TORONTO— matthew knies slowly skated towards Maple Leafs bench, looking dazed, shaken and confused. Around the Leafs’ rookie winger, thousands of fans were equally (and audibly) confused, wondering with cries of concern how panthers center sam bennett could have escaped the punishment of the referees.
Seconds earlier, Bennett had grabbed Knies behind the Panthers net, wrapped his right arm around Knies’ head, landed a quick jab, pushed his back into the boards, and then, in a manner reminiscent of Dwayne Johnson and his patented Rock Bottom in the late ’90s, needlessly slammed him into the ice with the same right arm.
When Knies finally made it to the dugout, he immediately removed his helmet, caught the attention of the team’s head athletic therapist, Paul Ayotte, and widened his eyes. He could have seen the strong beginning of his NHL career slowdown in the process.
Knies did not return to the game after the first intermission. Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe didn’t provide an update, but it didn’t exactly allay any concerns about his future status.
“He didn’t complete the game, so that’s not a positive,” Keefe said after the Leafs’ 3-2 Game 2 loss.
Keefe reserved comment on Bennett’s takedown, only to say, “The league will see it.”
In a quiet Leafs locker room after the game, veterans of the team raised concerns about Bennett’s play of his young teammate.
“We would have liked to see a penalty for it” Ryan O’Reilly saying.
“I didn’t love it, obviously,” the Leafs captain. John Tavares said of the work
I was not alone.
Game 2 saw Bennett become Public Enemy No. 1 in Toronto. When his face was shown on the big screen at Scotiabank Arena after his second-half penalty michael buntingBennett drew an enthusiastic chorus of jeers from the Leafs faithful.
“I think he tried to hit me and jumped out of the way,” Bennett said of the play with Knies. “He got tied to my arm there. That was pretty much it on that one.”
A team staff member thanked Bennett for answering questions, but a follow-up question was thrown at the group of reporters before the player could leave. Bennett was asked about his cross check on Leafs forward Bunting late in the second period, where he appeared to make contact with the side of his opponent’s head. Florida led 3-2 at the time, and Bennett received a two-minute minor check on the play.
“I’m sure Bunting’s cross-checking is eerily similar to what we saw with Auston in the outdoor game,” Keefe said, referring to auston matthews being suspended for two games in March 2022 after the Leafs forward collided buffalo sabers defending Rasmus Dahlin. “We know how that worked.”
Speaking inside the visiting locker room after the game, he offered contrition for that second play, on the cross that was caught.
“I mean, I can’t take that penalty there,” Bennett said. “I’m going for his shoulder. I’m just trying to get it out of the way. He mounts and catches it for a bit. That’s one I’d like to bring back, for sure.”
A few feet away, closer to the center of the room, the Panthers linebacker mark steel he was asked about the play on Knies.
“I didn’t see what you’re talking about there,” Staal said. “I mean, Benny, he’s a competitive guy. He plays fearlessly and finishes the checks.
“I think we’ve been on the other side of the book long enough,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said a few minutes later, from the podium in the press room down the hall.
Maurice hasn’t been shy about his belief that his team is over penalized.
“We have just accepted the fact that we will be in the penalty area more than the opponent just because it has been like that for the last eight games. We’ll just tell him (porter Sergei Bobrovsky) to get a lot of sleep,” Maurice said after Game 1. “We’ve got to take it on the chin a little bit to earn a reputation that we’re the right guys. We can accept that.”
That reputation is now in question following Bennett’s takedown of Knies.
The Panthers were asked about their physical play, which has been inherited from their stunning first-round series win over the Bruins. Florida endured what Maurice has often described as “heavy” play, which has become a rallying point in the room. “We’re not just running around like animals right now,” the Panthers forward said. Matthew Tkachuk. “We’re just trying to play with our identity.” Asked if he saw the play behind his net, with Bennett and Knies, and if he thought the whole thing might get the attention of NHL Player Safety: “Uh, I don’t think I’ll hear anything from player safety.”
The next availability of Leafs will come on Friday afternoon when a further update on the status of Knies could arrive.
Knies has been subjected to great physical exertion during his first 10 NHL games. defense panthers Radko Gudnotably, he has made a target of Knies through the first two games of the second-round series.
If Knies isn’t available for Game 3 at least, it would be a significant loss for the Leafs. Though he’s only 20 years old, Knies has looked more like a seasoned pro in his 10 NHL games after signing his entry-level contract with the University of Minnesota on April 9. As he began his NHL career with three pointless games late in the regular season, Knies’ strong puck handling skills, ability to play through contact and create scoring opportunities with a powerful shot, and willingness to drive to the net, it all translated into the pro game.
Once he broke into the Leafs’ lineup in Game 2 against tampa bay with Bunting’s suspension, Knies’ rapid rise continued. His deft puck plays along the wall have helped the Leafs create sustained offensive pressure, most notably before Tavares’ overtime, series-winning goal in Game 6 against Tampa.
He became one of the Leafs’ most consistent forwards in the first round, and an ongoing sense of composure allowed him to be on the ice for all three of his first-round overtime goals.
Questions about whether he could keep his head above water in the NHL disappeared when he scored his first goal in Game 1 and Keefe himself called Knies a player who can “make a difference.”
If the rookie difference-maker isn’t available, Keefe will have decisions to make.
The unconventional decision to alter his lineup and go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen in Game 6 against Tampa Bay raised many eyebrows, but Keefe’s decision ended up being justified with a pivotal win. erik gustafsson he might have played just 7:38 in Game 6 as the seventh defenseman, but he didn’t seem out of place either. Keefe could also use a changing lineup as an opportunity to get justin holl return to the series as part of a seven-defensive rotation and regain his confidence.
If Keefe wants to stick with 12 forwards, at least on paper, the easiest option would be to insert Zach Aston-Reese back into the lineup after he posted just 6:21 in Game 1 and was left out of the Game 2 lineup. Perhaps Keefe goes back to a fourth Aston-Reese line, david fight and sam lafferty. It’s a line I was a fan of at the end of the regular season. At their best, the line brings the kind of energy that allows them to force turnovers in the offensive zone and off the ice. But against Tampa Bay, that energy slowed, and when the offense was at its peak, that line was able to combine for just three points. Keefe last used that line together in Game 5 against Tampa Bay.
Would that sense of familiarity be enough to send Keefe back to that line and hope that his energy and controls would force a suspected Panther defense into mistakes on their own ending?
That option could see Alex Kerfoot (rightfully so) drop back in the lineup after scoring in Game 2 against the Panthers. Or, Kerfoot could stay on the fourth line to bring some offense to the line.
What if the continued physique that the Panthers are comfortable displaying in the series has Keefe looking at the likes of wayne simmonds a little different? The 34-year-old last played on April 8 and played just six games over the last three months of the regular season. If Keefe wants to set a tone down the road early in the game but sacrifice some speed and offense, you wonder if Simmonds becomes a more intriguing option for Game 3.
Perhaps Keefe uses the two days off between games to consider some kind of nuclear option, like calling Marlie. bobby mcman he started practicing this week after re-aggravating a knee injury in March.
However, for as many options as Keefe seems to have, none of them would likely provide the positive impact on game play and scoring that Knies would.
So, in a series that has already seen the Leafs hot on their heels, with sometimes high-octane and physical opposition quickly taking home field advantage away from them, the loss of Knies could have created an even bigger hill. for them. escalate as they head to Florida for Game 3.
(Photo: Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
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