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How Matthew Knies is thriving in bumper role on Leafs’ new-look power play

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Stop the presses! After the Toronto Maple Leafs hired assistant coach Steve Sullivan on December 26, to replace the outgoing Marc Savard, the team’s once-dormant power play has caught fire. Toronto has scored four goals since Sullivan’s hiring through three games, clicking at a 50 percent rate. While the small sample won’t appease skeptics, or economists, the Leafs are displaying proof of concept that there’s been real change under Sullivan’s oversight. Matthew Knies was moved to the bumper role, and may be the greatest beneficiary of the new changes.

“It wasn’t working at the net-front this year with him,” Berube explained prior to a December 30 game against the New Jersey Devils. “He’s got a good shot. We just kind of moved him and JT and split them up. JT spent a lot of years playing the net-front, and making plays from there and doing good things from around there, so that was the reason for the switch.”

Knies was off to a slow start, relative to his own standards, while accounting for the fact that he still hasn’t entered his prime. In the new role on the power play, Knies is being forced to read and react with quicker intuition, while operating as a playmaker from the mid-range. Berube’s ideal power play consists of Knies and John Tavares jamming home pucks from point-blank range, and the man advantage is now working to their strengths.

Here’s an example from the December 27 game against the Ottawa Senators, where Knies scored on the man advantage. Knies was placed on the second power play unit, in an attempt to provide some greater balance. Nicolas Roy and Nick Robertson establish position in the offensive zone and work the cycle, before getting the puck over to Max Domi. Domi waits patiently on the wing (this is his greatest quality) as Knies inches into the bumper spot, fires the pass over, and like clockwork, the puck is in the back of the net.

Knies spent the morning skate on the power play working out of the bumper, and the Leafs ran a set play, although Domi denied that contention post-game. And this may count as a footnote: Knies scored a very similar goal at 5-on-5 later in the game, cutting through the middle of the ice, before dangling Senators goaltender Leevi Merilainen for a 6-4 lead.

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It was a sign of real balance, after the first power play unit put the Leafs on the board. Matias Maccelli was added to the top unit, and his controlled entries and patience with the puck are easily identifiable. After flubbing an entry briefly, Maccelli worked in conjunction with Tavares to win the puck, getting it quickly to Auston Matthews. Matthews takes one look as William Nylander races to the net, for a picturesque goal. This illustrated the type of chemistry the Maple Leafs were sorely lacking all season, and Knies spoke to this idea after the 7-5 victory over the Senators.

“I mean, obviously, he’s a great player. He’s really good in the bumper,” Maccelli told The Leafs Nation after the morning skate on December 30. “He’s got a great shot. He finds the open ice there, he’s been really good, winning battles in the corner and getting the puck back after shots.”

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“I was in a different spot on my goal, and I think that goal by Willy was just an entry play,” Knies said after the game. “We executed and found a way to score. So, little things like that, execution, structure, be in the right spots, it’s what helped us today.”

Toronto continued this format the following night against the Detroit Red Wings and once again, Knies scored from the bumper. Auston Matthews fired a shot with some velocity that went wide, and Tavares went to work, retrieving the puck from behind the net. It’s an ideal way for Knies to use his combination of speed, size, and soft hands in front of the net.

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“I think it’s a different look,” Knies said following a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on December 30. “I don’t think I’ve been there for quite some time. It’s a different look for us, and creating different opportunities and trying to keep us pretty unpredictable for the other team. I think we’re doing a good job of that and the other unit was doing a heck of a job putting the puck in the back of the net.”

“We’re shooting the puck a little bit more,” Bobby McMann added post-game, coming off his best performance of the year, while working on the team’s second power play unit. “At 5-on-5 we are shooting a little bit more, and I think that translates a little bit on the power play. To score, you’ve got to shoot it, so it’s got to get inside, and we’ve been trying to push into the middle as much as we can.”

“Obviously, he’s done a good job of putting a couple in the last couple of games, and getting some looks there,” Tavares said of Knies after the December 30 morning skate. “We’ve changed a few things up and it’s led to some good opportunities, and the puck going in the net. We want to keep that up, and great to see him playing the way he is and contributing offensively. It’s a big part of his game and he’s a real key player for us in a lot of areas.”

We’ll need to see a larger sample, and the power play’s recent success is a collective accomplishment, but Knies’ new role seems to be the impetus. Knies is using his frame really well, and during morning skates, it’s evident how he can either jam home packs from the inner slot, while working in conjunction with Tavares or Nicolas Roy at the net-front, or turn his back to the net to reset plays back to the point.

“When I watch it, and I am looking at it, it is just more direct and crisp,” Berube said following the December 30 victory. “The passes are better. They’re not looking for a different option. Pucks are going to the net, and we’re recovering and resetting them again. That is the biggest difference I see right now on the power play, and then the goals are around the net. That is where you score goals.”

When Knies is at the top of his game, the Maple Leafs’ offence reaches a new gear. Knies’ role in the bumper has been the accelerant towards the Maple Leafs’ recent uptick, which could be a catalyst towards a real second-half climb through the standings.

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