ Brodie. Matthews then set up 26-year-old rookie Michael Bunting with the final goal of the game midway through the third period.
The Bunting goal was vital because it arrived less than three minutes after Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin busted Campbell’s shutout bid with a rebound goal.
The fast start and blanking the Penguins (31-12-8) on their five power-play opportunities were essential elements of the Maple Leafs (32-12-3) win.
“Loved those two parts, and Jack Campbell was just outstanding,” Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe said, adding this was possibly Campbell’s best outing of the year.
“This was as calm and poised as he’s looked all season. He made the tough saves look easy.”
Campbell struggled in recent weeks. But he was sharp all game, right from stopping Jeff Carter on an early breakaway to a late-game pad stop on Dominik Simon.
In the second period, Campbell even assisted on Rielly’s highlight power-play goal when he made an excellent read. Instead of dropping a pass to Matthews or Mitch Marner in the neutral zone, he held onto the puck, skated past three Penguins and drove a high shot past goalie Tristan Jarry.
“I saw Morgan streaking back on the right side and just left it for him perfectly, and that’s about it,” Campbell joked about his assist. “He made an unbelievable play and just a world-class player, and it was fun to watch.”
With the Kampf short-handed marker, the Maple Leafs enjoyed a 3-0 lead late in the second period.
“A good win against a really good team that has been playing really well lately,” Rielly said. “The special teams stick out when we take that many penalties, so I thought the PK did a great job.”
Even with the defeat, the Penguins have gone 14-4-4 since the calendar flipped to 2022.
The Maple Leafs endured a scary moment with 13:19 remaining. Matthews pursued Crosby, chasing him behind the net when he slammed face-first into the crossbar behind Campbell. Matthews departed for the dressing room but returned for one final shift in the last five minutes.
“He has some wounds,” Keefe said. “But as far as I know, he’s going to be fine.”
Matthews has eight goals and 18 points in his nine-game streak.
Marner also checked in with two assists. His second helper on the Bunting goal was because he blocked a shot that started the Maple Leafs rush the other way.
“When you see that sort of commitment, you want to make stops for them,” Campbell said.
Another intriguing development for the Maple Leafs was the play of defenceman Rasmus Sandin, who moved from the left side of the third pairing to the right alongside veteran Jake Muzzin. The left-shot Sandin had played some right-side defence in junior and in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies but never at the NHL level.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” said Sandin. “I was just trying to enjoy it.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2022.
Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press
