7 takeaways from Leafs-Lightning: Knies delivers signature game in most important win of year

In the end, Knies wouldn’t be stopped, against an opponent that he’s been dominant against from the outset of his career. He almost set up Morgan Rielly with a between-the-legs pass, but reset after Rielly’s shot was stopped, and waited patiently as Matthews found his ascending winger at the back post. Knies made no mistake, the Maple Leafs are in pole position in the Atlantic, and he should ask for whatever he wants as a restricted free agent this summer.

Here are seven takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ overtime victory over the Lightning

• This version of Matthew Knies is an archetype that the Maple Leafs haven’t had in the past, and he can impose his will on a game in different ways. Knies is a modern power forward, with speed, size, physicality and scoring touch and he put his entire skill set on full display against a Lightning team with championship pedigree. Knies cleaned up rebounds, he forced turnovers, including one that led to Marner’s initial goal, and he was a true wrecking ball on the forecheck. The 22-year-old finished with six shots and a 76 percent share of the expected goals, in a tour-de-force performance. Knies’ ascendant play is enough to keep the faith entering the playoffs, especially against opponents with better underlying numbers. And you can toss the charts out for an evening too, as Knies submitted a truly electrifying performance.
• As the adage goes, you need your best players to be your best players in critical situations, and Marner and Matthews met the challenge, a night after submitting a listless performance against the Florida Panthers. Knies converged on Brandon Hagel to force a turnover to Matthews, who found Marner for the game’s opening goal. Marner was a defensive force and almost picked Erik Cernak again at the end of the first period. Early in the second period, Marner came close to his second goal of the contest, wiring a shot off the knob of Andrei Vasilevskiy’s stick, and appeared to be a more willing shooter than he usually is. Matthews, meanwhile, used his frame to shield off defenders, he was actively getting his linemates involved throughout the night and he was blocking shots, limping briefly in the third period, before finishing the game without further incident. You want your big time players to live up to the billing, and Toronto’s first line more than met the challenge.
• It’s even more impressive, when you consider the calibre of opponents: Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak are an excellent shutdown pair, but they were in a hole early, and never really recovered. Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel have provided elite defence and will be primary candidates for the Selke Trophy, but they lost the battle to Knies, Matthews and Marner. It’s the type of performance that ought to provide the Maple Leafs, and by extension, the fan base, a measure of confidence with the postseason around the corner.
• Calle Jarnkrok was bumped up to the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander, and while you don’t want to be too critical in a winning effort, this might be a stop-gap option for the Maple Leafs. The 33-year-old did not register a shot, and didn’t do much to meaningfully hold possession throughout the game. At this stage of his career, Jarnkrok is better suited for a bottom-six role, as Bobby McMann and Max Pacioretty, upon return from injury, are better fits. Craig Berube is still tinkering with his lineups, and needed to make some changes after a listless performance Tuesday, so it will be compelling to see what the lines look like ahead of Saturday’s game against the scorching Montreal Canadiens.
• In some ways, you could view this game as a reflection of each team’s trade deadline acquisitions, and the Lightning did quite well there. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored a key goal for the Lightning, while Gourde was promoted to the first line, and has been excelling in a third line role since being re-acquired. Scott Laughton worked a strong two-man game with Pontus Holmberg during the first period, but his efficacy waned as the game went on, and he committed a key turnover that was almost punished by Gourde inside Toronto’s defensive zone. Brandon Carlo continues to stabilize the back end and while his underlying numbers weren’t great, he blocked four shots in a key victory.
• It was an extremely polarizing performance from Morgan Rielly. The good news: Rielly recorded a game-high seven blocked shots, on a night where the Maple Leafs combined for 33 blocks overall, and the Maple Leafs outshot the Lightning 13-4 when he was on the ice at 5-on-5. The bad news: Rielly was routinely getting burned down the wing, often by Brandon Hagel, and he often appeared to be outmatched. With the game potentially on the line, Rielly committed another ghastly turnover and Brayden Point wheeled away for a breakaway, but Anthony Stolarz came up with a clutch save. Toronto may be forced to stack Carlo’s minutes, along with Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe (provided he returns in time for Game 1) to form a Big Three of sorts on the blue line, with Rielly operating as a clear No. 4. Rielly finished with a secondary assist on the game-winning goal, so we don’t want to be too negative, but it’s been a rough season for the team’s longest-tenured player.
• Anthony Stolarz has won six consecutive games and once again, he was excellent for the Maple Leafs when called upon. Stolarz robbed Point on the aforementioned breakaway, but he was dialled in throughout the contest, and none of the three goals allowed were directly his fault. He blanked Bjorkstrand in front of the net during the second period, stopped Gourde in a high-danger area later in the frame, and barked orders at his defencemen to clear the puck in a timely manner. Stolarz is clearly the playoff starter and the remainder of the season may be about workload management.