Sheldon Keefe praises Matthew Knies for postseason debut

The Toronto Maple Leafs capped back in a huge way against the Tampa Bay Lightning, reversing the tables in nearly identical fashion of what had happened to them in the first game of the series with a dominating 7-2 performance, knotting things up at 1-1 before the two teams shift for Games 3 and 4 in Tampa Bay at Amalie Arena. 

The Leafs were led by captain John Tavares, who netted his first career postseason hat trick. Mitch Marner and William Nylander also tallied, while defenseman Morgan Rielly added four assists. Last night also marked the postseason debut of forward Matthew Knies, who is in the lineup following the three game suspension to Michael Bunting. 

Playing on a line with Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari, head coach Sheldon Keefe had nothing but good things to say about Knies and his first postseason experience despite a 1st period penalty. 

"I thought the line was terrific. We will watch it all back and everything, but it felt to me like they were in the offensive zone — or at least out of trouble — a lot. Matt, in particular, took a penalty in the first period, but I thought he skated well. He was hard on the puck. He made a couple of great offensive plays. It was a real good performance from him. O'Reilly and Acciari were real pros tonight just with how they took care of him and took care of the game when they were out there."

Knies would finish the night with two shots on net while also tying the team lead in hits in the game with five of his own. And needless to say, he was excited about it.

"It was unreal," he said of playing in the playoffs. 

Tampa Bay and Toronto will play Game 3 from Amalie Arena tomorrow starting at 7:00 PM EST.