Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies had a statement game against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.
It wasn’t because he was imposing his will physically, getting involved in scrums, playing sound defensively, or even generating strong momentum on the forecheck. Rather, it had to do his presence in front of the net on the Leafs’ power play, bringing it to life on a night when Auston Matthews was unavailable due to an upper-body injury.
Knies’ battles in front of the Bruins crease made life miserable for Jeremy Swayman because he had few answers when the 6’3″ and 227 power forward was blocking his view. All three goals Toronto scored on the power play against Boston were made possible because of the 22-year-old parking himself in front of the net, regardless of whether or not he got a point on the play.
What power play struggles? 🤷♂️
Morgan Rielly opens the scoring for Toronto pic.twitter.com/Mqrf23foA3
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 6, 2024
A perfect example of what made him effective on the top unit was Morgan Rielly’s goal to open the scoring. After getting the puck up high to Mitch Marner, Knies quickly moved to the front of the net and battled for positioning with Bruins defenceman Brandon Carlo. Despite being at a height disadvantage, Knies made up for it by refusing to leave his post and did a masterful job of taking away Swayman’s ability to see the puck.
The shot from Rielly was a low-percentage one from up high in the middle of the ice, but it ended up finding twine simply because Swayman couldn’t see it. In years past, a play like this likely would have either been blocked or easily stopped by the goalie due to the Leafs’ net front presence being John Tavares. Tavares is a good player, but his playing style doesn’t necessarily allow him to consistently win net-front battles to create the screen in front. Having Knies and his bigger frame makes it that much tougher for the penalty-killers to contain because of how strong he is.
“When you’re hot, you’re hot” 🔥
William Nylander gets a fortunate bank shot in front off Brandon Carlo— that’s their SECOND PPG of the night pic.twitter.com/bSqi6EZaFz
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 6, 2024
On the second goal, Knies’ net-front presence helped make it possible for William Nylander to capitalize on Carlo being in an ideal position for a bank shot into his own net. This one is more on the lucky side given that the puck took a fortunate bounce off a shot from a tight angle, but again the battle for positioning in the crease by Knies put Carlo in a tough spot defensively.
You can’t bank on this type of play working every single night because it is an even lower percentage shot that had no business going in. What can’t be argued is that having Knies parked in front creates chaos and that can help even the odds on plays that would have otherwise gone astray if it was anyone else on the screen. It helps allow the Leafs’ more skilled players to create more separation and thus the freedom to do as they please with the puck.
Yes, you read this right: the Leafs have THREE power play goals this game 😳 pic.twitter.com/XVq2Fh0NOx
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 6, 2024
The third goal was simply a perfect deflection from Knies and helped put the game practically out of reach. On this occasion, the Bruins inexplicably decided to leave him all alone in front of Swayman and thus take his eyes away without any resistance. Nylander saw this and smartly put the puck toward the net which Knies was able to get enough of the shot to bounce into the net for the insurance marker.
You should not expect Knies to always get a screen that easily without resistance, but he certainly has a good eye for the puck to keep his stick in the right position for a deflection. It is the kind of play that James van Riemsdyk was able to pull off more often than not on the power play and something that the Leafs were never able to properly replace in the six years since he left in free agency. Having someone like Knies be a strong option to get a piece of shots that are otherwise low-percentage chances goes a long way in making the man advantage more unpredictable.
The reasons why the Leafs’ power play struggled for a long period dating back to last season was due to a combination of factors, but two key ones were the stagnation of the loaded-up unit and the lack of an elite net-front presence. Knies’ performance on Tuesday proved that he brings a different element that was sorely needed and it led to their best showing on the man advantage all season. It is a physically taxing role but one that he enjoys doing based on how elite he was in that area against the Bruins.
“I’m a bigger player, so I like to take his eyes,” Knies said after Tuesday’s win. “Just make plays there. Just let the skill guys be on the outside. They make plays, they make incredible plays, so I just got to put my stick in a good area and hope they can find me.”
“You see with Willy, with both of his shots, tips off their own guy, finds me by the net. Just getting pucks around there, it definitely helps us.”
While you can’t expect to score three power play goals every single game, having Knies parked in front and being a nuisance to the opposing team gives them a better chance at converting on their chances. He makes it more difficult for the goalie to keep track of the puck, which in turn leads to the penalty killers having to attempt to box him out, which in turn opens up space for his more skilled teammates to generate plays. It results in more chaos and unpredictability from the power play which will make it that much scarier for opponents to deal with.
The Matthews injury opened up an opportunity for Knies on the man advantage and he certainly made the most of it on Tuesday. So much so that the Leafs need to find a way to keep him there once their captain returns because removing Knies from the top unit would be a huge disservice to the power play.
PRESENTED BY PRIME VIDEO
This Article is a Presentation of Prime Video. Catch Prime Monday Night Hockey, all season long. Claim your free trial today.
