Playoff-ready Campbell reaches 30 wins as Maple Leafs defeat Flyers

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Jack Campbell went into last year’s playoffs very much a neophyte netminder.

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He’d never been in an NHL post-season milieu, four years removed from his last American Hockey League spring experience and would’ve wanted a few back when his Maple Leafs let a 3-1 series lead get away.

In two weeks, he’ll return as a 30-game winner and seemingly in a far better frame of mind, mid-season injuries and mental blocks in the past. He needed to be at his best to help a Leafs team gradually get the upper hand on the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena.

In its second game without injured star Auston Matthews, Toronto needed the poised Campbell being stingy with rebounds, making 37 saves in a 5-2 win. Some spread-out offense helped Campbell’s 50th victory as a Leaf, the 20th in franchise history to do that. Ronnie Attard added a late goal for the visitors, while Ilya Mikheyev added an empty netter as the Leafs built on their record-win total of 51.

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In the more immediate picture, winning four straight allowed Toronto to head off on its final road trip of the regular season on the right note. It’s a trek that starts in Tampa Bay on Thursday against the Leafs’ likely first-round opponents, also takes in the division leading Florida Panthers, with a back-to-back versus Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals.

Timothy Liljegren moved up and broke a scoreless tie early in the second, his fifth of the year in a continual burst of confidence after good buddy Rasmus Sandin was hurt.

Campbell was finally beaten on the 25th shot he faced, ex-Leaf James van Riemsdyk banging away until he scored his 21st, a little relief for an ugly minus-34 in his team’s troubled season.

Toronto’s power play, in a bit of a funk even before Matthews was hurt, seemed ineffective its two first-period chances, unsure of the plot once it gained the zone. Since a 3-for-7 night in Sunrise, Fla., they were 2-for-25 after Tuesday’s early miscues, Colin Blackwell almost potted a short-handed goal afterwards to give the special teams a lift and then came redemption on the next man advantage.

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In the middle period, Mitch Marner mesmerized the Flyers, before locating William Nylander open through the seam, in fine position to snap his 32nd of the year. The Flyers, at the furthest end of the spectrum from Toronto’s No. 1 unit, have lost much of their firepower in recent trades and were 0-for-3 on their chances.

The Leafs had a big finish to the second period. Jason Spezza, without a goal since Feb. 22, completed great passing by Mark Giordano and Wayne Simmonds. That gave Spezza 992 NHL points and while likely out of time to reach 1,000 even if he plays all five remaining games, it was a relief for the 38-year-old.

David Kampf potted his 11th goal of the season in the third period.

At the morning skate, Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe hinted at trying something new up front, based on Matthews’ ongoing absence and Blackwell’s ability to move around higher in the lineup. That morphed into an experimental starting five with Blackwell on a right wing scoring-threat chain with John Taveras and Mikheyev.

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Marner and Michael Bunting re-surfaced with rookie Nick Abruzzese, while Keefe stuck with the trio he’s trusted most the past couple of games — Pierre Engvall, Alex Kerfoot and Nylander.

Campbell made consecutive starts for the first time since that first Florida road trip.

As if things couldn’t get worse for the Flyers as they miss the playoffs a second straight season, there are health concerns for two training staff members, who have reportedly filed a lawsuit against the organization, alleging they developed rare and incurable medical conditions due to being exposed to carcinogens from the Zambonis at the practice rink in Voorhees, NJ

Jim McCrossin, 64, the team’s director of medical services, and assistant trainer Sal Raffa, 42, filed a lawsuit, adding that there are similar ice-surfacing machines that do not require the use of such chemicals. The team is disputing the claims, saying it has thoroughly investigated the situation.

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