Author: SFDI

Do the Toronto Maple Leafs have Stanley Cup caliber goaltending?

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By Neil Becker

 

Heading towards the March 21st. NHL trade deadline, the million-dollar question is should Leafs Nation be concerned about their number one goalie Jack Campbell?

 
Campbell was a little-known backup who on February 5, 2020, was part of a multi-player deal that sent him to the Leafs where over time, he would play his way into the number one goaltending position.

Arguably the best moment of Campbell’s Leaf career came on April 10, 2021, when the man affectionately called ‘Soupy’ was all smiles after starting the season with a league-record 11 straight wins, with the eleventh coming in a 6-5 decision against the Ottawa Senators.

Campbell, who was originally selected by the Dallas Stars, 11th overall in the 2010 Entry Draft, last season posted a 17-3-2 record with 2 shutouts and 2.15 GAA.
This season, Campbell got off to a solid first-half start and on January 13th, was selected to participate in the 2022 NHL All-Star Game.
 
Not long after being included on the Atlantic Division Roster, Campbell had a bad four-game stretch where he surrendered 16 goals. He was also pulled during the Leafs 6-4 win against the New Jersey Devils.
 
Most recently, ‘Soupy’s’ play has come under some scrutiny by Leafs media. While Toronto has some world-class offensive talent, a concern has to be in net where since December 1, 2021, they have ranked 30th in five on five save percentage. Since the calendar turned to 2022, Campbell has surrendered 3 or more goals in nine of those 14 starts.
 
Despite the inconsistency, Campbell still has an impressive 23-8-3 record this year with a 2.55 GAA along with 4 shutouts.

Still, when you think of Stanley Cup contenders, you think of teams with consistent elite goaltending. Teams such as the defending Stanley Cup champions who have all-star Andrei Vasilevskiy, Carolina Hurricanes who have the consistent Frederick Andersen, or the Calgary Flames who have Jacob Markstrom.

It’s no secret that to be an elite starter, one must be strong mentally, especially in the playoffs.

Campbell as all Leafs fans known has a tendency to beat himself up for his mistakes and has trouble forgetting about bad outings. Personally, I don’t think that’s a good recipe for a goalie on a Stanley Cup caliber team to have.

His latest bout of inconsistency came on Saturday night when he surrendered five goals and was eventually pulled in the third of a wild 10-7 win against the Detroit Red Wings.

I do hope that Campbell can rebound and be that re-capture that first-half magic. He has had to work for everything he has earned and I would love to see nothing better than him lead the Leafs to a deep Stanley Cup run. Realistically, I just don’t know if that’s going to happen. Only time will tell.  

 
 
 

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Pittsburgh Penguins move to 2nd in Metropolitan after win of New York Rangers

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By Jordan Laroche

The last year has been a wild ride for Pittsburgh Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry. After last season’s first round exit to the New York Islanders, Jarry faced blame from everyone after a lackluster performance. But since returning this year, he has quickly become one of the top goalies in the NHL this season and was named an All-Star.

The Penguins as a group have managed to leapfrog the New York Rangers and now hold the second spot in the Metropolitan Division. They’ve spent most of the year with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin out of the lineup, whilst others have stepped up. Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust have become two key players for this team, and both were instrumental in Saturday’s win.

During Saturday’s game the New York Rangers came out strong in the first period, outshooting the Penguins 12-6 and it was made clear that this was going to be a defensive battle. Both Jarry and Igor Shesterkin were on top of their games as the two dueled it out through the first two periods.

The second period continued the offensive struggles for both sides as neither team registered more than ten shots in the period. The physical play started to ramp up during the second as well, the Rangers and Penguins have formed a pretty fierce rivalry over the 2010’s, and it showed in a lot of post-whistle scrums and the hit count.

The third was more of the same, until Malkin scored his 8th goal in 17 games which was eventually the game-winner. But the third saw even more physical play with the Rangers outhitting the Penguins 43-39 for 82 total hits in the game. Grit and toughness was something the Rangers wanted to address heading into the last off-season by bringing in Ryan Reaves, Barclay Goodrow, Greg McKegg and Sammy Blais (out for season) and it seems to have paid off.

The Rangers are back at it again Sunday night against the Vancouver Canucks at home.

Box Score:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

G: Evgeni Malkin (8) A: Bryan Rust (22) Sidney Crosby (34)

The Leafs will next play on Friday night at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop against the Red Wings.

