Ex-NHL star adds Matthew Knies to Maple Leafs ‘Core 4’ following HUGE game winning goal against Panthers

A former NHLer was proud of the performance of forward Matthew Knies in Game 1 and added him to the 'Core 4' group of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Ex-NHL star adds Matthew Knies to Maple Leafs ‘Core 4’ following HUGE game winning goal against Panthers

Matthew Knies (Image via Inside The Rink)

Toronto Maple Leafs young star Matthew Knies came up clutch in Game 1 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers. Following his amazing performance and the game-winning goal on Monday, a former NHL star added him to the ‘Core 4‘ of the Maple Leafs.

The ‘Core 4’ of the Maple Leafs consists of stars Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and John Tavares. These players have delivered some big moments for the team, leading to huge praise from the fans.

In the game on Monday, one of the ‘Core 4’ members, Nylander, opened the scoring for the team. The Swedish international scored two goals and then set up Morgan Rielly in the first period to give his side a 3-1 lead.

Defenseman Chris Tanev added a fourth goal for the Maple Leafs and put his team in a comfortable position. However, the Panthers fought back and scored twice in the third period to make it a 4-3 game. Matthew Knies then stepped up and scored to make it 5-3. Sam Bennett, who came under the spotlight for his hit on goaltender Anthony Stolarz, scored late to reduce the deficit once again.

Knies’ goal thus turned out to be the game-winning goal for his team. After the game, former NHL star P.K. Subban praised him and added him to the ‘Core 4’ to make it the ‘Core 5’ group.

Matthew Knies for me. We talk about the Core 4, it’s not the Core 4 anymore. Put him in there, it’s the Core 5 because without him they ain’t going anywhere. He showed it with a big goal, ended up being the winning goal tonight.

P.K. Subban said

P.K. Subban insists that Maple Leafs need ‘killer’ instinct to win against Panthers

The Toronto Maple Leafs registered an important Game 1 win on Monday against their division rivals, the Florida Panthers. Despite that win, NHL analyst P.K. Subban insists that the Toronto-based outfit needs a ‘killer’ instinct to eliminate the Panthers from this second round series.

P.K. Subban
P.K. Subban (Image via NBC Los Angeles)

This is just the second time in over 2 decades where the Maple Leafs are playing in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Last time they played in a second round series was also against the Panthers during the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.

During that year, the Panthers knocked out the Maple Leafs 4-1 and reached the finals before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights. Since then, the Panthers have been the team to beat in NHL.

The reigning Stanley Cup champions made light work of their state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the first round. In Game 1 against the Maple Leafs, they almost leveled the game after being 4-1 down at one stage.

While praising the Maple Leafs for their performance, Subban noted this and expressed that the Canadian team needs to have the ‘killer’ instinct to see them off.

The one thing that I didn’t like about this game is they fed into Florida getting to their game. Toronto’s got to have a killer instinct. They got to get that killer instinct in their game. They got all the intangibles but without that you’re not going to move on especially against a team like Florida.

P.K. Subban said

Will Anthony Stolarz be available for Game 2?

The thrilling game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers was overshadowed by some extent with the injury of goaltender Anthony Stolarz. The big question now is, will he be available for Game 2?

Anthony Stolarz
Maple Leafs’ goaltender Anthony Stolarz (Image via Yardbarker)

During the first period, Stolarz was hit in the face by the puck from a powerful shot by Sam Reinhardt. This led to him losing his mask.

Later in the second period, the elbow of Sam Bennett would catch him in the head. After staying on the pitch for a while, the 31-year-old threw up near the Maple Leafs’ bench and was then removed from the game and taken to a hospital.

Stolarz has been reported to have suffered a concussion. With Game 2 between these two teams on Wednesday, there is a huge chance that he would miss that game. In 2023, Matthew Knies suffered a concussion through another hit from Sam Bennett, which left him out for 2 games.

So far, Stolarz has started all games for the Maple Leafs in the playoffs. Joseph Woll, who replaced him in the 2nd period, will likely get the nod for Game 2 if the 31-year-old is not cleared for the game.

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