Jack Campbell should be the starter in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Goaltending has long been a hot button topic when it comes to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a while now, but it looks as though they may well just have their undisputed No. 1 for the postseason in Jack Campbell, who is proving that he has what it takes to help carry a true contender on his back.
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It has been a pretty impressive 2020-21 season for the Maple Leafs thus far, who are looking every inch a formidable juggernaut and are on track to win the North Division. Boasting an abundance of firepower and a much improved blueline unit that is currently ranked 7th in Goals Against Per Game (2.51), this could finally be the year that Toronto unlocks its full potential and lives up to lofty expectations.
However, the one fatal flaw on this roster this season, and arguably longer, has been the goaltending with Frederik Andersen a shadow of his former self and it would not be surprising if the 87th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft is allowed to walk as a Free Agent in the offseason, or even be moved by the Trade Deadline.
Currently out with a lower-body injury, Andersen has struggled all season long and currently owns a 13-8-2 record to go along with a .897 Save Percentage and a 2.91 Goals Against Average, while he went 2-5-0 in March and posted a .876 SV% in that span after returning from another lower-body injury.
While bad goaltending can sink any team, the Toronto Maple Leafs can count themselves lucky that they have been able to fall back on the reliable Jack Campbell, who has elevated his game and deserves to the undisputed starter for his team until he proves otherwise.
Toronto Maple Leafs should keep faith with Jack Campbell as their No. 1 starter
Jack Campbell, who was acquired in a trade from the LA Kings on Feb. 5, 2020, has always been a solid backup goaltender in the National Hockey League, but he has really seized his opportunity to shine this season and has proved that he can be much more than a No. 2 or a mere understudy.
Having dealt with his own injury problems this year, with a lingering leg injury keeping him out of the lineup on multiple occasions, Campbell has risen to the occasion in Andersen’s absence and has proven to Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas and Head Coach Sheldon Keefe that he can be relied upon in the postseason if needed.
For starters, he has done what few other goaltenders have done in 2020-21 and that is to go undefeated so far, winning all eight of his starts for a stellar 8-0-0 record, posting two shutouts for good measure too.
Campbell has also done it in style, posting a .951 Save Percentage and a sublime 1.35 Goals Against Average, and he’s now one victory away from tying the Maple Leafs’ franchise record of nine consecutive wins by a goaltender, which is currently held by John Ross Roach, Jacques Plante and Felix Potvin.
Pretty impressive.
Also impressive, and perhaps his biggest statement as a Maple Leaf so far, was Jack Cambell’s outstanding one-man mission to thwart the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night. The 29-year-old was simply sensational, dealing with everything the Jets had to throw at him and not breaking despite having to deal with a constant barrage of pressure.
He stopped 31 of the 32 shots he faced, including all three shots on the power play, and he was only beaten by Andrew Copp who made it a tied game at 11:50 in the second period after skating in on an odd-man rush before firing a shot past Cambell.
However, apart from that one blot on his copybook, Campbell was simply brilliant and he absolutely stood on his head in the third period, stopping all 11 shots he faced in the final 20 minutes of play and pulling off a series of incredible saves to keep it a tied game.
I mean, just watch this incredible desperation save to absolutely rob Winnipeg forward Kyle Connor in the third period. Just wow.
And, after neither team could force the breakthrough in Overtime, Campbell again played the role of hero after denying both Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois in the Shootout with Jason Spezza scoring the only goal to win the game for the Maple Leafs and keeping his team on top in the North.
It was just a real statement game by Jack Campbell who has been pretty much perfect for the Toronto Maple Leafs so far this season and, while his lingering health issues are a concern, he has proven that if he can remain healthy then he deserves to be the main guy between the pipes for his team both down the stretch and come Stanley Cup Playoffs time, even when Frederik Andersen is back and healthy.