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Auston Matthews scores twice as Toronto Maple Leafs snap three game skid

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By Neil Becker

With all due respect to Edmonton Oilers Leon Draisaitl and New York Rangers Chris Kreider, it seemed only a matter of time before the defending Rocket Richard trophy winner Auston Matthews moved into the NHL lead.

Matthews, who has scored 29 goals in his past 31 games, has been the absolute model of goal-scoring consistency this year. His latest accomplishment came on Thursday night when at Scotiabank Arena he had a two-goal performance, including his now league-leading 36th goal which came in a  3-1 win against the Minnesota Wild.
 
Another key ingredient was the bounce-back performance from Leafs back-up goalie Petr Mrazek who stopped 29 shots, including 13 in the third, where he made numerous highlight-reel stops.
 
As all Leafs fans know it was a bad week for the blue and white not only on the ice but off where first they put veteran rugged defenceman Jake Muzzin on long term Injured Reserve before a few days later hearing the devastating news about their 2020 first-round prospect Rodion Amirov having a brain tumor.
 
Minnesota who came into action having won one of their past four, grabbed early momentum when at 8:37 of the second, Matt Boldy delivered a tape-to-tape pass to Frederick Gaudreau who scored his sixth of the season to make it a 1-0 game. From that point, it was Matthews who took center stage starting when he rushed up ice
 
and eventually scored on his signature snapshot which came at the 9:04 mark and it a brand new game heading to the third.

Halfway through the third with overtime looking like a possibility, Matthews once again came through as he converted at 10:22 on a nice 2 on 1 break with good friend Mitch Marner. This was the goal which not only put the Leafs ahead to stay but also gave Matthews the league lead with 36.

Late in regulation Minnesota was pressing as they pulled goalie Kaapo Kahkonen but ti no avail as Leafs forward Alex Kerfoot scored his eighth into an open net with only
42 seconds remaining to seal a much-needed Toronto win. 

The Leafs will next play on Friday night at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop against the Red Wings.

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Patrik Laine scores two including overtime decider against the Toronto Maple Leafs

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 By Neil Becker

 

The Toronto Maple Leafs got an up-close look at re-dedicated Columbus Blue Jackets star forward Patrik Laine.

Unlike last season when Laine struggled and seemed discouraged, this former 2016 Winnipeg Jets second overall pick has been scoring this year at a more consistent pace and seems to once more be having fun.
 
Playing at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday night, Laine was all smiles following a dominant two-goal performance with his second coming twenty seconds into overtime to clinch a 4-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
 
The Leafs, who less than 24 hours earlier had suffered a 5-2 loss at the Molson Centre against the Montreal Canadiens, found themselves looking to snap a two- games losing streak.
 
Looking to avoid losing three -straight for the first time since October, the Leafs got off to that essential fast start when forward and Calder Trophy contender Michael Bunting scored his 17th at the 12:50 mark to give Toronto a 1-0 first period lead.
 
Columbus, who came into action having won two straight and four of five were badly outshot 17-5 in the second period but managed to pull even on the scoreboard when at the 6:13 mark, Laine showcased his skills by skating down on an odd-man rush before receiving a pass and successfully picking the corner on a hard snapshot to make it a brand- new game at 1-1.
 
Ironically enough, forward Auston Matthews scored his 34th of the year, which came with under five minutes left in the second and gave the Leafs a 2-1 lead. What makes it ironic about Matthews scoring right after Laine is the fact that they were both drafted first and second overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Matthews went first to the Leafs while as already mentioned, Laine went to the Jets. This second-period goal also puts Matthews one behind the current league leader in Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl.
 
The Leafs lead didn’t hold up in the third as Columbus responded with two early goals from Adam Boqvist with his 10th on a power-play followed by Brendan Gounce who just past the seven-minute mark scored his third to give the Jackets their first lead at 3-2.
 
Toronto had over 40 shots in this game, including 15 in the third but came up empty until the goalie pulled Leafs forward Jason Spezza continued his pursuit to 1,000 points by scoring his tenth which came with under three minutes remaining and eventually forced overtime.
That overtime session was looking for a hero and it happened to be Laine who continued his comeback season by scoring the Blue Jackets game-winner to send the Leafs to their third straight loss.
 
The Leafs next see action on Thursday, February 24th when back at Scotiabank Arena, they host the Minnesota Wild with opening

face-off scheduled for 7 p.m.

