Jack Campbell will return from his one-game absence when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Centre on Wednesday.
Campbell missed the team’s 3-2 overtime defeat to the Edmonton Oilers on Monday with a leg injury that has plagued him all season.
“It is something we have to manage,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We have to be responsible with it as a staff and be smart with it and he has to be honest tell us how he’s feeling so we can make the appropriate decisions.”
Campbell is 6-0-0 this season with a .945 save percentage. He made 17 saves on 20 shots in a 4-3 overtime victory against the Oilers on Saturday.
“It takes a lot of character to go through something like that,” Maple Leafs defenseman Zach Bogosian said of Campbell. “People don’t see what goes on behind the scenes; Soupy has been working so hard in the gym trying to battle back and obviously when he’s come back and played for us he’s played extremely well and it’s good to see.”
Campbell has yet to play against the Jets this season, who have outperformed Toronto in goal.
Connor Hellybucyk is expected to start in goal for the Jets and posted a .921 save percentage in three starts against the Maple Leafs this season.
Toronto’s No. 1 goaltender, Frederik Andersen, did not accompany the team for the start of their four-game road trip.
Andersen has been out of the lineup since Campbell returned on Mar. 20 and hasn’t skated due to a lower-body injury.
“He’s got another follow-up appointment tomorrow which we’re hopeful will give us more information for next steps for him,” Keefe said.
Andersen hasn’t been ruled out of a return on the road trip, but having not skated for awhile suggests he may be out a little while longer.
Officially, Andersen remains day-to-day.
The Leafs will roll with the same four lines they used against the Oilers on Monday.
New look on the power play
Alex Galchenyuk will get a look on the power play for the first time with the Maple Leafs.
“Part of it is him and what he can bring and part of it is we obviously haven’t had him throughout most of the season,” Keefe said.
Toronto hasn’t scored on the powerplay in their last 19 opportunities. Despite the lack of scoring, Keefe says he likes how his team has looked with the man advantage.
Battle for the North
The Leafs and Jets will play in the fifth game out of ten between the clubs before the season ends. The Leafs hold a one-point lead over the Jets for top spot in the North Division with a game in hand.
Finishing first in division means having the home-ice advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs. But does it matter in a year where there have been no fans in the buildings?
“I’m not sure anyone can give you an answer with any substance to it because nobody knows,” Leafs forward Jason Spezza said. “There’s no fans, no people in the building, there’s line changes but most importantly we want to be winning games.