Jack Campbell celebrates a victory in his first game back (Len Redkoles, Getty Images)
A slow start was masked by a strong finish as the Leafs avoided an upset loss against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Here are my 5 takeaways from Jack Campbell's return
1. Campbell Inspires Confidence
What a relief. You're always scared to bring back a goalie coming off of a long hiatus and a pretty serious rib injury, but Campbell looked comfortable. He played the puck with aggression and poise. He made some sound reads, while also blocking passes across the crease. Mobility is typically what you worry about with a player coming off of a bruised rib, but Campbell's movement was definitely the most impressive aspect of his game yesterday.
He had a pedestrian .906 SV% on the game, but the signs were there that Campbell could be finding his game again. He saved -0.71 goals above expected, but there were no blatant mistakes. He wasn't really at fault for any of the goals that he conceded.
His struggles with keeping out tip-ins are admittedly concerning and they came to fruition again last night on Philly's third goal. However, Toronto's defense with Mark Giordano looks way more stable at suppressing shot chances of any kind. Weirdly, with Campbell, he seems to have a tougher time against low-danger chances than he does with high-danger chances. Nevertheless, he should get back up to speed quickly.
Campbell has a very good defense around him now; there are no excuses for "Soupy". He faced just one high-danger chance last night and the Flyers had just 2.21 xGF. I don't think we will ever see the Campbell of November 2021 again, but if he can be around the .920 SV% mark, this elite offensive team is capable of making noise in the playoffs.
2. All Aboard the Wayne Train
We all love to see Wayne Simmonds enjoying himself. This game is exactly why Kyle Dubas kept Simmonds in the offseason. He is capable of scoring those dirty goals and he doesn't get enough credit for being a very smart player who can make reads on those breakout passes. He is also capable of absolutely destroying opposing enforcers in a fight, which is what he did with Zack MacEwen. One assist shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick is exactly what Wayne Simmonds can do.
We absolutely need to see this more often from the forward before he can actually be considered a guarantee for the playoff roster. I still do think that on the whole Kyle Clifford has been better in his limited appearances than Simmonds has been, but this game was a big step in the right direction. I'm liking what I have been seeing from Simmonds from an effort perspective recently; it looks like he took the healthy scratch to heart.
I really hope he can continue this play.
3. Pierre Engvall is Transformed
Before today, my opinion was that Ilya Mikheyev was the best example of player evolution in the league. Well, I realized that I was wrong. It's Pierre Engvall.
Every time I turn my back on Engvall, he takes a huge step of progress and makes me need to pay attention to him. He'll never be a franchise player, but I'm legitimately expecting Engvall to be a star in the league. This isn't even basic Leafs bias; all you need to do is watch Engvall play and you can anticipate that he could be a possible All-Star one day. He has a whole package of tools at his disposal, including world-class speed, some improved handles and excellent defensive instincts. He's 6'5, pretty jacked and suddenly not afraid to get physical. He's part of possibly the best third line in the league right now (Nylander-Kampf-Engvall) and he is never a liability.
Let's consider Engvall's humble beginnings. This guy was a 7th-round pick! Can you believe that? Toronto has a pretty unreal drafting record, but I don't think enough people give the Leafs enough credit for their scouting prowess. He's still just 25 years old! This guy has room to grow.
Engvall was a healthy scratch earlier this season. He now has 12 goals and 25 points this season (both career highs) and an xGF% of 54.9, despite playing heavy minutes on the penalty kill.
Engvall is a beast and we need to appreciate him more.
4. Sketchy Habits Creep In
The Leafs have outscored their opponents 24-12 en route to a 4-0-0 week. John Tavares, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly, who had all been slumping recently, are back to their very best with improved defensive efforts. Jack Campbell returned and played quite well. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are two of the top-5 players in the league on current form. This current Leafs' forward group is the best I've ever seen. The addition of Mark Giordano had made Toronto a much more stable defensive group. But the reason that I'm still worried about the Leafs are the little miscommunications.
Oddly since Ilya Lyubushkin's arrival (my goodness, he's underrated), Toronto has been much better at preventing silly errors in the defensive zones. They've been keeping rush chances to a minimum. But this game with Philadelphia started to worry me.
TJ Brodie had a tough game and Justin Holl made some really "interesting" choices in his own zone. The Leafs let the Flyers bully them and they made some brutal giveaways. This hasn't been a concern for at least a month now, but if these games ever occur in the playoffs and the Leafs go down a game for a simple mistake, I WILL LOSE MY MIND.
5. Mike Yeo is Terrible
Flyers fans hate their organization. Signing Rasmus Ristolainen to an extension is silly. Trading Claude Giroux for pennies on the dollar likely got some fans frustrated. Flyers fans need something to get excited about. Playing Keith Yandle for his 1000th consecutive game could have done that.
Look, Yandle is a liability as a player. But Philly isn't playing for anything right now. He's at the very least better than the player who coach Mike Yeo put in the lineup ahead of Yandle (Ronnie Attard, who was a -4 last night).
Yandle's 989 games in a row is pretty unreal and he leads NHL history for his ironman streak. But he could have reached 1000 this season. Also, Phil Kessel is approaching.
Flyers fans only really had Yandle's streak to cheer about. However, Yeo's rude decision to put an end to the streak eliminates any need for Philadelphia fans to watch the games.
ALL STATS COURTESY OF MONEYPUCK AND NATURAL STAT TRICK
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