Campbell wins Maple Leafs debut against Ducks
Makes 26 saves, Tavares scores power-play goal with 6.2 seconds left in OT
via NHL.com
Jack Campbell made 26 saves to win his debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-4 in overtime against the Anaheim Ducks at Scotiabank Arena on Friday.
“I was a little nervous the first period, but I was just really excited. When you care a lot, you get a little nervous,” Campbell said. “The boys played really well in front of me. Anytime you score five, that should be a win anytime. I’ll clean up my game, but I’m just really excited our team got two points.”
After Ducks forward Derek Grant tied it 4-4 with 58 seconds remaining in the third period and goalie Ryan Miller pulled for the extra skater, John Tavares won it with 6.2 seconds left in overtime when he redirected Mitchell Marner’s pass at the top of the crease on the power play.
“We just had to stay with it. Not a very good third period, it wasn’t ideal and something we have to clean up to get the results we want,” said Tavares, who had two goals and an assist. “We didn’t skate well enough and didn’t initiate the play in the third period.”
Auston Matthews scored his 40th goal and had three assists, and Marner had three assists for Toronto (29-19-7), which had lost two straight. Kyle Clifford, who was acquired with Campbell in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, had two shots and four penalty minutes in 12:03 of ice time.
Adam Henrique had a goal and an assist, and Miller made 30 saves for Anaheim (22-26-7), which was playing the second game of a back-to-back and is 2-0-2 in its past four games.
“I think we learned from our mistakes and that third period is what we need to base our game off of,” Ducks forward Max Jones said. “It’s a template for us to use for a full 60 minutes. Our puck management was simple and it led to turnovers on their part. It’s the type of play we need to keep on showing.”
They said it
“It was a great third period for us and I think a big learning curve for us in terms of how we have to play to be successful. We did a great job of that in the third period coming back and we can take good things away from that.” — Ducks forward Derek Grant
“What’s happened here is his overall game has progressed. The offense will always be there, but his complete game is not getting enough attention. The puck turns over and he’s really digging in, lots of urgency, and he’s understanding the value of having the puck and getting it back quick. He’s leading the way for us in a lot of those regards. I thought the first half of this game for him was a clinic in that regard.” — Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe on Auston Matthews
Need to know
Ducks defenseman Erik Gudbranson left at 8:02 of the first period with an upper-body injury. He left the arena wearing a sling on his left arm. … Maple Leafs forward William Nylander was a late scratch because of an illness. Keefe said he would not travel with Toronto to Montreal but could join them before their game against the Canadiens on Saturday. … Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen missed his second game because of a neck injury and will not play against the Canadiens. … Grant’s goal was his 13th of the season, an NHL career high.
What’s next
Ducks: At the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; TVAS, MSG-B, PRIME, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs: At the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, NHL.TV)
Auston Matthews of the @MapleLeafs scored his 40th goal of 2019-20 to match his single-season career high set as a rookie in 2016-17. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/vBQQzENIMK
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 8, 2020
Auston Matthews is the fifth player in @MapleLeafs franchise history to record multiple 40-goal seasons, joining Darryl Sittler (4x), Lanny McDonald (3x), Rick Vaive (3x) and Mats Sundin (2x). #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/t9MpAWYXcX
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 8, 2020
Mitch Marner’s assist in overtime was the 200th of his NHL career. #LeafsForever
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) February 8, 2020
Goaltender Jack Campbell (#36) and forward Kyle Clifford (#73) will make their @MapleLeafs debuts tonight. #LeafsForever
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) February 8, 2020