A wild stat regarding Leafs rookie Matthew Knies from round 1
It was just a few weeks ago that Matthew Knies' college career ended in heartbreak as he and the University of Minnesota's Golden Gophers lost their second straight national title game. Following his disappointing loss, Knies flew back to Minnesota with his teammates before signing his entry-level deal, hopping right back on a plane and flying back to Florida to play against the Panthers and Lightning in his first two games as a Leaf.
At the time, Knies said he hated Amalie Arena for obvious reasons. Now, however, it's probably one of his favourite barns. Not only did Knies play well enough to get into the lineup in round 1, albeit with some help from a Michael Bunting suspension, he earned Sheldon Keefe's trust enough that he was put out in overtime in key moments. He was a factor in all three overtime winners for the Leafs in Tampa, and collected an assist on John Tavares' series clinching goal last night.
In Game 3, he was able to create traffic in front of Andrei Vasilevskiy so that he couldn't track Morgan Rielly's point shot, in Game 4, he did more of the same and last night, he made an excellent play to keep the play alive twice for the Leafs and got the puck to Tavares who walked out front and beat Vasilevskiy. Knies has certainly looked the part of the Leafs' top prospect and appears to be getting more and more comfortable the more he plays. Can't wait to see what he'll bring in Round 2.
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