Matthew Knies Credits Former Leaf Teammate For Breakout Performance Versus Tampa Bay

Matthew Knies was a major piece in the Leafs comeback victory against the Lightning.

Matthew Knies scored the opening goal for the Leafs and tallied two more assists to continue his strong game.

Matthew Knies was named player of the game by the Leafs and rightfully so.

When asked about the game, Knies revealed that former Leaf, Ryan O'Reilly (A.K.A "Factor") was the key to his success. O'Reilly worked with Knies on knocking pucks down while he was a member of the Leafs.

Matthew Knies commitment to making his game more complete and be the best player to the Leafs. Learning that one thing from a veteran of the league allowed Knies to score a goal and spark the comeback.

Despite the Leafs record, there have been some very big problems on the Leafs roster. The most obvious issue has been the downfall of Ilya Samsonov.

Samsonov who was a lock to be the starter this season, has since been demoted to the backup to Joseph Woll. Samsonov's struggles continued last night as he was pulled after allowing four goals on 12 shots.

Samsonov has just two wins in seven games started with a 4.11 goals against average and a 0.855% save percentage. The other large glaring issue is the struggles of the defense core, especially new Leaf, John Klingberg.

Klingberg has struggled in his own end and has failed to produce enough offense to back up his poor play in the defensive zone.

As Seen on Maple Leafs Daily -
Matthew Knies credits a former Leaf for his huge performance against the Lightning