Campbell loving home cooking in win over Pens, Brooks claimed again (maple leafs)

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Campbell loving home cooking in win over Pens, Brooks claimed again

By Mike Augello

Feb 18, 2022 • 9:25 am

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The Toronto Maple Leafs bucked the usual trend of a team struggling at home after returning from a long road trip, winning 4-1 over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday in front of the first significant home crowd in over two months.

Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly, David Kampf and Michael Bunting scored for Toronto and Jack Campbell made 45 saves in the Leafs second straight win. Matthews scored on a breakaway 21 seconds into the game to give Toronto the early lead, tying Chris Kreider and Leon Draisaitl in the Rocket Richard race with his 33rd of the season (Draisaitl scored twice vs. Anaheim to retake the lead).

Rielly added to the lead on an end-to-end rush on the power play, Kampf scored his seventh of the season on a short-handed two-on-one break and Bunting’s third-period marker gave the 26-year-old the most goals of any NHL rookie.

“Anytime you can play with a lead for 59 minutes or whatever it was is a good thing. (Our) special teams were really good again tonight and it needed to be. We talked about it before the game and this team on both sides of it, powerplay and penalty kill, was going to challenge us better than anybody we’ve seen in quite a while and the guys were excellent today.… Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “I thought we were able to get some looks and move the puck through pressure pretty well and (that was a)big-time goal by Morgan.…

Campbell was very sharp in the contest, appearing to have recaptured the form that he displayed in October and November, keeping Pittsburgh at bay in spite of outshooting Toronto 34-14 in the final 40 minutes of regulation. The Leafs goalie has thrived at SBA, with the second-best home record (14-3-1, 1.91 GAA, .934 save percentage) in the league.

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The Leafs announced the signing of prospect Dmitry Ovchinnikov to a three-year entry-level contract on Friday. The 19-year-old forward had 29 points (13G, 16A) in 22 games with Sibirskie Snaipery Novosibirsk in the Russian junior league (MHL) and three points (1G, 2A) in 17 games with the Sibir Novosibirsk of the KHL) this season.

Ovchinnikov attracted attention after scoring more than a point-per-game in the MHL the last two seasons, but the Leafs appear to not be pleased at the opportunity he is getting to play significant minutes in the KHL as a youngster, as they reportedly are bringing him over to complete the season either with the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers or in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies.

The 5’11…, 163 lb forward can “shoot the puck well due to a plus level of coordination that features a fast and consistent release point. Additionally, he was capable of masking his release point before firing it faster than goaltenders could get set,… according to the HockeyProspect.com Black Book. “(Ovchinnikov’s) playmaking ability is good and he’s capable of looking off his intended passing targets at a consistent rate. The way he handles the puck is slightly behind his playmaking and shooting ability, but it didn’t stop him from making some highlight-reel plays where he used his deking to go through multiple players when we scouted him.…

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Adam Brooks second stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs lasted exactly 48 hours, as the center was claimed by his hometown Winnipeg Jets on Friday. The Leafs were attempting to get Brooks down to the AHL to get playing time and to clear his $725,000 salary.

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