MAPLE LEAFS NOTES: Campbell flips the script

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Jack Campbell was a lonely man in the first period at Scotiabank Arena.

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It seemed his Maple Leaf mates were hanging him out to dry for a second night in a row, one that would leave the Maple Leafs facing elimination Thursday in Tampa.

But Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe was not surprised the visitors’ score stayed at 2-0 for a long stretch, with Campbell making 10 saves and 32 on an evening full of power plays.

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“I think he’s come by now what his character is all about, that’s not up for debate.” Keefe said. “Before tonight, what really stood out about Jack’s reaction in Game 4 (mercifully yanked after five goals on 16 shots) is that he hasn’t been in these playoff situations a lot.

“What I liked about that is that he handled it like a veteran — ‘it wasn’t my night, I’ll wash it and get them back’… That’s how he handled this game.

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“We didn’t help him well enough, a couple got by him. We all talked about it at the timeout, that the way this series has gone, it’s going to snowball. If we’re going to flip the script, we have to stop them now and then when we (still) made mistakes, Jack was there to stop them.

“He just looked like a veteran goalie. And that’s what you’re looking for.”

Indeed, a goalie stealing a game for the Leafs at playoff time.

PENALTIES REMAIN A BIG FACTOR

Playoffs can be a time when caution is thrown to the wind.

But in a series that has been over-officiated at times with the Maple Leafs incurring a post-season high 23 minors before Game 5 (and four more in the first period), who could blame the players for treading lightly?

The league seemed to seize upon Keefe’s pre-series prediction of it turning ‘borderline violent’, which counterpart Jon Cooper didn’t dispute, and it’s been very hard for both teams to establish a 5-on-5 game.

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“Across the league, there’s a lot more penalties than you’re used to seeing in the playoffs,” Toronto defenseman Mark Giordano said Tuesday morning. “But as players, you have to adjust and know it’s coming.”

He was asked if players might not be able to resist temptation to start hamming it up to draw a call, even if soccer-type diving is not in their NHL DNA.

“To embellish something. I don’t think that ever crosses your mind. You just have to be more aware of where your stick is, moving your feet, being in good body position so you don’t have to clutch and grab at all.”

Obstruction, a dirty word the league sought to eradicate after the 2004 lockout, will not make a comeback, the league seems to have declared.

“Across the league, the standard is pretty tight,” Giordano noted. “It’s an area we want to take care of because penalties take away from the flow of the game.

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“You have to play hard, but you can definitely defend without taking penalties.”

In Game 4, Mitch Marner drew a call that had the Lightning cursing him out for diving, though at that stage, the Leafs had already worn a path to the box.

“It’s been a little weird trying to get a feel and a rhythm with the penalties taken,” Marner said. “We know it’s going to be tight the rest of the way. It’s always changing because you get different officials (each night), but every game has been called the same. We should have an understanding of it now, to know what we can and can’t do.”

There were 11 total power plays in Game 5.

HOLL PASS

Marner appeared to want someone to ask him about Justin Holl, so he could show support for the defenseman after a rough start to Game 4.

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“Unbelievable, been a great player for us all year,” Marner enthused. “He doesn’t get the love he deserves. I’ve been saying it for a long time, he’s a great defenseman, he does a lot of great things for us.

“On the penalty kill, he’s not afraid to step up and eat a block from a big-name guy.”

MARLEAU SALUTES TO

Patrick Marleau announced his retirement Tuesday in San Jose and in a concurrent self-penned piece in The Players’ Tribunespoke glowingly of his two years in Toronto as part of an amazing 23-season career.

The 42-year-old played 164 of his 1,779 games in blue and white, and instantly bonded as a father figure with Auston Matthews and Marner. He noted his four sons of him were closer in age to those two young teammates than himself, and the duo often came over to romp in the Marleau family basement.

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“Playing for the Leafs was surreal, a real ‘pinch me’ moment,” Marleau said. “My family loved it there, and our boys still want to go back and play on our backyard rink.

“Watching (Matthews and Marner) and their love of the game made me fall in love with hockey all over again. I have no doubt that those guys will win a Cup one day, and when they do, I know they’ll remember all those mini-stick battles in the basement.”

HAGEL ON BIG STAGE

Lightning forward Brandon Hagel was born in Saskatoon and raised in Alberta, where there are still a lot of Leaf fans.

After missing playoffs a few years with the Chicago Blackhawks and before that with their Rockford AHL team, Hagel is in a marquee series with his new team.

“I’m sure there’s quite a few people watching, but I kind of leave that (to concentrate on playing),” Hagel said. “Canada is so big on hockey and it’s cool that everyone is kind of tuning in or on their TVs all around my hometown (Saskatoon).”

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LOOSE LEAFS

All four series that continued Tuesday night were 2-2 at puck drop. “We’re at Game 5 and if you’re not motivated at 2-2, you’re probably in the wrong sport,” noted Cooper … Leaf winger Michael Bunting finds out Wednesday if he’s a finalist for the Calder Trophy as rookie if the year … Morgan Rielly tied both King Clancy and Jim McKenny in playoff games by a Toronto defenseman on Tuesday with 37. The trio are among the top 30 blueliners in franchise history in that category … How about that? The Predators went out in four straight against the Avalanche, but led the NHL in two post-season categories that usually mark success, hits (215) and blocked shots (93). Prior to Game 5, the Leafs ranked just behind Pittsburgh in faceoff winning percentage (55.7 to 55.1) and at 74.1, were the best on power play draws.

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