Knies stands out for Maple Leafs in Game 1 of Eastern 2nd Round

TORONTO -- Matthew Knies was arguably the best player for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.

Unfortunately for the hosts, the rookie and his teammates were outshone by another Matthew in the best-of-7 series opener.

From the opening face-off to the final horn, Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk was dominant, collecting three assists and dishing out nine hits. If the Maple Leafs can't find a way to slow him down, it's going to be difficult to advance beyond this round.

Of course, as the Maple Leafs attempt to gather themselves for Game 2 on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS), they can at least be buoyed by the way Knies continues to improve.

The 20-year-old scored his first NHL goal in spectacular fashion, deking Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky before backhanding a shot with his back to the net at 8:09 of the second period to cut it to 2-1.

As he celebrated the goal, he took a second to reflect on the moment, especially since it came off a feed from Auston Matthews. Knies, after all, is a native of Phoenix and grew up watching Matthews, who'd learned to play his hockey in Arizona and already is a legend there.

"It's a surreal feeling, especially in the playoffs," Knies said. "It was a really cool feeling. And having Auston pass it to me, it's only fitting. Just happy I could get one there."

Especially since it was assisted by Matthews.

"He's a complete player," Knies said. "I think you could put pretty well anyone next to him and they're going to be good players. He makes everyone better. He makes it easier for me, playing in all three zones and creating opportunities for me."

Selected by the Maple Leafs in the second round (No. 57) of the 2021 NHL Draft, the University of Minnesota forward was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the best men's player in NCAA hockey. He had 42 points (21 goals, 21 assists) in 40 games this season.

He had an assist in three regular-season games with the Maple Leafs after his NCAA season concluded. He has four points (one goals, three assists) in his past five Stanley Cup Playoff games and continues to get better.

The fact that Knies was one of Toronto's more dominant players is a good thing.

And a bad one.

For as well as he played, many of his teammates were flat and lacked zeal in their game. As much as you want contributions from a rookie like Knies, you need more from the rest of the roster.

To be fair, Matthews did his share, firing six shots at Bobrovsky. Forward William Nylander led the Maple Leafs with seven, and captain John Tavares chipped in with five. Those three players combined for half of Toronto's 36 shots.

RELATED: [Video: FLA@TOR, Gm1: Knies scores his 1st career goal]

Knies, who had two shots, two hits and one takeaway, said the Maple Leafs learned some things about the Panthers' game plan along the way.

"They stepped up a lot, on their blue line and on our blue line," he said. "I think we've got to get the puck and just manage each line. I think we didn't do a good enough job of that tonight.

"I think that's something we'll look on film. They really stepped up and closed our entries."

As for handling Tkachuk and the rest of his teammates, Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said his players will have to learn from their mistakes.

"Certainly, their pace is high," Keefe said. "I would say it's quicker out there, and they've got a lot of skill that executes at a high rate of speed. I would say that's the biggest difference.

"And also, you can tell they have a lot of confidence right now and are playing real well."

Outside of Knies and Matthews, that's not something you could say about a lot of the Maple Leafs in Game 1.