Jack Campbell faces the music and the media after another rough game
Man, this one hurts. The Leafs dropped a game they needed to win against the Vancouver Canucks, and while the defense shoulders some of the blame, the bulk of it sits on Jack Campbell, who let quite a few sneak through him.
The Leafs' All-Star netminder's slump continued, allowing 5 goals on just 23 shots. The Leafs managed 4 on Demko, but despite a massive push in the dying minutes they couldn't tie the game.
While most of the goals that Campbell allowed were deflections and bad bounces, you need a save. Bad bounces and good tips happen, and boy did they tonight, but you can't expect to win games giving up 5 goals. You can say the goals aren't his fault, or that he can't be blamed for screens, tips and rebounds, but elite goalies are elite because they make saves that they have no business making. Right now Campbell isn't able to do that.
Campbell spoke to the media post game - a brave thing to do after a performance like that in a market like Toronto.
This is a goalie that needs confidence to do well. Those are not the words of a goalie that is confident in his game right now. What's positive is that he's clearly working on changing the way he evaluates his game. A change in perspective can really help in this situation. Campbell knows it's all in his head, he knows there's a great goalie in there, and he still believes he can get his game back. When asked about how he plans to get himself back on track, he had this to say.
Just yesterday Kyle Dubas reaffirmed his confidence in both Leaf goaltenders, so don't expect a move for a new goalie in the near future. It's up to Campbell to make good on his promise.
| POLL | ||
MARS 6 | 296 ANSWERS Jack Campbell faces the music and the media after another rough game Do you think Campbell sorts himself out down the home stretch? | ||
| Yes - he's too good not to figure it out | 150 | 50.7 % |
| No, his confidence is gone | 106 | 35.8 % |
| Show me the results | 40 | 13.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
