For a franchise that always seems to have a dark cloud overtop of them whenever the playoffs roll around, the idea of Matthew Knies in the playoffs serves as a beam of sunlight.
Despite a young career in the NHL, Knies has displayed the ‘clutch’ gene from the very beginning. He set up John Tavares for the Maple Leafs’ series-clinching goal a whopping eight games into his career back in 2022-23, he scored his first goal in the second round against the Florida Panthers, and he scored the overtime winner in Game 5 against the Boston Bruins last season. Consider that he’s taken a step forward offensively in 2024-25, with 29 goals and 55 points in 74 games, and the fact that he’s got the unique combination of physicality and goal-scoring touch, and it’s easy to get excited about what he can do in the playoffs with another year of experience under his belt.
Knies’ talents and clutch gene were on full display in the Maple Leafs‘ 4-3 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. In what was undoubtedly the biggest game of the season to date so far, the Maple Leafs’ 2021 second-round pick scored a hat trick, including the overtime-winning goal, with that final goal coming only seconds after attempting a between-the-legs pass to defenceman Morgan Rielly.
“It feels incredible,” Knies told media following the game. “Just getting this win against a rival team, it’s a good feeling in that locker room, I think we had a great effort all around, and yeah, I’m just happy for these guys.”
All of this is to say that Knies is playing with some serious swagger, and both his teammates and coaches are starting to take notice, not only of the goal, but of the confidence it had to have taken for him to attempt a between-the-legs pass on a 2-on-1 in overtime.
“I was just hopping on the ice and was having trouble believing what I was seeing,” captain Auston Matthews said of Knies’ pass attempt. “Mo [Rielly] made a really nice play to me, I was able to catch it. I knew he [Knies] was back door there, I just tried to find him as quickly as possible and not let [Andrei] Vasilevskiy get over.”
Anthony Stolarz, who made some crucial saves in overtime and could have made a case for player of the game had Knies not essentially put the team on his back, also gave the sophomore forward props and commented on the wave he seems to be riding at the moment.
“Yeah, you can see he’s extremely confident right now,” Stolarz told media after the game. “Going between the legs in overtime over to Mo, it’s just the kind of player he is. He’s a huge asset to our team, he’s physical in the corners, wins a lot of battles, and his dedication as well in the d-zone, he brings a nice element. I thought that whole line tonight was extremely good in the defensive end, and then offensive zone, and kind of carried us.”
Old-school coaches typically don’t have time for innovative, skilled plays like Knies’ pass to Rielly (see John Tortorella whenever somebody mentions the Michigan), but even Craig Berube couldn’t help but comment on how much the play impressed him, noting the confidence it takes to attempt something like that, as well as a Michigan attempt of his own earlier in the week.
“I’m not sure I’d recommend trying it,” Berube said with a smile. “But, guys try things; he tried the Michigan the other night. He’s got confidence right now, he’s playing with a lot of confidence, which is good, and like I said, the whole reason for his success is his competitiveness. It’s really, really high-end, in my opinion. He wins battles, he skates through people all night, gets in there on the forecheck, wins battles down low, hangs on the puck. He’s a highly competitive player.”
Knies is as humble as they come when he’s addressing the media, often directing any praise he gets to the team rather than himself. But he seems to have had a personal vendetta against Amalie Arena ever since he lost the Frozen Four final against Quinnipiac University in 2022-23, and he took this opportunity to give himself some props for scrapping the bad times for better ones.
“I feel like I get this question every time I’m here,” Knies grinned. “But, you know, just trying to replace those bad memories with good ones, and I think I did a good job of that tonight.”
