The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to play a key role again tonight as forward Matthew Knies has been ruled out a lower body injury. The announcement came just hours before the puck dropped, catching many off guard. Sammy Blais is added to the line-up.
Knies showed no visible signs of injury during Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks and had fully participated in practices leading up to tonight’s game.
His absence adds to Toronto’s staggering list of injured regulars. The Leafs are now missing seven core players: Auston Matthews, Nicolas Roy, Scott Laughton, Chris Tanev, Brandon Carlo, Anthony Stolarz and now Knies. It’s a tough task for a team that is already struggling to find consistency in the lineup.
The Leafs did not provide any details on how Knies was injured or when it may have occurred, only noting that he is considered an everyday occurrence. With Toronto’s depth being tested more than ever this season, the team will need contributions from secondary players to remain competitive.
For now, all eyes will be on updates in the coming days as the Leafs look for positive news on a growing injury front. The hope is that the Maple Leafs can find some help internally. General Manager Brad Treliving said at his media conference Tuesday morning, “We’re dealing with injuries, but you know what? Everybody gets injured. So if you look around the league, there are good teams that have injuries. So to me, that’s a losing mentality. I’ve been in this game a long time, I haven’t met a player yet who says, ‘You know what? Give me fewer opportunities. Everybody wants more opportunities. Everybody wants a bigger role.”
Matthews will miss at least two more games as he continues to recover from his Nov. 11 injury, although he resumes skating today. Chris Tanev will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks and Nicolas Roy will be out for a few games.
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