With Knies out, McMann gets a chance with Leafs top line
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The Maple Leafs practised at Ford Performance Centre on Friday before travelling to Ottawa.
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Leafs winger Matthew Knies will miss Saturday's game against the Ottawa Senators with an upper-body injury.
"I don't know how long it will be," head coach Craig Berube said. "It's a tough one to tell right now."
Knies, who got hurt while throwing a hit on Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko during the second period of Wednesday's game, skated on his own prior to the team's practice on Friday. The 6-foot-3, 227-pound NHL sophomore is listed as day-to-day.
Bobby McMann moved up to take Knies' spot on the top line beside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
"Him and Kniesy are similar," Matthews said. "They're both really big bodies. They play that power forward game. You know he's going to be at the net. He hounds pucks. I think it's going to be a pretty easy transition."
"Nothing really changes," McMann, who stands 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, insisted. "Just trying to continue to play my game, continue to do what's been effective for me, and hopefully that supports the line and supports those guys."
Knies is second on the team with 16 even-strength goals. McMann is fifth with 12.
"He should be doing the same thing that Kniesy did," Berube advised. "Get in there on the forecheck, create loose pucks, go to the net, all the work there. He's done that throughout the season so that could be a good fit."
McMann had a three-game point streak snapped during Wednesday's loss to the Jackets.
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With Knies out, Max Domi is moving to the top power-play unit. He practised in the bumper spot on Friday.
"Max is a smart player," Matthews said. "Sees the ice really well. He can put himself into good positions to not only shoot, but distribute the puck from the centre of the ice. When you see successful power plays that bumper guy's a really important fixture and I thought he was moving it really good today."
Domi has just three goals on the season and has gone 15 straight games without scoring. Berube has urged the winger to get to the middle of the ice and the new power-play role may help in that regard.
"Max looked good in the bumper today," Berube said. "He's a guy that can use his shot in there, and I want Max around the net too. He has an ability to score some goals around there, so I think that's a good spot for him. He's got to understand that when there's shots taken, get to the net and find some loose pucks and rebounds."
Domi has 17 points in 41 games with only two coming on the power play.
Even with Knies joining John Tavares (lower body) and Max Pacioretty (upper body) on the sideline, the Leafs are sticking with a five-forward look with Marner as the quarterback on the top unit.
"They've been producing," said Berube. "Obviously not last game. There were opportunities last game that we could've shot a little bit more and we didn't."
The power play converted on four of seven chances during wins over the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, but failed to connect on three opportunities against the Jackets. Berube pulled the top unit off the ice around the one-minute mark during all three power plays on Wednesday.
"They got a minute and I didn't see enough going on," the coach said. "Listen, if they're getting some great chances and it's going well I'll keep them out there, but it's gotta be earned."
McMann, who had been playing in the bumper spot, moved to the net-front station with the top unit on Friday.
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Toronto's forward depth is being tested at the moment with Knies, Tavares, Pacioretty, Connor Dewar (upper body) and Calle Jarnkrok (groin and sports hernia surgery) out.
The good news, though, is that Matthews is heating up.
"Every time it's on his stick I'm expecting it to go in now," said veteran winger Ryan Reaves, "just like last year where it was like he couldn't miss. It looked like he was playing a video game out there and it looks like he's doing it again, so it's good to see."
Matthews scored 69 goals last season en route to his third Rocket Richard Trophy.
Matthews has racked up nine goals and six assists in 10 games since returning from injured reserve on Jan. 4. It looks like the upper-body injury which popped up in training camp and cost him 15 games this season is finally behind him.
"I just see the speed," Berube said. "He looks like he's really healthy and strong on pucks, physical, winning battles, and using his shot, but it's the speed and the pace that he's playing with that that I notice the most ... I'm thinking back to camp and at the start, that's what I see right now."
Matthews has scored in five straight games.
"I've been feeling good," the Arizona native said. "I think that's the most important part, obviously. You just want to keep it that way, keep progressing, keep just getting better as the season goes along here."
