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Maple Leafs continue to walk tightrope with Campbell, Andersen injuries – Sportsnet.ca

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Sheldon Keefe was asked if he felt like the Toronto Maple Leafs were walking a bit of a tightrope with two banged-up goaltenders. His answer didn’t inspire confidence with a steady drumbeat of games on deck.

“Yeah, a little bit,” said Keefe.

Frederik Andersen stayed back in Toronto as the team embarked on a four-game road trip and is scheduled for a follow-up appointment Thursday that should determine the next steps in his recovery.

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He hasn’t played since March 19 and isn’t believed to be dealing with a season-threatening issue. But he’s not going to play any time soon.

The Leafs will have Jack Campbell back between the pipes in Winnipeg on Wednesday night, which is good news, but there’s no guarantee he’ll feel good enough to go when they face the Jets again on Friday.

Campbell has been battling through a lower-body issue that’s been on-again, off-again throughout a season where he’s gone 6-0-0.

“It’s kind of a day-to-day thing,” said Keefe. “He’s progressed well and it seems like when he has time to recover from his recent games that he does bounce back and feels good. So there’s less of a concern there, but it’s something we have to manage.

“We have to be responsible with it as a staff, and be smart with it, and he’s got to be honest and tell us exactly how he’s feeling so we can make appropriate decisions.”

The Leafs have found their way through the uncertainty and stayed atop the North Division standings — although that could change Wednesday with Winnipeg only one point behind. While it might be tempting for general manager Kyle Dubas to look for more goaltending depth on the trade market, he’s got limited cap space and wants to use it to upgrade his forward group.

When healthy enough to play, Campbell has been excellent. He’s got a .945 save percentage and is 9-2-1 since being acquired by Toronto in February 2020.

But it hasn’t been easy to fight through a leg injury that forced him to miss a month early in the season and then another three weeks in March.

“As a player, being injured is probably the most frustrating thing you can go through,” said Leafs forward Jason Spezza.

“People don’t see what goes on behind the scenes,” added teammate Zach Bogosian. “It’s pretty easy to tune in at seven o’clock and see us, but there’s a lot that goes into it behind the scenes and Soupy’s been working so hard in the gym trying to battle back.”

After watching Monday’s 3-2 overtime loss to Edmonton in street clothes, Campbell is giving it another go against the Jets. How he feels Thursday will determine when he plays next.

“It takes a lot of character to get through something like that and he’s shown that,” said Bogosian. “He’s a huge part of our team. I think his personality is great, he’s awesome in the locker-room and I think he’s one hell of a goalie, too.

“We’re confident with him back there.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list – CBC.ca

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.” 

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

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That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout. 

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign. 

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League. 

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday. 

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford. 

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said. 

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday. 

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13. 

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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Senators score 5 in 1st, cruise past Sabres – NHL.com

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“I thought that we were ready to go,” Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. “We got some pucks at the net, we got people at the net. Took advantage of our opportunities and, I think, built a nice lead. And then I thought, in the third period, we continued again. Our goaltending was good. Made some key saves. But I thought we shut them down in the third period good.”

Shane Pinto had a goal and three assists, and Brady Tkachuk, Boris Katchouk, Jakob Chychrun and Drake Batherson each had a goal and an assist for the Senators (31-36-4), who have won three in a row. Korpisalo made 34 saves.

“If you want to win, you need balance,” Pinto said. “And we had that tonight and it’s going to be big for the back-to-back tomorrow (against the Chicago Blackhawks) to have that same thing. So, going to need all the guys on board.”

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JJ Peterka and Connor Clifton scored for the Sabres (34-34-5), who have lost four of six. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed four goals on nine shots before he was replaced by Devon Levi, who made 31 saves in relief.

“We wanted, I guess, to play as individuals,” Clifton said. “I’m disappointed we let ‘Upie’ down, he’s the heart and soul of this team. He’s kept us in so many games, and just to not show up and play that careless style, give them freebies all over the place. … Yeah, obviously, the first 20 really dictated the rest of the game.”

Artem Zub gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 2:37 of the first period. He stuffed in a loose puck on the goal line after Katchouk’s shot was redirected by Mark Kastelic between Luukkonen’s pads.

Katchouk made it 2-0 at 4:56, tipping Parker Kelly’s shot from the top of the right face-off circle past Luukkonen.

“It’s keeping the consistency with good effort, right habits,” Katchouk said. “The small things matter so much in this game. And obviously, it worked out tonight with the tip. But kudos to my linemates. ‘Kels’ and ‘Kassy,’ they worked hard to get the puck as well. Those two battle hard every night as well. We feed off each other, and it’s good to play with them.”

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Vasilevskiy stops 23 as surging Lightning beat Bruins – Sportsnet.ca

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