Jack Campbell, William Nylander power Leafs to 3-0 win in Philadelphia

The Toronto Maple Leafs got a pair of goals from William Nylander and Jack Campbell delivered a 36-save shutout to earn a 3-0 win at Philadelphia.

Toronto was missing team captain John Tavares but they turned in a strong road effort nonetheless.

Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell acknowledged that he did not have his best game in Toronto’s 5-1 defeat against Los Angeles. Campbell responded with an excellent performance at Philadelphia, earning his second shutout of the season.

The first period saw no goals but both teams generated some chances. The Maple Leafs broke the proverbial ice midway through the second period.

Nylander Opens The Scoring

At 11:11 of the second period, Jake Muzzin passed the puck in front, and it went off the top of William Nylander’s skate into the net. The goal was immediately waved off but, after a challenge, it was determined there was no kicking motion involved. Maybe a little fortunate but the Maple Leafs will take the favourable bounces when they happen.

The Maple Leafs got some insurance at 5:09 of the third period. Toronto was given a power play after Flyers defenceman Ivan Provorov slashed Maple Leafs winger Michael Bunting between the legs. With Tavares out, Nick Ritchie took his place on Toronto’s first power play unit. After some pressure, Ritchie received a pass from Auston Matthews and made a deft backhand pass to William Nylander, who rifled a wrist shot past Flyers goaltender Carter Hart. Nylander now has seven points (4 G, 3 A) during a five-game point streak and is up to seven goals in 14 games this season.

Alexander Kerfoot used his speed to win a race for a puck with Flyers defenceman Justin Braun, circled the Flyers net and found Ondrej Kase in the slot. Kase ripped a one-timer high on the blocker side to give the Maple Leafs a 3-0 lead at 13:33 of the third period. It was Kase’s second goal of the season and came seven seconds after the end of a Flyers penalty.

With just over two minutes left in the third, Auston Matthews sent Nylander in on a breakaway, but he lost control of the puck. He ended up getting a shot on goal but it was a scrambled attempt at the hat trick.

Flyers goaltender Carter Hart played well, stopping 30 of 33 shots, but was the second best goaltender in this game.

Lineup Changes

Defenceman Justin Holl returned to the Maple Leafs lineup and ranked second among Maple Leafs defencemen in ice time with 20:18. He also blocked four shots.

Nick Ritchie moved up the depth chart with Tavares out and had a game-high seven shots on goal, in addition to setting up Nylander’s second goal.

Kirill Semyonov held his own in his NHL debut for Toronto, playing 11:40, primarily on the fourth line.

This was a strong performance for the Maple Leafs, bouncing back after a loss. They will take an 8-5-1 record into Friday’s home game against the Calgary Flames.

Takeaways and quotes coming soon.

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