Matthew Knies' Suspension Fate Confirmed by the Department of Player Safety
The Department of Player Safety confirmed Matthew Knies' suspension fate after a controversial hit on New Jersey Devils defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic last Tuesday.
An overtime period was needed to determine the winner in Tuesday night's game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New Jersey Devils.
Anthony Stolarz and Auston Matthews took things into their own hands, and the Leafs won 2-1 against the Leafs' former head coach Sheldon Keefe.
The Leafs were able to count on Matthew Knies in the overtime period despite the massive hit he landed on Devils' defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic earlier in the game.
Indeed, Knies hit his opponent from behind and sent him head-first on the boards, making him fall on the ice.
Kovacevic remained lying on the ice while his teammates took care of Knies in a scrum.
Then, the Leafs player was sent to the penalty box for two minutes, even though some believed he deserved to be ejected from the game.
Watch Knies' controversial hit here:
Yesterday, fans waited for an update from the NHL's Department of Player Safety, but as the 5 pm deadline passed, nothing was announced.
This indicates that the League decided to exempt Knies from further consequences for what he did to Kovacevic.
Knies is currently on his way to having the best season of his young career, with 10 goals and six assists in 26 games.
The Maple Leafs will be looking to build on that win tonight against the Anaheim Ducks in Toronto.
With a win, Craig Berube's team could tie the Florida Panthers at the top of the Atlantic Division. For that to happen, the Panthers will need to lose their game against the Vancouver Canucks tonight.
Meanwhile, we should also have an update to report on Alex Nylander's fate in a few hours, after he was placed on waivers by the Leafs yesterday.
| POLL | ||
DÉCEMBRE 12 | 104 ANSWERS Matthew Knies' Suspension Fate Confirmed by the Department of Player Safety Do you think Matthew Knies deserved to be suspended by the Department of Player Safety for his controversial hit on New Jersey Devils' defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic? | ||
| Yes | 63 | 60.6 % |
| No | 41 | 39.4 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mark Scheifele | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Kyle Connor | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Sidney Crosby | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | - | 4 | 4 | |
| Dylan Holloway | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jonathan Marchessault | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Brad Marchand | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Kirill Marchenko | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Rickard Rakell | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Filip Forsberg | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Sean Monahan | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Zachary Werenski | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Michael Bunting | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Elias Pettersson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| John Tavares | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Charlie Coyle | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 36 | 25 | 10 | 1 | 51 | |
Golden Knights | 34 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 49 | |
Devils | 37 | 23 | 11 | 3 | 49 | |
Capitals | 34 | 23 | 9 | 2 | 48 | |
Wild | 35 | 21 | 10 | 4 | 46 | |
Panthers | 36 | 22 | 12 | 2 | 46 | |
Oilers | 34 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 44 | |
Maple Leafs | 35 | 21 | 12 | 2 | 44 | |
Hurricanes | 34 | 21 | 12 | 1 | 43 | |
Kings | 34 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 43 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||