Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies left practice early on Wednesday with an apparent lower-body injury, but it appears he escaped a major scare.
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters afterward that Knies “looks good” and has not been ruled out for Thursday’s game against the New York Islanders.
“I kind of saw it but it looked pretty innocent, like he just kind of tweaked something,” Keefe said. “He was obviously fearful that it was something bad but sometimes these things settle down and that seems to be the case, but we won’t really know until it really settles, probably when he wakes up tomorrow and he sees where he’s at.”
The six-foot-three rookie, who was helped off the ice at practice, has eight goals and seven assists in 36 games this season.
Knies was skating on the top line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner at practice.
Picked in the second round (57th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft by Toronto, Knies joined the Leafs late last season after leading Minnesota to the NCAA final.
Knies was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as NCAA player of the year.
Knies also played for the United States at the 2022 Olympics and World Junior Championship.
