Craig Berube was pleasantly surprised by Matthew Knies’ growth throughout the season

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators are set to face off in the most widely-anticipated first round matchups the Leafs have seen in recent years. After consecutive years where the question was just whether they were going to face the Tampa Bay Lightning or the Boston Bruins in the first round, the Maple Leafs and Senators will reignite the Battle of Ontario for the first time since 2003-04.

On paper, it’s one of the ‘easier’ series the Leafs have had in recent years, but ‘easier’ is in quotes because nothing is easy in the playoffs. We’ve seen it in the way they’ve lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Senators despite having the better roster on paper, and we’ve seen it in the way they finally exercised their demons in 2022-23 before promptly falling to the Florida Panthers in a gentleman’s sweep.

Either way, the Leafs need to treat this series like they’re playing the 1980s Edmonton Oilers regardless of standings position. They’re going to need contributions from players up and down the lineup, and one player who has shown in a limited sample size that he’s built for playoff hockey is Matthew Knies. Head coach Craig Berube singled Knies out as somebody who has impressed him with his development since the start of the season.

“I think Matthew Knies has surprised me,” Berube said. “The growth I talked about, from training camp on and throughout the season, and how he’s grown as a player. ”

Berube was quick to clarify that it wasn’t so much of a ‘surprise’ as it was just a matter of Knies progressing in his development much quicker than anticipated.

“What he’s accomplished here, I’m not sure I pictured that,” Berube told reporters. “So, he’s been a pleasant surprise. Not a surprise so much because the ability was there, but he’s young and as a young guy, to me, he’s grown so quickly.”

After potting 15 goals, 35 points, and a huge overtime goal in the playoffs for the Maple Leafs last season, Knies has taken a good step forward in year 2 with 29 goals and 56 points in 77 games. He has a chance to hit the 30-goal mark on Thursday night in the final regular season game of the season, but it’s hard to imagine he’s thinking about that with playoffs right around the corner.

The Senators punched their ticket to the playoffs last week and have taken strides as an organization after an ugly stretch of hockey between 2016-17, the last time they made the playoffs (and the first time the Leafs did in this era), and this season. They’re led up front by Brady Tkachuk, who is sure to be a pain to deal with in the playoffs, and a plethora of offensive talent including Dylan Cozens and Tim Stutzle. Berube wasn’t shy about giving the Senators the credit they deserve, and the credit this Leafs team needs to be giving them as well.

“We’re excited,” Berube said regarding the return of the Battle of Ontario. “That’s a very good team over there, like I told you guys, they’re a young team that’s grown together, they added some veterans, overall, very good hockey team, a lot of good skill on the front end and the back end, and they play a great game.”

The playoffs are set to begin on Saturday, with the Leafs and their fans having to wait until Sunday night for Game 1 of the new era Battle of Ontario.