 

                                    SCORING SUMMARY

                              1ST. Period                                                    TOR-CBJ

                              12:50 Michael Bunting (17)                            1  –  0

                              Mitchell Marner (29), Auston Matthews (27)

 

 

                              2ND Period                                                   TOR- CBJ

                              6:13  Patrik Laine (17)                                     1 –  1

                            Boone Jenner (18), Zach Werenski (24)

 

                             15:23  Auston Matthews (34)                             2 –  1

                            David Kampf (11), Michael Bunting (18)

 

 

                             3RD Period                                                   TOR –  CBJ

                             1:05 PPG-Adam Boqvist (10)                           2 –     2

                                     J.F. Berube (1)

 

                             7:13    Brendan Gaunce (3)                             2 –      3

 

                            17:54  Jason Spezza (10)                                3  –     3       

                                     Auston Matthews (28), John Tavares (30) 

 

                             OT Period                                                    TOR –  CBJ

                             0:20  Patrik Laine (18)                                     3  –     4

                                      Jakub Voracek (32), Zach Werenski (25)

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Goalie Andrew Hammond earns first win in nearly four years

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 By Neil Becker

 

       You can bet this wasn’t just some ordinary run-of-the-mill mid-season win for Montreal Canadiens goalie Andrew Hammond.

        Seven years earlier, Hammond as a member of the Ottawa Senators broke into the NHL with flair as he gained immense popularity in the nation’s capital.
       This popularity came during the 2014/15 season when this unknown rookie netminder posted a storybook 20-1-2 record and a microscopic 1.79 GA.A.
       Hammond, who back then was affectionately nicknamed ‘The Hamburglar,’ played a major role as a rookie in helping Ottawa make a successful playoff run.
       Facing long odds in being an undrafted player, Hammond got his opportunity when on March 20, 2013,  he agreed to a   two-year entry-level contract.
 
      After fine-tuning his overall game with the Sens AHL squad, Binghampton Senators, Hammond got his big break when on February 18, 2015 he earned his first
      start at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Hammond stopped 42 shots in a 4-2  win against the Montreal Canadiens. Riding the momentum of that debut
      win the Hamburglar’s solid play continued as he made the hockey world take notice by recording back-to-back shutouts against the Anaheim Ducks by a 3-0 score followed
      by a 1-0 shutout win against the Los Angeles Kings.
 
      During that magical rookie season, Hammond looked like the real deal as he made hockey history by equaling a record set way back in 1938/39 by Hockey Hall of Famer Frank Brimsek.
      Both goalies are on a shortlist of two as the only netminders to allow two or fewer goals in their first 12 starts. Hammond’s future seemed completely secure as he signed on May 20,  
      2015, a lucrative three-year 4.5 million-dollar extension with the Sens.
 
      Following that outstanding season, Hammond’s stock, unfortunately, began to quickly sink. Looking to build on his rookie success Hammond struggled badly in his sophomore season. In his 
      second season, Hammond played 24 games in Ottawa where he posted an unflattering 7-11-4 record.
 
      In the years to follow, Hammond spent the bulk of his time playing in the AHL. On November 5, 2017, he was part of a multi-player deal that sent him to the Colorado Avalanche organization.
       At this time, the Avalanche were set in net and looked at Hammond as insurance. His bulk of playing time was with the Avs AHL team the San Antonio Rampage. Still, he occasionally was called up to Colorado where he served as the team’s back up goalie. He did start a game with Colorado during that 2018 season and saw action that spring in three play-off games
     After his stint with Colorado, Hammond signed on July 1, 2018, a one-year two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild.
 
      A year later, he signed a one year-two- way contract with the Buffalo Sabres. In both those seasons with the Wild and Sabres organization, Hammond didn’t start or relieve in an NHL game.
      That long-anticipated wait for another NHL start happened eight days after being traded from the Minnesota Wild organization to the Montreal Canadiens.  Starting on Sunday, February 20th at UBS Arena in New York, Hammond got his first NHL start since 2018 and didn’t seem nervous as he made 30 saves in a 3-2 shootout win against the New York Islanders.
 
    As noted earlier, Hammond last start came as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. You can bet this particular win was a little emotional for Hammond. Here is hoping that with the Canadiens not being in a  playoff hunt, that down the road, they give Hammond some more starts before the season ends.   
 
 

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