Knies has concussion, could be out remainder of series for Maple Leafs

TORONTO --Matthew Knies will not play in the next two games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference Second Round and could be out for the remainder of the series because of a concussion.

The forward left a 3-2 loss in Game 2 against the Florida Panthers on Thursday at 16:23 of the first period after taking a hit from Sam Bennett and being tackled to the ice.

The Panthers lead the best-of-7 series, 2-0. Game 3 is at FLA Live Arena on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET; TBS, CBC, SN, TVAS).

"Knies has been diagnosed with a concussion so he will definitely be out for both Game 3 and 4," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said Friday. "I guess you can call him day to day. Beyond that, given symptoms and such, I'd say unlikely to return in the series. We will give him some time to recover and see how that goes but he is ruled out for the next two games."

Knies, who started Game 2 at left wing on a line with center Ryan O'Reilly and right wing Noel Acciari, has four points (one goal, three assists) in seven Stanley Cup Playoff games.

"Matty's doing great. I think he's doing better every day. Good to see," Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said Sunday. "Obviously, he's played well since coming in here considering his age & circumstances. Obviously hate seeing him be out but he's doing much, much better & continues to progress well."

Knies signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs on April 9, one day after he and the University of Minnesota lost 3-2 in overtime to Quinnipiac University in the NCAA Frozen Four championship game. He made his NHL debut April 10 and had one assist in three regular-season games.

"Matt has proven to improve the depth of our team; we believe we are a better team when he is in," Keefe said. "But all that said, we were a very good team before he arrived on scene here. We will make some adjustments accordingly, but we've got full confidence in our group."

Keefe did not say who would replace Knies in the lineup, but said dressing 11 forwards and seven defensemen remains a consideration. Toronto used 11 forwards and seven defensemen once previously in the playoffs, in their series-clinching a 2-1 overtime win in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

RELATED: [Complete Maple Leafs vs. Panthers series coverage]

"We consider it every game," Keefe said. "We talk about it, it's a topic in our coaches room, and we only used it the one game in the Tampa series. But it was a discussion daily. It will be a topic tomorrow when we go in and get set for Game 3, but it's always on the table for us."

Regardless of how the Maple Leafs move forward without Knies, they must find a way to dig themselves out of a 2-0 series deficit against the Panthers. Toronto is 1-4 at home in the playoffs but is 3-0 on the road.

"We believe we can play well and win on the road," Keefe said. "In terms of the series itself, it's no different than when you approach Game 1 or Game 2, you can't look at anything beyond the game ahead, and we believe we can win one game. Winning one game obviously changes things significantly so that will be our focus to just get us as prepared as we can for that one game upcoming here."

The Panthers will remain without Ryan Lomberg (week to week) for Game 3 after the forward sustained an upper-body injury in Game 4 of the first round against the Boston Bruins. Defenseman Josh Mahura's status is uncertain after taking a shot to the face from Maple Leafs forward William Nylander at 14:13 of the second period in Game 2. He left the game but returned for four shifts in the third period.

"Mahura took a pretty nasty cut to the face," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "He returned. He's not going to be feeling too fresh this morning. But other than that, we're not too worried."

Despite losing each game at home, Keefe said the Maple Leafs remain confident they can get themselves back into the series.

"Our group has been resilient," Keefe said. "We saw that hardness in the last series when we were down in games and the guys stayed with it, kept going and find a way. It will be a very similar type of mindset and approach. ... We certainly don't have any doubts in our group. Our group remains confident, our staff remains confident, and obviously there are things we need to do better and would have liked to handle better in the two games we played here. But those are in the past."