Matthew Knies sustained a lower-body injury in training camp, and the ailment has not gotten any better. The Leafs may be forced to make a hard decision to rest him at some point.
Matthew Knies' status for the Toronto Maple Leafs' 6-3 loss against the Minnesota Wild on Monday was in doubt, but the power forward gritted his way into the lineup despite being a game-time decision with a lingering lower-body injury he has been dealing with since training camp.
After the game, Knies was candid in speaking about the ailment.
"It's one of those where the more you play, the more wear and tear there is—it's not really going to get better," Knies explained. "The Christmas break obviously helped a lot, and it's a pretty tough schedule we have right now with this month, playing every other day, so recovery is pretty important... It's been honestly shitty, but I gotta do my best to prepare as best I can."
Knies missed three games in November to rest the undisclosed ailment. That rest seemed to help Knies as well, but it's clear the forward is looking ahead to the Olympic Break when the NHL calendar will shut down for three weeks. However, until that time, the Leafs will have a tough decision to make regarding Knies.
The player admitted he's dealing with pain and discomfort.
"It's just getting it ready, getting it warmed up. And yeah, I mean, obviously it doesn't hinder my ability to play," Knies said. "I'm here, I'm playing, I'm a part of the group. But just really haven't felt to 100% for quite a while now. We have a big break coming up. So I'm just going to try to use it to recover to the best of my ability and try to be back and help this team."
Toronto is already without William Nylander, who is dealing with a groin injury, and the loss of another top-six forward could be costly. At the same time, the Leafs are facing pressure to try and get back into a playoff spot. Their loss on Monday kept them on the outside looking in of a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. If the 23-year-old Knies is telling the Leafs he can play, they're going to use him.
Of course, Toronto will be monitoring the situation, even if that means resting him for a game or two for his own good. "It came close tonight," Head Coach Craig Berube said about resting Knies. "He was a game-time decision, so we'll see going forward." Knies is currently fourth in team scoring with 12 goals and 29 assists in 46 games this season.