Early in the 1st period, Leafs rookie Matthew Knies had an awkward collision with Bruins captain Brad Marchand. It appeared as though the two players did not see each other until contact was unavoidable. Unfortunately for the Leafs rookie, he came away with the worse end of the impact as he would eventually leave the ice and go into the Leafs locker room. He would not return to the game.
In a shocking turn of events, the Leafs coach actually defended Marchand. He stated that the collision seemed to be a complete accident and Knies only got the worse of it because he did not see it coming as early as the Bruins captain did. Marchand typically doesn't get much of a pass for anything from the Leafs organization, especially after what happened with Timothy Liljegren earlier this year.
Luckily, it is being reported that Knies was held from returning to the game largely for precautionary reasons. Hopefully, this means he will not miss much time, if any with the team as we head into the most important stretch of the season. The team next plays tomorrow against the Habs.
