Dirty, Dangerous Hit Forces Leafs Winger Matthew Knies Into Concussion Protocol
Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies forced to leave the game against Vegas after being on the receiving end of a dangerous, dirty head shot.
Eight minutes into the second period, with the Leafs up 1-0, Matthew Knies was carrying the puck in the neutral zone when he was pinched towards the boards. As he was being angled towards the boards, Golden Knights defenceman Zach Whitecloud stepped up and laid a thunderous hit on Knies, clearly targeting the head.
Knies was very slow to get up and was noticeably wobbly on his skates as teammate Simon Benoit went after Whitecloud. Almost immediately after getting to the bench, Knies went down to tunnel for concussion protocol.
The replay shows that Whitecloud made contact with Knies' head and left his feet to make the hit. Initially, Whitecloud was assessed a 5-minute major. However, after reviewing the hit, the officials decided that the major penalty initially given to Whitecloud was unnecessary.
Fans were livid at the announcement, and somehow, the Leafs ended up on the penalty kill as Benoit got four minutes for roughing to Whitecloud's two minutes for roughing and NOTHING for his hit on Knies, despite the head being the principle point of contact.
Given the similarities to Ryan Reaves' hit on Darnell Nurse that landed him a 5-game suspension, it will be interesting to see if Department of Player Safety looks at Whitecloud's hit following the game and if any supplemental discipline is given.
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