1 day Ago By Terry Koshan
Article content The Maple Leafs’ lucky winning number on Saturday night was 13. Or, perhaps, a pair of fives. Our takeaways from Toronto’s 6-4 win against the Boston Bruins at Scotiabank Arena: THAT’S MIGHTY KNIES On a night when captain Auston Matthews returned to the lineup after missing six games with an upper-body injury, you would assume that his three points would hog the headlines.
Not so, not when the Leafs’ other guy from Arizona had his best game in the National Hockey League. Matthew Knies won’t have a hat trick every night or record five points — both NHL career-firsts for the 22-year-old — like he did versus the Bruins, but we can look at his performance as a bit of a coming-out party. Mitch Marner also had five points (a goal and four assists), giving the Matthews line a total of 13 points.
It was Knies who stood out, using his 6-foot-3, 227-pound body to dominate at times. Everything is there for Knies to become a premier, every-night power forward for the Leafs in coach Craig Berube’s system. And in a game when he was so effective in a playoff-like atmosphere against one of the Leafs’ biggest rivals? All the better.
“He’s really understanding how much of a tool (his frame) is for him,” Leafs defenceman Jake McCabe said. “He can dominate down low with the puck. I see it in practice, I go against him in practice.
“Me and Tanny (Chris Tanev) were talking about it the other day. He’s an absolute horse down there and you can’t get the puck from him. That line was tremendous and good to see Kniesy get rewarded.
” Knies hadn’t scored in his previous nine games before he lit up Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman for a goal in the first period and two in third. A spin-around, no-look backhand for his second goal served as the game’s highlight. “It felt incredible,” Knies said.
“Felt the luck was back on my side and that was a good game, a good overall effort from all of us in here.” A confidence boost for Knies, who was on the ice for all six Leafs goals? You bet. “It does a lot,” Knies said.
“I’ve been off the scoresheet for a little bit. It’s nice to feel that again. “I think there was a little bit missing (from his game).
I don’t think I was as direct, as physical, lacked shooting in my game.There was some bounces that didn’t go my way. You move past it and that’s hockey.
Fortunately it’s going my way now and just want to keep that.” Berube noted a smart play by Knies late in the game to take the back-door option away from the Bruins, among other aspects of the youngster’s performance. “He was a great player — challenging their D with his speed, direct, shooting,” Berube said.
“I liked that he just attacked and shot, and wasn’t always looking for the other guys. “His growth as a player all-around ..
. Offensively he has come out of his shell, I would say, with scoring. On the other side of things he has become a real good 200-foot player.
” Knies continues to prove the Leafs got it right when they chose him in the second round in 2021. CAPTAIN COMES BACK There was lots to like about Matthews’ game, his first since Dec. 20.
Berube did a good job of managing Matthews’ ice time, as No. 34 played 17 minutes 32 seconds, and was rewarded. Matthews had five shots on goal and won 12 of his 21 faceoffs, appearing to have a better step than he did before he went out of the lineup.
“Pretty smart game, I thought,” Berube said. “Didn’t over-exert himself, didn’t put himself in tough spots.” Matthews’ goal came with 31 seconds left, when he dived at the puck to send it into the empty Bruins net.
Both Matthews and Marner forechecked well, creating havoc for Boston defenceman Charlie McAvoy. “I felt good,” Matthews said. “My linemates made it pretty easy for me.
The chemistry was there, we were working all three zones pretty good, finding each other in good spots. I’m pretty happy with it. “We knew it was going to be a tough physical game, it took 60 minutes.
Happy with the performance from everybody, just staying with it and bearing down.” The key for the Leafs will be to continue to manage Matthews’ ice time. He’s not out of the woods yet with the injury that has lingered, and might not be 100% for a while.
“We have to get him to a point where he is fully healthy,” Berube said. “Whether that’s minutes or a little bit of time off, I don’t know. I don’t have the answer for you right now.
We’re going to stay in tune with it and try to do what’s best for him.” THE D CHIPS IN Finally, a goal from a Leafs defenceman. When McCabe buried a Marner pass in the first period, not only was it his first goal in 38 games since April 8, it was the first Leafs goal by a D-man since Tanev scored in Tampa Bay on Nov.
30. “Nice to get the monkey off the back and get rid of the goose egg next to the G,” McCabe said. The lack of scoring from Leafs defencemen has been noticeable —they’re tied with Ottawa for fewest by a corps in the NHL, with eight — but it’s not a source of hand-wringing in the room.
Look at this way. The defence has tightened up nicely under Berube, and we think McCabe had the right view on the goals from the blue line. “We’re not worried about scoring goals on the back end,” McCabe said.
“We’re worried about winning hockey games and keeping the puck out of our net. You keep the goals against down in this league and we got enough guys in this room who can score. It’s nice to contribute when we do, but that’s not our priority.
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