What Matthews, Marner and Nylander Can Learn From Matthew Knies

"I was telling him he's the strongest guy on the ice. He's 21 years old and he's an absolute horse out there."

It has taken less than a year. But already, rookie Matthew Knies appears to have learned something that Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander haven't been able to figure out in six years with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Skill doesn't always win you games at this time of year.

No, in order to go far — further than the first two rounds of the playoffs — you need to grab your lunch pail and put on your hardhat and play with heart.

At the age of 21, Knies has already learned this. A year ago, the Leafs rookie came straight out of college and was too weak and too experienced to be effective in the playoffs. He spent too much time getting knocked down. In a second-round series against Florida, he took a hit from Sam Bennett and was knocked out of the series.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xbk-AyPYw4[/embed]

But give the youngster credit.

The version of Knies that fans saw score the OT winner in a 2-1 win against the Boston Bruins in Game 5, has grown up considerably. He's now a man. Well, a beast might be a better adjective for how dominant Knies was physically.

"All series long he's been a force to be reckoned with," Leafs teammates Jake McCabe told The Hockey News' David Alter. "And I was telling him he's the strongest guy on the ice. He's 21 years old and he's an absolute horse out there.

"Does a lot of great work for us on the forecheck and he's been starting to kill penalties and to see him to get rewarded there with the G-Dub, it's fitting for a guy that's been working his tail off all series."

If you're Matthews, Marner or Nylander, it's time to take notice.

This is what Leafs fans want from you. This is what the playoffs demand of you.

Toronto is not a complicated hockey market. Leafs fans have always had a soft spot for prickly players like Wendel Clark, Tie Domi and Darcy Tucker. Given the choice, they have always preferred Doug Gilmour and Gary Roberts over Alex Mogilny and Mats Sundin.

Goals matter. But so do hits. More importantly, so does heart.

Which is why Knies, who has two goals, has already become a fan favorite, less because of his overtime goal that extended the Leafs season in Game 5 of a first-round series against the Boston Bruins, but more because of his ability to insert himself into the fight — not run from it.

That was Knies who went hard to the front of the net and banged in a rebound off a John Tavares one-handed backhand — something that we have not seen enough from Toronto's star forwards.

That was Knies who delivered three hits.

And that was Knies who put himself in the middle of a scrum between Morgan Rielly and David Pastrnak, jawing at the Bruins winger to "Go me! Go me!"

This is how you win the support of fans. It's how you win a playoff series. At the end of the day, it's how you win the Stanley Cup.

Go through the list of winners in the past 10 or so years and a familiar pattern will emerge. You can't win without grit. No one skates and skills their way to a championship. You need to grind. You need to go into the dirty areas.

Hell, you need to sometimes play a little dirty.

It is why the Leafs picked up not only Ryan Reaves in the off-season, but also signed Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi, and then traded for Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmondson at the deadline.

In Game 5, with Matthews out of the lineup and 25-year-old backup goalie Joseph Woll in net, all of them made a positive impact.

There was nothing flashy about how the Leafs played. They limited Boston's chances. They back-checked and battled for pucks. They stayed discipline. And, with their series on the line, they kept things simple.

McCabe, who led the Leafs with eight hits, scored Toronto's other goal on a pass from Domi. On Knies' goal, Lyubushkin had an assist. Even Tavares put on his hard hat, delivering seven hits and taking the puck hard to the net — rather than circle wide — on the winning goal.

“That was a pretty incredible play by (Tavares) there to drive the net and make that play happen,” Knies said. “It all started with him, and then it kind of just fell in my stick and I was fortunate to bury that one and send us back home.”

The question is whether the Leafs can learn from their rookie.

Can Marner, who didn't deliver a single bodycheck in Game 5, play with passion? Can Nylander, who didn't block a single shot, sacrifice his body? Can Matthews, who has missed the past four periods with a mysterious ailment, will himself back into the series?

Can they play with heart — not just skill?

If so, this series might not be done just yet.