Matthew Knies stresses importance of Maple Leafs closing out games to end losing streak

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies feels that one of the areas plaguing his team at the moment is their inability to close out games.

This was evident in their most recent game on Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks, where they entered the third period leading 2-1 but allowed two unanswered goals late to fall in regulation and lose their fifth straight. It’s far from the only issue that the team is struggling with, but it is one area that certainly needs to be cleaned up if the Leafs want to right the ship.

“ I think we just gotta find a way to just step on ’em and not let ’em breathe when it comes to the third period,” he said to reporters after practice on Monday. “ I think we let ’em come back in the game, and obviously that’s happened to us a few times here.  So we’re just trying to figure out how to finish out a game right now.  I think we have the ability to do that, we just have to execute a few things and I think we’ll be good.”

Knies stressed that because of the drop-off in confidence with the Leafs not playing at their best, they are holding onto their sticks a bit tighter when they are trying to make the simple plays that win games. He feels that the team needs to do a better job of keeping the pressure on and not overthinking what to do when defending in their own zone.

The message head coach Craig Berube delivered after practice was to focus on execution because that is how they will overcome the adversity.

“The past few games, I think there’s been a lot of effort. We’ve done a lot of good, I think our game’s definitely trending in the right direction,” Knies said. “ The few days before that, I think that there was a little bit of a lack of effort. But as of late, it’s been good.  I think everyone’s working hard in practice. You guys saw that everyone’s moving well, everyone’s skating hard.”

It will take a collective effort from the team as it stands to get things back on track, and it will have to be done without some key pieces out of the lineup due to injuries. That means the likes of William Nylander will need to take charge at both ends of the ice, where he has gone two straight games without registering a shot on net.

One thing that could act as a rallying point was a team dinner that the players had while in Chicago, a rarity given how much of the season the Leafs have spent in Toronto.

“ I think we needed it.  I mean, we haven’t been able to spend a lot of time because we have been home a lot.  So it’s good to get some time with the guys and enjoy that night,” Nylander said.