Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe sounds off on his team's goaltending

The Toronto Maple Leafs got a bit of bad news this past week, when it was revealed that goaltender Petr Mrazek will once again be on the shelf. But this time, it will be for at least four weeks; he'd already missed several games earlier this season due to a groin injury. 

He re-aggravated the injury; the same he suffered on October 14 against Ottawa. So far this young season, Mrazek has amassed a 1-1 record with a 4.20 GAA and a .877 save percentage.

Of course, Mrazek was inked during the offseason to team up with fellow goaltender Jack Campbell and compete for time in the Leafs crease. But once again for the foreseeable future, it will be Campbell getting the bulk of time between the pipes. 

And that's no problem for head coach Sheldon Keefe. 

"He is feeling good about it," Keefe said of Campbell's upcoming work load. "Obviously, we want to have Petr healthy. We like the idea of having the tandem and guys that can work together and share the workload a little bit better. At the same time, Jack is in a groove right now. He is rolling. It is positive that he can just keep at it and knows that he will be playing every day."

Of course, the Leafs will need a warm body to back up Campbell. Does this mean that the return of Michael Hutchinson from the AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies is imminent? 

"I am going to talk to Kyle (Dubas) about that," Keefe said. "We have some time. Obviously, Joseph Woll is here now. This is great experience for him. Hutchinson was able to play a game last night. We are in a situation here now that with all of the reports from the three goalies — including Joe and Erik Kallgren, who by all accounts stole a game on Friday night in Rochester and was outstanding — we have options. We are going to talk about that and get it sorted."

The Maple Leafs will be taking on the Los Angeles Kings tonight at Scotiabank Arena, and it will be Campbell facing his former team. And the Leafs will want to bring their A-Game for their goaltender, who would love to snatch two points away from his former teammates. 

"In terms of Jack, on a personal note, I am sure it is a thing for him," Keefe said. "We want to play well in front of him. But it is not something we have talked about or Jack has mentioned to me personally. Enough time has elapsed that he certainly considers himself a Leaf for sure."