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The Senators have failed to score in a couple losses this week to the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins, but Ottawa always seems to get up for the Battle of Ontario.
"We got to be emotionally invested in the game," warned Berube. "That's the biggest thing for me. They're going to be emotionally invested for sure."
The Senators entered Saturday's game sitting one point outside a playoff spot.
"They're a good team," Berube continued. "They come hard and they got good young players. It's going to be a hard game. We're going to have to work and check and do our job. Last time they were in this building they took advantage of us, so we got to be emotionally invested in the game and get to our game as quickly as possible in that building."
The Senators beat the Leafs 3-0 back on Nov. 12 in the first meeting between the teams this season.
The Leafs faced a similar challenge last Saturday when they faced a playoff-hungry Canadiens team in Montreal. Toronto fell behind 3-0 in the first period before rallying to win 7-3.
"Similar game in my opinion," said Berube. "We got a lot of fans there that are going to be cheering for us and we gotta give them something to cheer about."
There's always a big contingent of Leafs fans inside the Canadian Tire Centre for these games.
"It's always a fun atmosphere there," said Matthews, who famously scored a record four goals during his NHL debut in Ottawa. "A lot of blue and white in the stands. I expect it's going to be loud. It's going to be rowdy. It's going to be an intense game."
The last game between these teams in Ottawa ended with fireworks as Ridly Greig sealed a Senators win with a slap shot into an empty net before being confronted and crosschecked up high by Morgan Rielly, who was hit with a five-game suspension.
"Rivals that don't like each other," said Reaves. "These games always seem to get heated. Obviously a lot of Toronto fans like to travel down there so always a split barn, which is always nice. Toronto fans usually travel pretty nicely so I expect it to be a fun game tomorrow."
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Reaves dropped the gloves with Mathieu Olivier and recorded his first fight of the season on Wednesday.
"It's obviously a frustrating season for the fights," Reaves said. "Didn't know how I was going go, but felt like I was midseason form with it. Technique felt good, punching felt good, and it a little bit of a weight off my shoulders to be honest. It felt like I could play after that."
Reaves landed two hits and a season high two shots on net against the Jackets. He logged eight minutes and seven seconds, which was two minutes more than his average in four games since the calendar flipped to 2025.
"Honestly, I felt like that was probably my best game of the year," he said. "I had a lot of chances and our line was in the offensive zone for most of the game."
The heavyweight tilt with Olivier certainly seemed to lift the Leafs bench and Toronto ended up outshooting Columbus 15-7 in the opening 20 minutes.
But Matthews felt like the crowd reaction was underwhelming.
"Would've liked a little more energy from the crowd after that," Matthews said. "It was a little quiet tonight especially after two guys like that go at it."
Reaves appreciated the captain having his back.
"He's one guy I see the most fired up on the bench after when I rewatch them," Reaves said. "Obviously have a lot of respect for him and the way he leads this team and the things he says and how he sticks up for everybody."
What did Reaves think of the crowd response?
"I heard them chanting 'Reavo!' during the fight, which was nice," the 37-year-old said. "This crowd can be good. Sometimes they don't have it just like sometimes we don't have it, but we like when they bring the energy. We like to feed off of it, for sure, so I'm expecting a big game out of them next game."
The Leafs host the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday. It will be Toronto's final home game until Feb. 22, which is after the 4 Nations Face-Off.
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Anthony Stolarz took part in a couple drills at the start of practice on Friday before leaving the ice. It was the 30-year-old goalie's first session with teammates since undergoing a knee procedure on Dec. 18.
"He's doing great," Berube said. "It's very encouraging news. He's out there moving around, going down, and stuff like that so he's in a good spot right now."
The initial timeline for Stolarz's return was four to six weeks. The six-week mark will be on Wednesday.
"I don't think it's going to be a whole lot longer," Berube said.
Stolarz started strong with the Leafs this season posting a .927 save percentage in 17 games before getting hurt in a game on Dec. 12.
