Matthew Knies of the Toronto Maple Leafs departs the Bruins game due to a potential injury.
Following a collision with Brad Marchand, Matthew Knies, a winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs, is not expected to play against the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
Although Knies sustained the injury in the middle of the first period and did not play the remainder of it or return for the second, the Maple Leafs have not yet confirmed if he will miss the game. After the game, the Leafs will probably confirm the injury and provide further information about it, as well as the duration of Knies’ absence before Saturday’s matchup with the Montreal Canadiens.
The injury was sustained by Knies, 21, when he crashed into Marchand, who was coming out of the corner, as he was skating into the corner in the Bruins zone. Whether Marchand was heading for Knies on purpose or if it was just an incident is unknown. For the incident, Marchand was not penalized.
After just 3:18 of ice time and a 1-0 loss for the Leafs, Knies exits the game with only a penalty. It so happened that Brad Marchand was called for roughing during his punishment.
With 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points in 61 games, Knies has had a strong rookie campaign with the Maple Leafs, despite spending the majority of his time on Toronto’s top line with Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews. With 16 points separating him from first place in the rookie scoring standings this season, he is currently ranked 11th.
Knies, who the Maple Leafs selected in the second round of the NHL Draft in 2021, attended the University of Minnesota for two seasons before joining the team late in the 2022–2023 season and becoming a reliable member of the starting lineup that season.
Knies signed a three-year entry-level contract with a $925,000 cap charge before to making his NHL debut late in the 2022–2023 season. He is now in the second year of the contract. There are no performance bonuses attached.
With a 36-18-8 record going into their game against the Bruins on Thursday, the Leafs were in third place in the Atlantic Division.
