Keefe confirms that Jack Campbell will get his first start since early March
The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a total of five different netminders tend the crease this season. Five. That's more than a lot of teams would have to utilize over a two or three year span, but even with the revolving door of goalies, the Leafs own an impressive 43-19-5 record through 67 games.
The Leafs' net has been arguably the team's only weakness for much of the season, but now, with Jack Campbell having taken the appropriate amount of time away from game action, he finally appears to be back at 100%. Great news if you're a Leafs fan, and not so great if you're an Atlantic Division rival.
Campbell was injured back on February 22nd and played three additional games before coming out of the lineup to deal with a rib injury that became too much for the 30-year-old to manage. For anyone who has ever had fractured or broken ribs, you'll know that it's absolutely excruciating even to breathe - let alone play a 60-minute hockey game.
We knew that Campbell was getting close, bit until today, we did not know exactly when we'd see Soupy back in action. Well, now we know. Per head coach Sheldon Keefe, Campbell will tend the goal in Philadelphia against the Flyers on Saturday.
Campbell had been playing at a Vezina Trophy caliber level early on this season before going into a bit of a tail slide from December onward. Still, even with his struggles, Campbell has compiled a 24-9-4 record this season through 40 starts, owning a 2.65 GAA and a .914 SV%.
Nothing against rookie Erik Kallgren, who has been very good in limited action this season, but with Petr Mrazek out for the remainder of the season, Leafs fans will feel a lot better with Jack as the #1 and Kallgren as the #2 than with Kallgren as the #1 and Michael Hutchinson as the #2.
