TORONTO — Jack Campbell made 32 saves for his franchise-record 10th straight victory, Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 28th goal and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Wednesday night.
“To win 10 in a row or just get one win is a big deal because it’s a tough league,” Campbell said. “You need everybody to win, and that’s what we’ve been getting.
“It’s super special and an honur and something I’ll be able to look back on sometime, but right now it’s just back to work and try and get better.”
Campbell broke the record he shared with Felix Potvin (1993-94), Jacques Plante (1970-71) and John Ross Roach (1924-25).
“So happy for him,” Matthews said. “He’s such an amazing person. He brings a lot of joy into everybody’s lives in the locker room.”
Matthews also had an assist, Zach Hyman had a goal and an assist and T.J. Brodie scored his first goal for Toronto. The Maple Leafs are 27-10-3, winning five straight and going 8-0-1 in their last nine to open a seven-point lead over Winnipeg in the all-Canadian North Division.
Corey Perry scored twice for Montreal, and Jake Allen made 29 saves.
“It’s close,” Perry said. “We’re right there. We’ve got to continue to push a little bit harder.”
The Maple Leafs were without William Nylander due to exposure with a possible positive case of COVID-19. Alexander Barabanov took Nylander’s place in the lineup.
“Will didn’t break any protocols or do anything outside of the rules,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It’s a very unfortunate situation.”
After experiencing a COVID-19 shutdown last month that saw four games postponed with two players in protocol, the Canadiens were minus starting goalie Carey Price because of an undisclosed injury.
The Maple Leafs improved to 4-1-0 against the Canadiens this season.