Maple Leafs' Knies out day-to-day; Stolarz progressing well
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Toronto Maple Leafs winger Matthew Knies is considered day-to-day with the upper-body injury he suffered against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday, head coach Craig Berube told the media on Friday.
Berube added that he doesn't know when Knies will return to action.
"I don't know how long it will be. Yeah, it's a tough one to tell right now," he said.
Knies was not on the bench to start the third period and the team announced shortly thereafter that he would not return to the game. The 22-year-old took 12 shifts and played 13:41 before exiting Wednesday’s contest. He did not register a point and was credited with three hits during the game.
The Phoenix native has appeared in 47 games this season for the Leafs and has 18 goals and 13 assists with a minus-2 rating.
Knies was selected by Toronto 57th overall in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft.
Here is how the Leafs' practice lines looked on Friday via TSN's Mark Masters.
Forwards
McMann - Matthews - Marner
Domi - Holmberg - Nylander
Lorentz - Kampf - Robertson
Quillan - Minten - Reaves
Defence
Ekman-Larsson - Tanev
Rielly - McCabe
Benoit - Myers
Hakanpaa - Timmins
Goalies
Woll
Murray
Anthony Stolarz Progressing Well
In other injury news, Berube revealed that goalie Anthony Stolarz is probably ahead of schedule in his recovery and isn't expected to be sidelined "a whole lot longer."
"He’s in a good spot right now. Maybe a little ahead of schedule, I’m not sure exactly on that, but I don’t think it’s going to be a whole lot longer," said Berube.
On Friday, Stolarz took part in Leafs practice for the first time since sustaining a knee injury last month. He departed after participating in a couple of drills.
Stolarz, 31, hasn't played since Dec. 12 as he works to get himself back in the lineup from a knee injury. He was originally expected to miss four to six weeks with the injury.
In his first season with the Maple Leafs, the American has posted a 2.15 goals-against average and .927 save percentage over 17 games.
The Maple Leafs currently sit atop the Atlantic Division with a 30-17-2 record and 62 points in 49 games, three points better than the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
Toronto welcomes the Ottawa Senators to town on Saturday night.