Things looking up between pipes
Best teams need to rely on two goalies, especially in condensed season
Jack Campbell has begun to make things interesting in the Maple Leafs’ net.
The backup goalie, stellar in winning both of his starts so far this season, has looked as comfortable as No. 1 netminder Frederik Andersen in the early going.
While there’s no suggestion of a goalie controversy, Campbell’s performance will have an impact on how playing time is split the rest of the way, and which direction the club goes beyond this season.
First, however, he’ll have to recover from an injury, believed to be to his left leg, that kept him out of Monday’s practice in Calgary — the result of a collision with the Flames’ Matthew Tkachuk in Sunday’s 3-2 win by the Leafs.
“We’ll let things settle down there to see what (Campbell’s) condition is going forward,” said Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe, who has third-stringer Michael Hutchinson available on the taxi squad if needed for Tuesday night’s rematch.
At full strength, Keefe has said Campbell will start in more than just the second of back-toback games. With a condensed 56-game schedule and up to five games per week, having a solid backup to share the load can be a significant advantage.
As for Andersen, his game has never faced more scrutiny since he arrived in a trade with Anaheim five years ago. At 31, he’s in the final season of a five-year contract and still looking for his first playoff series win.
For now, when Campbell is back to health, the Leafs appear to have a goalie tandem they can rely on, a formula that has worked well for league powerhouses such as the Bruins, Lightning and Golden Knights.
Here’s a closer look at the case for each of the Leafs’ netminders to carry the load:
FREDERIK ANDERSEN
The Leafs’ No. 1 netminder has consistently been among the NHL leaders in shots and highdanger chances faced, and general manager Kyle Dubas gave Andersen a vote of confidence before the season. His stats, however, have been mercurial
throughout his time in Toronto.
While he has set career highs in wins and saves in a Leafs uniform, he has always struggled in the first and last months of the season. He’s 3-2-0 heading into Tuesday’s game and his save percentage (.898) ranks just 32nd among 47 goalies with at least 100 minutes played, while his goals-against average (2.81) ranks 29th.
It’s a small sample, but Andersen is working behind a Leafs defence that has shown marked improvements, especially in the last four games. Normally one of the most overworked goalies in the league, Andersen has faced 29.5 shots per game, 14th-fewest in the league. Slot shots against are down to 15 per game, which ranks 35th.
Andersen’s expected goals against per game — 3.01 (32nd lowest in the league) — reflect the fact that he has faced a greater percentage of dangerous scoring chances than Campbell. Andersen remains better than average in terms of goals saved per game (the difference between expected goals against and the number he has allowed). His metric there — 0.20 — ranks 19th.
If the playoffs were to start tomorrow, Andersen would have the net. His challenge for the rest of the regular season will be to block out the distractions of a contract year and contribute at a high level to the stat that matters most: wins.
JACK CAMPBELL
The 29-year-old backup netminder has put up better numbers than Andersen in his two starts, and earned more fans by finishing Sunday’s one-goal win over the Flames in pain after the collision with Tkachuk.
His 2-0-0 record comes with a 13th-ranked save percentage of .923 and a 2.00 GAA, ninth-best among goalies with two or more appearances in the young season.
He has only faced 26 shots per game — eight fewest — and his slot shots against (15) are the same as Andersen’s. He owns the 26th-lowest expected goalsagainst average per game (2.85), and that’s reflected in a 0.85 goals saved mark, which is better than Andersen’s and ranks seventh in the league.
While Andersen has shown improvement in preventing goals through the five hole — an area where he ranked worst in the NHL last season — he has allowed seven goals high to his blocker side. Campbell, albeit in just two games, has yet to be scored on through the five hole or to the blocker side, high or low.