Matthew Knies Drops Hilarious Take on His New Playoff Role with the Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs have to be feeling very confident heading into Game 4 of the Battle of Ontario. Back to back OT wins thanks to two unlikely heroes (Max Domi and Simon Benoit) and an Ottawa team who has taken to desperate measures in order to try and gain every little advantage has Toronto in a good spot.

But with the series 3-0 Leafs, and the Core Four also being another big factor thanks to another Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner bit of magic, though there was one person who ended up making a huge difference in the OT winner, that being the young Matthew Knies.

If you take a look at Benoit's goal, you can see Matthew Knies setting a screen perfectly in front of Linus Ullmark, giving him no chance whatsoever to make a save.

It was a huge assist albeit indirectly, and speaking to reporters post-game, Knies gave some funny insights into how he's supposed to play:

Knies more than anyone knows his own body, and for his 6'3, 227-pound frame to move as quick as it does, he certainly does a good job at making sure he sits firmly in the slot, using his ability to comfortably deflect defenders at will.

He's a tree trunk on skates, and for a goaltender like Ullmark, who himself is 6'4, it's a fantastic bit of awareness for Knies to take advantage of a leaning Ullmark and blind him just enough for Benoit to slap it in.

Knies has two goals in three games thus far, both of them coming via the man advantage, and is a plus-3 with four blocks and five hits. He's not a part of the Core Four in theory, but he's such a huge part of the top line it's hard to see Matthews and Marner succeeding as well without him.

So park that keister Matthew Knies, it's going to lead you to a lot more success in the future, and might be the reason he lifts the Stanley Cup at the end of it all.