Matthew Knies’ status for Game 7 vs. Panthers unclear after suffering apparent injury

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies laboured through an apparent injury during Saturday’s Game 6 victory over the Florida Panthers. Knies’ status for Game 7 is unclear, head coach Craig Berube confirmed post-game.

“We don’t know right now.” Berube said when asked about Knies’ injury status. “He’s dealing with something here, and we’ll have to look at him, see how he’s feeling tomorrow and see how he is.”

Knies was labouring on the Leafs’ first bench towards the end of the first period. It appears that Knies suffered an injury when closing out a hit on Panthers defenceman Niko Mikkola. Knies missed his final shift of the first frame, where Pontus Holmberg took his place.

The 22-year-old has become an instrumental part of the team this year, ascending into a breakout star. He has recorded five goals and seven points in 11 games, where he’s easily been one of the Leafs’ most impactful forwards. Knies posted 29 goals and 58 points in 78 regular season games.

During the first period, Knies was presented with the Leafs’ best chance of the first period, as he almost tucked home a feed from Mitch Marner, but Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky kept the puck out with a great toe save.

Knies returned to the second period and took a few regular shifts with Marner and Auston Matthews but was clearly in pain. After five minutes, Knies continued to grimace on the bench and Bobby McMann took a shift with the Leafs’ top line. Knies held an extended conversation with Berube, before he was replaced by McMann.

Upon missing a few shifts, Knies then joined Max Domi and Max Pacioretty on a makeshift third line. He finished the game without further incident, playing alongside Marner and Matthews for the duration of the game.