It wasn’t pretty for Petr Mrazek and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But two points are two points.

Playing his first game in over a month, Mrazek allowed a goal on the first shot he faced but stopped 27 of the next 30 and helped his team escape Scotiabank Arena with a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Four goals allowed and an .886 save percentage against a Blackhawks team ranked 27th in goals per game (2.19) heading into play Saturday might not seem like an ideal return in the boxscore. However, head coach Sheldon Keefe and his teammates were quick to praise the 29-year-old netminder.

“I just thought he competed really hard, looked good, and made a lot of big saves. You know, I think I’m sure those two long ones he probably wants to have back, but he made a number of high-end saves that could have been goals,” Keefe said.

“It was 4-1 for a good chunk of that second period. I thought it could have been a tie game just [because of] the chances we were giving up. That’s a good win for him and the fact he gets out of it feeling good from a health perspective is even better.”

Out since Oct. 30 because of a groin injury, Mrazek was activated from injured reserve before the matchup following a one-game conditioning stint with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on Monday. That rust was evident early on when Jonathan Toews scored less than two minutes in on Chicago’s first shot.

"I just told myself 'let's stop the next one, let's settle well and let's see what happens’,” he said of the early marker.

Mrazek added that he was feeling great after the game despite having to make a few sprawling saves that put his injury, now in the rearview mirror, to the test.

“Winning is hard in this league and you’ve got to do it different ways. It’s not always how you draw it up. You know, [Mrazek] had a hell of a night. I think those two points are on him,” Leafs captain John Tavares said.

Well, maybe the end boards, too.

As Blackhawks goalie Kevin Lankinen went to play a Morgan Rielly dump-in behind the net, the puck took a home-happy bounce and caromed out in front of the crease. Former Blackhawk David Kampf skated in and backhanded the loose puck in the empty net to salvage what could have -- and maybe should -- have been an easy win.

“I think it was just a lucky bounce,” Kampf said of his winner, which came with just over one minute to go in regulation.

Kampf spent the first four campaigns of his NHL career with the Blackhawks, appearing in a total of 235 regular-season games beginning back in 2017.

When asked if the goal meant a little something extra given his past ties, Kampf didn’t bite.

“It doesn’t matter. It was a lucky bounce and I had an open net.”

"He’s Czech. He’s my friend. I’m happy for him. I would be happier if he would be scoring against somebody else,” ex-teammate Dominik Kubalik said.

The Leafs were quick to bounce back off the Toews goal that got things started, answering a minute later on a power-play goal from Tavares. Toronto would add two more before the end of the frame, including another on the man-advantage from Auston Matthews.

The goals were the Leafs’ 24th and 25th on the power play this season, putting them behind only the Edmonton Oilers (26) in that department.

The Leafs went up 4-1 on a quick second-period goal from Pierre Engvall where rookie Alex Steeves picked up the assist for his first career NHL point in just his third game.

But the Blackhawks chipped away, getting one before the end of the frame and conceding again just under two minutes into the third. Defenceman Kristians Rubins got beat along the boards by Philipp Kurashev on the rush and partner Justin Holl went over to help, leaving Kubalik all alone in front of the net with only Mrazek to beat for his fifth of the season.

Chicago completed the comeback midway through the final period on a goal from Jake McCabe and things remained tied until the bounce off the end boards and ensuing winner in the waning minutes.

Keefe was quick to point out the Leafs need to do a better job limiting chances.

“Same story that it’s been here. Too many chances against, too many freebies, too many guys behind us, same issues that were hurting us when we weren’t winning games early in the season,” he said.

“I just think we’re out of sync. There’s still pucks that we’re forcing into the middle and we’re playing against a team that we talked about is playing a very conservative game defensively and just holding the middle of the rink and they’re just waiting for you to force pucks in there and turn on it and go. So I didn’t like how we adapted to that.”

Up next for Toronto is a travel day on Sunday followed by four games out west, beginning Tuesday in Edmonton against the Oilers.

The Leafs had a four-game road trip in late November that saw them play three times in California and go 4-0-0. When asked if another trip westward would help spur another winning streak, Keefe said he was hopeful.

“[We went out to California] playing our best segment of hockey we’ve played this season so we’re going to need more of that," he said.