Campbell, Maple Leafs shut out Flames to end three-game losing streak

TORONTO -- Jack Campbell made 31 saves in his first start since Feb. 27, helping the Toronto Maple Leafs end a three-game losing streak with a 2-0 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.

Campbell has had a shutout in each of his past two starts; he made 30 saves in a 4-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers. He missed eight games with a lower-body injury he aggravated in that game and returned to back up Frederik Andersen in a 4-3 loss to the Flames on Friday. Prior to Feb. 27, Campbell's previous game was a 3-2 win against Calgary on Jan. 24, when he sustained the initial injury, which sidelined him for 14 games.
"It's been a frustrating season personally with my health, but I felt really confident coming into the game tonight," Campbell said. "I prepared really hard when I've been able to skate. I thought I've done a good job preparing. A lot of that is because of (goaltending coach) Steve Briere and talking to Frederik Andersen and (goalie) Michael Hutchinson too gets me ready, picking their brains to stay sharp. Ultimately though, when the team plays that well in front of me, it makes my job so much easier, so I felt great."

Jason Spezza and Zach Hyman scored for the Maple Leafs (20-10-2), who were 1-6-0 in their previous seven games, including a 4-3 loss to the Flames here Friday to begin the back-to-back set.
"It was just a really gritty effort from our group," Spezza said. "Probably the best thing that could have happened to us was getting a chance to play the next night, not having to sit on last night's game. Jack coming in and shutting the door, he made a lot of great saves for us, which was great."
David Rittich made 31 saves for the Flames (15-14-3), who are 4-2-0 in their past six games.
"Toronto plays with a lot of structure," Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said. "They play a firm game in the neutral zone. There's a lot of chip plays, and you have to be able to recover pucks. Their defense was up to the task tonight."
It was Rittich's first start since March 4, when he made 29 saves in a 7-3 win against the Ottawa Senators. Jacob Markstrom started the next seven games.
"I think we played a really good hockey game defensively," Rittich said. "We did [make] some mistakes, but it's part of the hockey game, the team who makes less mistakes wins. I would rather say I outplayed Jack Campbell today, but he outplayed me and he was very good."

The Maple Leafs took a 1-0 lead at 18:31 of the first period when Spezza scored for a second straight game, shooting over Rittich's glove from the bottom of the left face-off circle.
"It's important you have depth on your team, and in games like this sometimes you need your depth to step up and get some goals," Spezza said, "but I thought more so we all defended really well as a group tonight."
Toronto outshot Calgary 11-5 in the period.
"I don't think we gave up very much in the first period, so to get out of it up 1-0 was really important," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.
Hyman made it 2-0 at 16:28 of the second period when he carried the puck around the Flames net and shot over Rittich's left pad. Alex Galchenyuk assisted on the goal for his first point with the Maple Leafs.
"It was incredible, it was a huge goal from Spezza to kick things off for us," Campbell said. "We were already playing a pretty solid first period and it was great to see, but anytime you can put the first one on the board, it gives the team a big spark. Hyman, he works so hard, I think everybody in the world knows that, and he led again tonight with his work ethic and got rewarded on the scoreboard, and I love seeing that for him."
NOTE: Andersen did not dress, and Hutchinson instead backed up Campbell. Keefe said after the game Andersen is dealing with the lower-body injury that caused him to miss four games from Feb. 22 to March 1.