Knies played perhaps his best game as a Maple Leaf last night, skating just over 17 minutes of ice time, firing 4 pucks on net, landing 3 big hits and was also credited with a shot block, showing his versatility as a player. He did it all last night, including getting under the skin of Pastrnak during a line battle after a Leafs scoring attempt late in the second period.
The melee occurred after a mad scramble to put the loose puck into the Bruins' net at the end of the 2nd frame, with Rielly and Pastrnak first engaging in a shoving match, with Pastrnak taking several slap-like swipes at Rielly. Knies, not liking what he saw from Pastrnak, came over to intervene and challenge the Bruins star to a scrap. Pastrnak created some distance from his Leafs counterpart and declined, much to the amusement of Knies.
Imagine being a Boston Bruins fan and watching a rookie on the opposing team come into your arena and bully your team all night and challenging one of your players to a fight and then having that player tuck his tail between his legs and skate away IN THE PLAYOFFS.
I can't imagine Bruins fans are too happy with how Pastrnak handled the interaction in an elimination game.
POLL | ||
MAI 1 | 577 ANSWERS Matthew Knies amused by David Pastrnak's response to fight request Should David Pastrnak have dropped the gloves and obliged Matthew Knies for a fight? | ||
Yes, man up | 330 | 57.2 % |
No, not in a 1-1 game | 216 | 37.4 % |
Fighting in hockey is dumb | 31 | 5.4 % |
List of polls |