The Toronto Maple Leafs were once again in the middle of controversy after a questionable hit on Wednesday night. However, this time, it was forward Matthew Knies on the receiving of a check from Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Zach Whitecloud.
The play happened with 12:01 remaining in the second period, as Knies skated through the neutral zone with the puck when Whitecloud seemed to leave his feet, appearing to make contact with the 22-year-old’s chin.
Knies immediately skated to Toronto’s bench as his teammates came to his defence, including blue-liner Simon Benoit, who took Whitecloud down to the ice.
Benoit received four minutes in penalties for roughing and Whitecloud received the same call for two minutes.
Officials reviewed the play for a major penalty, but did not hand down any further discipline to Whitecloud for the hit.
The team later announced that Knies suffered an upper-body injury and will not return to the game.
Head coach Craig Berube had no further update on the extent of Knies’ injury when asked by reporters post-game, only that the team will have a better idea after further evaluation on Thursday.
Toronto forward Ryan Reaves received a five-game suspension on Sunday for a hit to the head of Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse.
