The Toronto Maple Leafs hopes for a second round have been extended for two more days as Matthew Knies was able to put home his first career playoff overtime goal Tuesday night after putting the puck past Jeremy Swayman.
The Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs played a tight checking game that was mostly controlled by the blue shirts that went to the extra period.
Early in overtime, John Tavares drove to the net from the right side and with three Bruin defenders fixated on the Maple Leafs captain, the puck came out to the top of the crease where Knies potted his second goal of the playoffs.
The Leafs won game 5,
Matthew Knies Is Becoming an OT Specialist
Overtime is starting to become a specialty for the Arizona product who has quietly played a part in each of the last four game winning goals during the extra frame over the last two seasons.
Toronto Maple Leafs are 4-0 in overtime in the playoffs with Matthew Knies in the line-up and he has been on the ice for all four winners.#LeafsForever
— David Corcoran (@BlueProspects) May 1, 2024
In Game 3 of the Tampa Bay / Toronto series with the two teams tied at a game a piece the contest went into overtime and almost into a fifth period but Morgan Rielly took the puck off of a face-off win and fired a low risk wrist shot towards the net that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy.
While everyone remembers Rielly's jubilation after scoring the winner and celebrating with William Nylander what many fail to realize was that there was havoc being created in front of the net by Knies that helped take the Tampa Bay goalies eyes away.
Two days later, the Maple Leafs and Lightning found themselves headed to overtime and yet again the University of Minnesota alumni was on the ice.
This game was ended much earlier than Game 3 after veteran Mark Giordano threw the puck towards the net where Alex Kerfoot deflected it past the Lightning goalie.
While he did not have as much impact on this goal, Knies took the high slot on the Gioradno shot, which caused defenseman Darren Radysh to be caught in between the rookie winger and Kerfoot who was standing alone to be able to get his stick on the shot for the deflection.
Knies Wins Battle for the John Tavares Goal
The biggest franchise goal in the last 20-years came in Game 6 last year against the Lightning when Tavares came around the net and threw the puck towards the net where it bounced off of Radysh's skate and into the net. It felt like several demons were exercised as it was the first first playoff series victory by the Maple Leafs since 2004.
What is forgotten is that Tavares nearly lost the puck at the offensive blue line while trying to skate around the zone. The Maple Leafs captain temporarily lost the puck, but was able to push it into the corner where Knies not only retrieved the puck, but outbattled arguably the top Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to get it back to the Maple Leafs captain and seconds later the game was over.
We are seeing the maturation of Knies and while he still has a ways to go on fixing some of his game, overtime is looking like an area he is playing his strongest hockey.