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The Toronto Maple Leafs played a disciplined defensive game and held a slim lead until adding some insurance late in a 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.
Auston Matthews scored a first period power play goal to give Toronto the lead and that held till the third period when David Kampf extended the lead and Mitch Marner scored into an empty net to give the Leafs their ninth win in the last 10 games.
Jack Campbell registered his third shutout and ninth victory of the season, tying him with John Gibson, Frederik Andersen and Mikko Koskinen for the NHL lead in wins, but it was a relatively easy night for the Leafs goaltender, facing just 24 shots and few good scoring chances.
“I think the third period was as good as we’ve played. We had a real good one in Philadelphia as well, but today it was a lot of the things we wanted to do; how we use our bench, how we change, how we hold onto pucks and spend time in the other teams zone.… Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. There was lots of good things in the second. The first period there were parts there we didn’t like so much but a really good win for our team.…
Ondrej Kase had another strong effort, assisting on Kampf’s goal, leading the Leafs with five shots on goal and blocking a point shot late in the game, but the veteran forward was feeling the effects of the block on Wednesday and missed practice. Keefe said per David Alter of the Hockey News that a scan of Kase’s leg came back clear and that he was given the day off.
The Leafs will take on the New York Rangers in the second game of their three-game homestand on Thursday.
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The Leafs made a trade to add some organizational depth, re-acquiring winger Kyle Clifford from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for future considerations on Tuesday. The Ayr, Ontario native played 21 games (regular season and playoffs) with Toronto in 2019-20 after being acquired from Los Angeles along with Jack Campbell, but the 30-year-old opted to sign a two-year, $2 million contract with the Blues.
The two-time Cup winner played only two games for St. Louis this season and was waived earlier this week to enable the Blues to recall Hobey Baker winner Scott Perunovich from the AHL. Since he cleared waivers, Clifford will be assigned to the Toronto Marlies, but the 30-year-old will likely be on the Leafs radar as a possible fourth line option if injuries, illness or other factors occur.
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Lot’s of â¤ï¸ for the 💙ðŸ¤
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) April 26, 2021
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