Knies making presence felt with Maple Leafs

TORONTO – Matthew Knies started to genuinely dispersed his wings successful past spring’s playoffs.

The Maple Leafs guardant stepped into the fray erstwhile Toronto defenceman Morgan Rielly got tangled up with Boston Bruins prima David Pastrnak during a Game 5 scrum.

Knies, who mocked the erstwhile 61-goal antheral for not challenging him, past scored successful overtime aboriginal that nighttime to support his squad live successful the first-round series.

The Leafs would spell onto suffer successful 7 games, but the youngster represented a metallic lining amid different post-season disappointment.

The 22-year-old has continued down that path.

Knies scored doubly and added an assistance Monday successful Toronto’s 5-3 triumph implicit the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The six-foot-three, 227-pound Phoenix merchandise present has 18 goals and 13 assistance for 31 points playing a supporting relation alongside Leafs stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner connected the club’s apical line.

“Physicality and knowing what helium does retired there,” Toronto caput manager Craig Berube said of wherever he’s seen maturation successful Knies. “He forechecks, gets escaped pucks and past helium goes straight to the net.

“He understands that Mitch and Auston volition bash their happening with the puck, and the (defencemen) are going to shoot.”

Matthews has watched a subordinate from an country adjacent to wherever helium grew up successful Arizona flourish connected the large signifier this season.

“Confidence,” the Leafs captain, who present has 7 goals implicit his past 7 games aft opening the scoring against Tampa, said of Knies. “He’s specified a large feline and he’s got specified a tremendous accomplishment set. The much acquisition he’s had, the amended helium continues to get and the much comfy helium feels successful his ain body.

“A unit for america each play long.”

Knies said the north-south, straightforward tactics employed by Berube, who played a hard crippled during his NHL career, has helped his propulsion successful 2024-25.

“He wants to play elemental and fast,” the winger selected No. 57 astatine the 2021 draught said of the Leafs’ first-year coach. “That’s what my crippled is … I conscionable effort to play for him and larn arsenic overmuch arsenic I can.”

The University of Minnesota merchandise is present up to 67 points (33 goals and 34 assists) successful 129 regular-season games to spell on with 7 much (three goals, 4 assists) successful 14 playoff contests.

“He’s got a small spot of everything,” Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll said. “It’s truly pugnacious to stop.”

“He’s taking immense steps,” Leafs winger William Nylander added. “He’s grown a batch and go rather the player.”

Knies said going from the NCAA to the nonrecreational ranks was an accommodation connected the alert aft parachuting into the 2023 playoffs.

“Bigger and stronger players,” helium said. “Getting that acquisition and getting to play against these guys and getting to practise against immoderate of our players, it’s helped maine a lot.”

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Knies had a five-point nighttime earlier this period against Boston and was adjacent to a second-career chapeau instrumentality Monday.

“He’s been driving,” Berube said. “Really playing that powerfulness forward-type crippled to a T.”

PULLING BACK

Woll, who has dealt with injuries passim his vocation earlier this season, started for the 4th clip successful 7 nights and made his 25th quality of 2024-25 to acceptable a career-high.

Berube said pre-game that sometimes goaltenders request their workload reined successful by a squad and its sports subject department.

“I’ve ever had a mindset of hard work,” said Woll, 26. “It’s learning however to negociate the load — when’s the close clip to reel it backmost and when’s the close clip to propulsion it. We’ve got a large unit and I spot them.”

POINT MADE

Lightning caput manager Jon Cooper made guardant Brayden Point a steadfast scratch past week aft helium missed a squad meeting.

The league’s longest-tenured seat brag explained that determination — and erstwhile to gully the enactment — pursuing the team’s greeting skate.

“They’re superstars is due to the fact that they get it,” Cooper said. “If they aren’t held accountable, past who other is going to be? What gets underestimated successful those situations, it’s not the existent subordinate astatine times that feels it … it’s the remainder of the team.

“You privation to marque definite everything goes smoothly for 82 games, but we’ve each been astir agelong capable to cognize that’s not what happens. No amusive to bash it, but ultimately, your occupation is to enactment your squad successful the champion presumption to win, some physically and mentally. Sometimes that has to happen.”

This study by The Canadian Press was archetypal published Jan. 20, 2025.