CALGARY — The Toronto Maple Leafs will give Jack Campbell an additional day of rest as Michael Hutchinson will start against the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
Campbell did not take part during the team’s practice as Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday.
“He’s good, we just gave him a maintenance day here today,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said.
Campbell made 31 saves in the team’s 2-1 shootout win against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday. There was some concern about his health after he was seen favouring his leg after a save in the third period. Campbell’s lingering leg injury has kept the goaltender out of action for extended stretches of the season.
Michael Hutchinson will get the nod in goal against the Calgary Flames on Sunday in the first of back-to-back games on back-to-back nights.
“We were going to split both guys and use both of them so we thought it made sense to give Jack the extra day,” Keefe said.
Campbell improved to 8-0-0 this season and a win on Monday would put him into a tie for the franchise record for wins to start a season shared by Felix Potvin, Jacques Plante and John Ross Roach.
Hutchinson is 1-1-0 against the Flames this season with a .927 save percentage.
Justin Holl was the only other notable absentee at practice.
“Just a maintenance day for him,” Keefe said. “He’s a bit sore here the last little while so we just decided to give him the extra day, but he’ll be fine.”
The Leafs did not do any line rushes in the brief 20-minute formal session of practice. Based on the jersey colors worn by the forwards, it appears that the Leafs will continue to keep their forward lines in tact.
They’ll also continue to roll with the power-play units they have used in the last couple of games. That included moving John Tavares up to the first unit, while moving Joe Thornton down to the second unit.
“It gets him more involved,” Keefe said of Tavares. “John had a lot of success with us playing in that role.”
The direct swap is supposed to spur some healthy competition between the two units. The Leafs have missed on their last 27 power-play opportunities. The latest chance came Friday in a 4-on-3 overtime situation.
“I’m not really too concerned about it to be honest with you,” Thornton said of the drought. “You throw two power-play lines, two potent lines, they have to be comfortable with each other, but no worries on my end on that.”