As Jack Campbell authors a season befitting a story book, he may soon find himself in the record books.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a goaltender who has squeezed more big moments out of eight starts. They’ve included two shutouts, multiple instances where he battled through discomfort or injury, just 11 total goals against and more individual victories than the Buffalo Sabres have managed so far in 36 attempts.
Should Campbell win his next game, he’d match Felix Potvin for the Toronto Maple Leafs record of nine-straight W’s to begin a campaign.
Jack Campbell of the @MapleLeafs made 31 saves through 65 minutes and denied three shootout attempts to improve to 8-0-0 through eight appearances this season. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/S2SlGWEPMY
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 3, 2021
He was full value for the eighth on Friday night, turning aside 11 third-period shots and all three shootout attempts during a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.
“Stellar,” said Travis Dermott. “As it has been the whole season.”
“Just outstanding,” added head coach Sheldon Keefe. “I mean you can just see his confidence growing and you can see the team’s confidence in him growing as well.”
Campbell has helped the Leafs right the ship since Frederik Andersen went down with injury two weeks ago and re-establish their spot atop the North Division standings. They left Bell MTS Place with a four-point lead on the Jets and Edmonton Oilers.
While he’s been a beneficiary of the team’s improved defensive play this season, he was the main reason the Leafs even got a chance to outlast Connor Hellebuyck in the skills competition. The Jets put on a big push in the late stages of a 1-1 game and Campbell had to lunge out of his net to deny Andrew Copp and slide hard to his left to keep Kyle Connor from scoring the winner.
He winced in pain after that last stop, but stayed in the game and kept the door shut.
“He’s playing in a game tonight with virtually no room for error and he was there on all the breakdowns we had today, which I thought we had too many of,” said Keefe. “Yeah he was really good.”
Let’s leave aside the fact his health will again be a point of focus leading into a back-to-back series starting Sunday in Calgary for a moment and appreciate how much Campbell is levelling up right before our eyes.
With each passing game it’s becoming more likely that Keefe could choose to play him over a healthy Andersen in the playoffs. We’re still dealing with a limited sample, but his .951 save percentage sure catches the eye.
“Hockey’s about confidence,” said veteran Jason Spezza, who had the shootout winner. “I think he gives us confidence right now. We’re giving him confidence trying to keep things to the outside. Just a guy that’s really benefiting from getting a little momentum here.”
Campbell praised the plan goaltending coach Steve Briere has put together for him, noting that he’s “getting confident and calmer each time” he’s in the crease.
There was something symbolic about the fact these last two victories came with Hellebuyck at the other end of the ice. The Jets starter is the reigning Vezina Trophy winner and would likely win a vote of his peers as the best goaltender in the North Division.
He and Campbell were born one year apart in Michigan, but have taken divergent career paths. Campbell was the 11th overall pick by Dallas in 2010 and is only now starting to maximize his talents at age 29. Hellebuyck was passed over entirely in one draft and taken 130th by Winnipeg in 2012, but quickly established himself as a bonafide NHL starter and appeared in his 300th career game for Winnipeg on Friday.
“He’s amazing. Obviously, I don’t have to pump his tires, he’s already accomplished so much,” Campbell said of Hellebuyck. “He’s a great friend. When I was struggling early in my career, he was always right there and texting me and kind of coached me a little bit back in the early days.”
And here he was in the stretch drive of the season holding his own in two tight divisional games.
With capable goaltending, the Leafs look like legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. They’ve drastically cut down on the shots and chances against from recent seasons and are learning to play in a controlled manner that increases their odds of coming out on the right side of results. Plus they still have elite talent to tip the scales.
“A lot of great signs,” said Spezza.
None greater than the one riding a historic run between the pipes right now.
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