Maple Leafs players livid following Zach Whitecloud's dirty hit on Matthew Knies
The Toronto Maple Leafs faced good challenges during their victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night when forward Matthew Knies left the game with an injury.
The incident occurred in the second period when Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud delivered a high hit at center ice, which left Knies visibly shaken and unable to return after the period.
Whitecloud was initially assessed a major penalty for the hit, but the penalty was overturned after the officials deemed it clean.
While the decision stood, the Leafs bench was impacted by the loss of Knies who has been instrumental this season with eight goals and four assists in 20 games.
Head coach Craig Berube provided little detail after the game by only confirming that Knies sustained an upper-body injury and that more information would be available on Thursday:
The Leafs are already battling injuries to several forwards and rallied around the incident.
Goaltender Joseph Woll explained how the team frustration helped the team to win:
Knies' injury has raised concerns because of his concussion history which includes a postseason-ending hit from Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett during his rookie year.
Teammates expressed hope for a positive outcome and William Nylander commented on the emotional toll, while Fraser Minten said:
As the Leafs await updates on Knies, the team faces another test with an already injury-depleted roster.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 21 | 384 ANSWERS Maple Leafs players livid following Zach Whitecloud's dirty hit on Matthew Knies Do you think the penalty to Zach Whitecloud should have stood? | ||
| Yes | 360 | 93.8 % |
| No | 24 | 6.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
