Leafs’ Matthew Knies out day-to-day with lower-body injury
As if the Toronto Maple Leafs weren’t injured enough, another surprise injury has hit them just an hour before Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Blues.
The Leafs have announced shortly before the game that winger Matthew Knies will be out with a lower-body injury, and is considered day-to-day.
The injury comes as a surprise as there was no indication about the injury prior to the start of the game. Knies played the entirety of the Leafs’ previous game, a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, and had been a regular participant in practices leading up to Tuesday’s game.
As of right now, the Leafs have not disclosed the cause of the injury, or other specifics about the injury outside of it being lower-body and that Knies’ timeline for return is day-to-day.
While who draws into the lineup isn’t confirmed at this point in time, Sammy Blais is the Leafs’ only extra forward on their roster right now, so it’s likely that he’ll draw into the lineup. Knies was projected to play on the second line and the top power play and penalty kill units, so who replaces him in those roles is unknown as well.
This announcement comes amidst a flurry of injuries for the Maple Leafs. On top of Knies, the Leafs are also without Auston Matthews, Anthony Stolarz, Chris Tanev, Brandon Carlo, Nicolas Roy and Scott Laughton. As a result, the Leafs have had to rely on players who haven’t been lineup regulars recently like Blais, Easton Cowan, Jacob Quillan, Philippe Myers and Dakota Mermis, as well as claim Troy Stecher off of waivers.
Knies will be a particularly big blow to the lineup, as a Leafs team that was already struggling to find an identity without Mitch Marner will now be without two other key forwards in Matthews and Knies. The Phoenix, Arizona product has taken yet another step forward this season to help with Marner’s absence, as he has five goals and 17 assists for 22 points in 19 games.
The Leafs will look to persevere through all of these injuries and snap a five-game losing streak when they host an equally-struggling Blues squad on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST. Toronto currently sits in seventh in the Atlantic Division with an 8-9-2 record, and are four points outside of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.