Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies is built for NHL playoffs — and he’s just scratching the surface

Sports

add

If you ask Matthew Knies about his breakout playoff series against the Boston Bruins last year, he’ll shake his head in frustration.

He doesn’t want to talk about his massive overtime goal in Game 5 — his first playoff winner — to keep the series alive. Or how he jumped on the glass in elation. He’ll avoid chatting about how he was depended on by the team when it mattered at just 21. His ice time rose from around 10 minutes in Game 1 to around 19 minutes in Games 6 and 7.

No, Knies will only look back with something between resolve and longing when he discusses Game 1 against the Bruins. Early in the second period, with Boston already up 1-0, Knies tried to block a Brad Marchand shot. He got some, but not all, of his massive frame on the block. The puck stayed in the Bruins’ zone and in their possession. Seconds later, they scored their second goal in an eventual 5-1 win.

That play — not even a full turnover, mind you — is what stings a full year later.

“There’s always just little things I can get better on and help the team. And that was one instance,” Knies told The Athletic in a conversation about playoff hockey, sounding nothing like the wide-eyed young player who struggled with the pace of the league last season. “In a seven-game series, that one goal could cost us the series.”

It didn’t, of course. But the fact that Knies is thinking and acting like the weight of the team is on his shoulders in the playoffs suggests he understands the pressure that comes in the postseason more than you’d think a 22-year-old might.

And then to score three goals in the Leafs’ first-round series against the Ottawa Senators, tying him for first among all Leafs? Matthew Knies doesn’t just feel that pressure. He is responding to it.

MATTHEW KNIES 🚨

TIE GAME OFF PINTO! pic.twitter.com/zD6J75mIHk

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) April 25, 2025

Just 20 games into his playoff career, it’s clear Knies is built for the playoffs in a way not every Maple Leaf is.

Knies now has six goals in those 20 postseason tilts. Yes, we’re dealing with a smaller sample size than his teammates. His 0.30 goals per game in the playoffs is fourth among current Leafs on this team since 2017, bumping up against his old housemate, John Tavares (0.34).

With another series under his belt, Knies projects to be one of the most important Leafs in the second round against the Florida Panthers. The Panthers’ style means a heavier brand of hockey will certainly be on the menu, compared to the first round. Knies’ swagger and 6-foot-3, 227-pound frame will become even more vital to coach Craig Berube’s plans.

Asked before the playoffs began which Leaf surprised him the most this season, Berube could barely hide his eagerness about one specific player.

“Matthew Knies has surprised me with the growth from training camp on throughout the season, with how he has grown as a player and what he has accomplished this year. I’m not sure I pictured that,” Berube said. “He’s been a special surprise — maybe not a surprise so much because the ability was there, but he is young, and as a young guy, he has grown quickly.”

How has Knies done it?

On the ice, there could not have been a better test case for Berube’s system than Knies. The coach wants his players to score by bearing down and heading to the net. That’s where the most reliable goals will come. Not relying on rush chances to score has seen another young Leafs scorer, Nick Robertson, spend time in the press box.

But Knies’ ability to sacrifice his body, take punishment from opposition defenders and come out the other end with net-front goals has made him invaluable to Berube.

“I felt that I’m good enough to play at this level and to have this much success here,” Knies said. “I feel like I’ve earned that ice time that I’ve been given. I knew with Craig I’d have a bigger impact. I’ve been tuned into being a power forward like he wants.”

Not to take anything away from Knies and his success, but it’s somewhat expected that a heavy power forward will clean up the garbage in front of the net.

What’s perhaps unexpected, and has also contributed to Knies’ rise as a bona fide playoff performer? His effectiveness on the penalty kill.

Knies was pegged as not having the highest hockey IQ when he entered the NHL. Instead, he’s developed the smarts necessary to log the fourth-highest PK ATOI of any Leafs forward through the playoffs. More than, for example, defensive specialists such as Calle Järnkrok.

The trust between player and coach at critical points in the game appears to be increasing daily in this series.

It’s trust Knies craves.

“My whole career, juniors, college, I’ve killed (penalties). I love it. It’s a very important part of the game. I want to be as involved as possible,” he said.

He points to his brother, Phil, for influence. Phil played five NCAA seasons and one season in Slovakia and was, in Knies’ estimation, a specialized penalty killer. He took tips from him on how to use his size, reach and energy effectively.

“I watched him growing up and in juniors, I noticed that (killing penalties) was a way you could get another shift. That was another opportunity to get a breakaway. And I’d just watch him, watch him, watch him,” Knies said.

Beyond what Knies is doing on the ice, he’s proving to teammates and onlookers that he is no shrinking violet. He walks around the Leafs dressing room with a presence and stature you don’t often see from players so young and, frankly, so inexperienced.

By quickly figuring out how he can contribute to the team when it matters? He has just as quickly ditched the tag of the, uh, well, aloof young player.

Through the second half of the season, Knies didn’t stumble. His energy levels didn’t drop off the way they did last year. That earned the respect of veterans.

“At such a young age … kids now can be a little more entitled,” Steven Lorentz said. “They expect a little more. He’s not that way at all.”

And Knies is returning the favour with swagger.

“(Knies) has got confidence, and that’s a great thing. It’s hard to come by, especially for younger guys. There’s times when you have to manufacture it,” Brandon Carlo, who played against Knies in last year’s playoffs, said before shaking his head in amazement. “But he’s got it.”

This isn’t a case of “fake it until you make it,” as the saying goes.

This is more “act like you’ve been there before” because, well, Knies has.

By proving that his last playoff run was no fluke, Knies is establishing himself as a trusted playoff performer. And with more difficult playoff games on tap, we may not have seen the most Knies can offer, either.

“Even in the series last year, I had so much respect for his game,” Carlo said. “I think he’s a hell of a player for sure.”

(Photo: Mathew Tsang / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

If you reduce Gregg Popovich to his TV sideline interviews, you missed a lot

Sports

Next

trending_flat

Dmitry Orlov ready to face off against familiar Capitals foe, this time as part of Hurricanes

Sports