'A force for us': Knies making presence felt with Maple Leafs

TORONTO — Matthew Knies started to truly spread his wings in last spring's playoffs.

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

Knies, who mocked the former 61-goal man for not challenging him, then scored in overtime later that night to keep his team alive in the first-round series.

The Leafs would go onto lose in seven games, but the youngster represented a silver lining amid another post-season disappointment.

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

Knies scored twice and added an assist Monday in Toronto's 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The six-foot-three, 227-pound Phoenix product now has 18 goals and 13 assist for 31 points playing a supporting role alongside Leafs stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner on the club's top line.

"Physicality and understanding what he does out there," Toronto head coach Craig Berube said of where he's seen growth in Knies. "He forechecks, gets loose pucks and then he goes directly to the net.

"He understands that Mitch and Auston will do their thing with the puck, and the (defencemen) are going to shoot."

Matthews has watched a player from an area close to where he grew up in Arizona flourish on the big stage this season.

"Confidence," the Leafs captain, who now has seven goals over his last seven games after opening the scoring against Tampa, said of Knies. "He's such a big guy and he's got such a tremendous skill set. The more experience he's had, the better he continues to get and the more comfortable he feels in his own body.

"A force for us all season long."

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

"He wants to play simple and fast," the winger selected No. 57 at the 2021 draft said of the Leafs' first-year coach. "That's what my game is … I just try to play for him and learn as much as I can."

The University of Minnesota product is now up to 67 points (33 goals and 34 assists) in 129 regular-season games to go along with seven more (three goals, four assists) in 14 playoff contests.

"He's got a little bit of everything," Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll said. "It's really tough to stop."

"He's taking huge steps," Leafs winger William Nylander added. "He's grown a lot and become quite the player."

Knies said going from the NCAA to the professional ranks was an adjustment on the fly after parachuting into the 2023 playoffs.

"Bigger and stronger players," he said. "Getting that experience and getting to play against these guys and getting to practise against some of our players, it's helped me a lot."

Knies had a five-point night earlier this month against Boston and was close to a second-career hat trick Monday.

"He's been driving," Berube said. "Really playing that power forward-type game to a T."

PULLING BACK

Woll, who has dealt with injuries throughout his career before this season, started for the fourth time in seven nights and made his 25th appearance of 2024-25 to set a career-high.

Berube said pre-game that sometimes goaltenders need their workload reined in by a team and its sports science department.

"I've always had a mindset of hard work," said Woll, 26. "It's learning how to manage the load — when's the right time to reel it back and when's the right time to push it. We've got a great staff and I trust them."

POINT MADE

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper made forward Brayden Point a healthy scratch last week after he missed a team meeting.

The league's longest-tenured bench boss explained that decision — and when to draw the line — following the team's morning skate.

"They're superstars is because they get it," Cooper said. "If they aren't held accountable, then who else is going to be? What gets underestimated in those situations, it's not the actual player at times that feels it … it's the rest of the team.

"You want to make sure everything goes smoothly for 82 games, but we've all been around long enough to know that's not what happens. No fun to do it, but ultimately, your job is to put your team in the best position to win, both physically and mentally. Sometimes that has to happen."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2025.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press