Sheldon Keefe ‘not positive’ on Matthew Knies status after MASSIVE hit from Sam Bennett, NHL Twitter reacts

Matthew Knies exited the game after being shaken up by Sam Bennett’s check onto the boards during Leafs vs. Panthers game.

Sheldon Keefe ‘not positive’ on Matthew Knies status after MASSIVE hit from Sam Bennett, NHL Twitter reacts

Matthew Knies and Sheldon Keefe [Image Credit: Yardbarker/Hockey Feed]

Toronto Maple Leafs are not happy with rookie Matthew Knies’ exit from Game 2 because of an injury. The game shook the arena with two shocking incidents during Leafs vs. Panthers game on Thursday night. The Leafs not only lost the match but also their rookie forward Knies to injury.

Panthers Sam Bennett slammed Knies hard on the boards leading to the forward’s early exit from the game. The furious Leafs’ fans took to social media to voice their frustration asking the league to suspend the player. As of now, no actions were taken by the league.

YouTube video

As Matthew Tkachuk stated, “I do not think he will hear from Player Safety on that”. Leafs’ coach Sheldon Keefe is yet to make comments on Knies’ latest status. As Knies did not return for the remainder of the game, Keefe noted, “Obviously, he didn’t complete the game, so that’s not positive”.

FS Video

Related: “Terrific, complete players,” Matthew Knies thrives in playoff as Sheldon Keefe scratches Michael Bunting from Game 5

Matthew Knies’ hit gets compared to Auston Matthews’ 2022 Heritage Classic incident

Sam Bennett slams Matthew Knies [image Credit: Sportsnet]
Sam Bennett slams Matthew Knies [image Credit: Sportsnet]

The incident took place during the 1st-period after Panthers’ forward Sam Bennett checked Matthew Knies into the boards, following the grand slam on the ice. Knies took a good few minutes to get up and skate toward the Leafs’ locker room.

The hit was branded as “dirty” as Leafs’ fans and players fumed over the play. Leafs’ captain John Tavares said, “I didn’t love it, obviously. And it results in an injury.” Later in the period, the Leafs announced that Knies would not return for the game.

Keefe compared the “eerily similar” hit to the Auston Matthews incident back in 2022. He said that everyone knows how it worked out back then, so he doesn’t expect much of a different reaction from the league like before. 

Apart from Knies’ incident, Panthers Josh Mahura also left the ice all bloodied after a puck hit the defenceman. William Nylander’s high shot found Mahura’s visor near the eye which left the player bleeding heavily. This happened while the defenceman was chasing Alexander Kerfoot during the game.

Unlike Knies, the Panthers defenceman returned to the ice and even skated for a few rounds. Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of Bennett’s hit relating to Keefe’s comments, “I can’t comment on that. Everybody seemed to survive that.”

“The tangle-up behind the net… I think we have been on the other side of the ledger enough.” During the press conference, Keefe said it was a “baffling” loss to the Panthers while Matthews stated, “Just mistakes…I don’t know what you want to call it. They’re mistakes”.

In case you missed:

“Don’t give a f**k,” Ilya Samsonov BURSTS after being compared to Sergei Bobrovsky following Leafs’ 2-3 loss against Panthers

“You didn’t do sh**,” Shane O’Brien pissed recalling Bo Horvat’s jab at Vancouver fans after trade to Islanders