It was a hard-fought and physical battle on Wednesday night when the Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Vegas Golden Knights. With tensions running high throughout the game, the contest escalated when Nikita Grebenkin, who made his NHL debut, delivered a hard hit to Shea Theodore that the Vegas bench didn’t respond well to.
The game turned even more intense in the second period when Matthew Knies took a high hit from Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud at center ice. The collision left Knies struggling to get up, and he could not return after the intermission, nursing an upper-body injury.
Related: Matthew Knies Leaves Maple Leafs Game And Didn’t Return After Getting Hit By Golden Knights Defenseman Zach Whitecloud, Review Deems Hit Clean
Initially, Whitecloud was assessed a major penalty for the hit. However, after a review by the officials, the penalty was rescinded, with the call being deemed a clean hit. This decision did little to silence the emotions on the Leafs’ side, as the injury to Knies clearly left a mark on the team.
Head coach Craig Berube offered minimal insight into Knies’ injury post-game, commenting only that the forward had sustained an upper-body injury and that more information would be available on Thursday.
“Yeah, he’s upper-body right now. We’ll see tomorrow. I think tomorrow I’ll tell more,” said Berube. “My view of the hit, I mean, it’s a tough call. I’m not going to sit here and comment on the league. And, you know, they thought it was a clean hit, so it’s a clean hit. There’s nothing we can comment on. Really, there’s nothing to say.”
Leading the game 1-0 when the 22-year-old went down, the injury became a rallying point for the Maple Leafs.
“It’s not a good thing that he’s hurt, but it definitely sparks some energy with the team,” explained goaltender Joseph Woll. “I think sometimes anger and those things can be used to drive you through a game. So, I was just happy to see us shut him down after something like that.”
“It’s energy for sure. I was pretty pissed after it, so I tried to harness that as well as I could,” he added.
Woll was not the only member of the club shaken by the incident. The loss of Knies, who had been a key contributor for the club with eight goals and four assists through 20 games, was felt on the bench. Already depleted with various injuries to many offensive players, this was yet another deficit up front – with the team hoping for the best.
“Obviously it’s tough when a guy goes down like that,” said teammate William Nylander before Fraser Minten added, “I think you just hope he’s okay when that goes down. I felt he got kind of clipped up there, but it is what it is and hopefully he’s okay.”
Knies sustained a concussion already in his NHL career during his rookie season when Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett essentially ended his 2023 postseason. It’s uncertain whether this latest injury could lead to a similar outcome.
Related: Maple Leafs Matthew Knies Diagnosed With Concussion and Ruled Out for Games 3 and 4 Against Panthers
Regardless, the prospect of another injury to the Leafs’ forward core only underscores the already challenging situation the club is facing with a banged-up roster.
