Must see! Leafs rookie Matthew Knies sticks up for fallen teammate with his first career NHL fight
There has been a large focus on teammates standing up for one another in Toronto since management and the coaching staff addressed the team's lack of response to Brad Marchand's can opener on Timothy Liljegren on November 2nd in Boston. Since that time, we have seen a number of Leafs step up to defend a teammate, and tonight, we saw another example.
During the early stages of the first period of Saturday's Leafs/Penguins game, Pittsburgh's John Ludwig hit Max Domi from behind, but his stick came up and clipped Domi in the face, sending him down to the ice in some distress. Leafs rookie Matthew Knies took immediate exception to the play, going right after Ludwig. The two ended up dropping the gloves as a result of the altercation.
Knies acquitted himself quite well in his first career NHL fight, scoring the takedown and drilling Ludwig with a shot as the two were falling for good measure. Both Knies and Ludwig earned 5-minute fighting majors as a result. Ludwig was not called for his high-stick on Domi, nor was Knies called for the instigator penalty.
You love to see this type of a reaction from a young player like Knies as he looks to establish himself as an everyday NHLer. Normally, you'd have assumed it would be Domi sticking up for Knies, but I'm sure Domi is happy to know that Knies has his back as well.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 16 | 709 ANSWERS Must see! Leafs rookie Matthew Knies sticks up for fallen teammate with his first career NHL fight What's the maximum you'd pay Matthew Knies per year on a bridge deal? | ||
| $1.5M or less | 72 | 10.2 % |
| $1.6M-$2.5M | 336 | 47.4 % |
| $2.6M-$3.5M | 241 | 34 % |
| Over $3.5M | 60 | 8.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
