It appears Matthew Knies could be okay following his collision with Brad Marchand on Thursday.
The 21-year-old rookie collided with Marchand in the first period of Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Bruins. It appears that the two players don't see each other until the very last moment where there's no time to avoid the collision.
Knies didn't return to the game and Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said following the game that there was no update on the forward. Keefe, though, did give his thoughts on the hit, mostly saying that it was an unavoidable collision.
"I think it’s two guys who are going for the same ice and don’t really see each other. Their guy realizes he’s on the tracks quicker than our guy does and prepares for it. That’s all I see there."
This is the second time this season where Marchand's been involved in a collision with a Maple Leafs player that's caused an injury. Early in the season, he tripped Timothy Liljegren while going into the corner for the puck.
The 24-year-old forward missed a month and a half due to a high-ankle sprain suffered on the trip by Marchand.
Later in Thursday's game, after Toronto went down 4-1 to Boston, Max Domi joined teammate Ilya Lyubushkin along the boards to get the puck from Marchand. After they retrieved the puck, Domi remained with Marchand, trying to start a fight with the Bruins forward.
Charlie Coyle eventually came in, which stopped anything else from happening between Domi and Marchand. But why did the 29-year-old forward go after Marchand? Was it due to the hit on Knies?
"I’ll let you take a gander at that one," Domi said after the game.
Although Knies looked in bad shape as he left the ice, it appears he might be okay. TSN's Mark Masters reported on Friday morning, during TSN's TradeCentre show, that he saw Knies in the Maple Leafs' dressing room following the loss to the Bruins, and the forward wasn't wearing a sling or anything like that.
Knies has primarily played on Toronto's top line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner this season. In his rookie year with the Maple Leafs, Knies has 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points in 61 games.
More must-reads: