Beside him, Kings backup goalie
Peter Budaj
was in less of a hurry.
"Take your time," Budaj said. "Enjoy it. You've earned it. You get your first shutout only once."
Three seasons ago, Campbell had been bouncing from the Dallas Stars to their American Hockey League and ECHL affiliates, spinning his goaltending wheels. Now, pressed into duty with Kings No. 1 goalie Jonathan Quick out indefinitely with a lower-body injury sustained Oct. 6, the 26-year old was accepting congratulations from teammates after his 40-save shutout at Bell Centre, his first in 10 NHL games spread across six seasons.
RELATED: [Campbell makes 40 saves, Kings shut out Canadiens]
Not a bad way to remember his first career game against the oldest, most storied team in the League, his first shutout having spoiled the party of the Canadiens' 101st NHL home opener.
"It's a pretty sweet building," Campbell said with a grin. "It was pretty cool, opening night. The boys just came out and played great, so a big two points."
The only other time Campbell was in Bell Centre was Feb. 21, 2012, two seasons after the Stars made him the first goalie selected (No. 11) in the 2010 NHL Draft. With a night off from his junior team, Sault. Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League, he watched with Dallas staff members as goalie Kari Lehtonen made 31 saves in a Stars 3-0 shutout. In the Montreal net that game was Carey Price, as he was Thursday, with Budaj on the Canadiens bench as his backup.
During the next four seasons Campbell would play one NHL game for the Stars,
a 6-3 loss at the Anaheim Ducks
on Oct. 20, 2013, in which he allowed six goals on 47 shots.
Campbell reflected Thursday on having been mired in the minors not so long ago, sliding down the Stars depth chart to Texas of the AHL and Idaho of the ECHL before being traded to the Kings for defenseman Nick Ebert on June 25, 2016.
"Those were some low points for my career," Campbell said of being assigned to the ECHL in 2014-15 and 2015-16. "But] I loved the guys in Idaho, that really turned it around for me. Playing [in] Boise, Neil Graham, my coach there, he really made hockey fun again.
"Once I got traded here, everybody was amazing. The team, the guys, the coaches, the management really changed everything. I'm so happy to be here and happy to help the team win."
Campbell, who was 2-0-2 in five games with the Kings last season and won the backup job during training camp, was making his third straight start Thursday. He made 36 saves in
[a 4-2 home win
against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday and 37 saves in
a 2-1 loss
at the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, which was the first game of the Kings' four-game road trip.
There was no hesitation for coach John Stevens to start Campbell against the Canadiens, no matter that Bell Centre is much more familiar to Budaj; it was his home building from 2011-14.