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Joseph Woll is carrying the load for the Leafs with Stolarz out.
It's been a light week so far for Woll, who picked up the win on Monday against Tampa Bay before getting Tuesday's practice off and backing up Dennis Hildeby on Wednesday. On Thursday night, Woll relaxed by attending a Kygo concert.
"I love his melodies," Woll said. "It's unbelievable how creative he is and how much emotion he can write into his melodies and that's something that's not easy. I look up to him a ton in terms of music."
The Norwegian DJ and music producer inspired a design on Woll's mask.
"I have his piano, he did a concert on Troll's Tongue, so I have it on my helmet," the 26-year-old said. "We made a Kygo helmet to give him which is pretty sweet. The only difference is instead of the Leaf we put a big Kygo logo on top. It was really amazing to meet him."
The exchange happened in the Leafs dressing room before the concert at Scotiabank Arena.
"During that time the manager, Mike, was asking if I wanted to go sing 'Stargazing,'" Woll said. "I warned him I'm not much of a singer. I can maybe play the piano or something for it, but singing was the only option. So, yeah, went up."
Luckily Marner was along for the ride.
"We got Mitch to come up too," Woll said. "I think it would've been a lot more nerve wracking if it was just me up there. Mitch helped me out a bit."
What was it like?
"It was actually fine," Woll said. "Most nerve-wracking thing was right when they asked me. I was like, 'I hope I know the words.' So I made sure I knew the words ... We didn't know we'd be up there for the whole song so that was maybe the most nerve wracking because I got to make sure I'm jumping around and looking pumped on the stage. It was pretty fun."
The video of Woll and Marner singing and dancing on stage made waves on social media and even reached Berube, who decided to play it for the whole team ahead of Friday's practice.
"Not very good," Berube critiqued with a smile. "Stick to playing the piano."
Woll plays the piano quite well.
"That's why I was surprised with the rhythm that came out of him there," said Reaves. "He's great at the piano. I know he DJs a little bit. He makes music on the side. Hopefully he just doesn't get caught dancing to his music anymore."
The video had some teammates cringing.
"Yeah, it was something," Matthews said with a chuckle. "I don't know, I could only watch it once."
Woll is also an outdoorsy type, which is another reason Kygo inspires him.
"His newest album, he had his whole album performed on Troll's Tongue," Woll noted. "It's a landscape in Norway where he's from and so I put the piano [on my mask and] basically the ledge overlooking this huge valley with mountains and stuff. I threw that on there. It fit the theme. I have like a mountain on the other side. I wanted to make sure I had mountains, outdoors, and music so it fit."
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The injury to Knies has opened the door for Jacob Quillan to make his NHL debut on Saturday. The undrafted 22-year-old from Nova Scotia, who was signed out of Quinnipiac University last April, skated on a line with Fraser Minten and Reaves on Friday.
"He has great speed and is a strong kid," said Berube. "Use your abilities, your skating, and be simple with the puck. He can disrupt things with his speed and his body."
Quillan has six goals and nine assists in 35 games with the Toronto Marlies this season.
"He plays with a lot of intensity," observed Matthews. "He has really good skill and he works extremely hard. He's been having a really good year down with the Marlies. I was really impressed with him in camp this year. I just think he plays with a lot of energy with his skill. He makes hard plays and plays a hard game so it's going to be good to see him get out there tomorrow."
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Lines at Leafs practice:
McMann - Matthews - Marner
Domi - Holmberg - Nylander
Lorentz - Kampf - Robertson
Quillan - Minten - Reaves
Ekman-Larsson - Tanev
Rielly - McCabe
Benoit - Myers
Hakanpaa - Timmins
Woll
Murray
Power play units at Leafs practice:
QB: Marner
Flanks: Matthews, Nylander
Bumper: Domi
Net front: McMann
QB: Rielly
Flanks: Ekman-Larsson, Nylander
Bumper: Robertson
Net front: Minten