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There is no historical rivalry between the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights that would have set up such a nasty game in mid-November.
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But it evolved into an intense affair: Toronto took away a 3-0 win, putting it in first place in the Atlantic. Our takeaways:
UNLUCKY SEVEN
Matthew Knies became the seventh Leafs forward to get knocked from the lineup, thanks to six injuries and Ryan Reaves drawing a five-game suspension.
Coach Craig Berube was irate at the bench when several replays showed Zach Whitecloud leaving his feet to rock the oncoming Knies with his shoulder. Berube’s anger grew moments later when Simon Benoit wound up with an extra minor for jumping Whitecloud, but the win tempered him afterwards.
“My view of the hit … it’s a tough call,” Berube said. “I’m not going to sit here and comment on the league, They thought it was a clean hit (after a long conference with a replay monitor) so there’s nothing you can comment on, really nothing to say.”
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Knies didn’t come out for the third period and Berube wouldn’t reply to a question about a possible concussion.
“He’s upper body right now and I think tomorrow will tell us more,” the coach said.
RALLY CAPS
The Knies injury had a galvanizing effect on the Leafs all the way to goalie Joseph Woll, who compared the win to a playoff game.
“It wasn’t a good thing he was hurt, but definitely sparked some energy,” Woll said. “Sometimes anger and those things can be used to drive you through a game and I was just happy to see us shut them down after something like that.
“I was pretty pissed and tried to harness it as best I could.”
Without Reaves and Max Domi, the Leafs showed belligerence. Jake McCabe was going out of his way to bump the Knights and get at Whitecloud.
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‘We initiated early, guys didn’t shy away,” Berube observed.
Benoit, who was already surly after sitting a couple of games so the team could get a look at Jani Hakanpaa, dished out eight of Toronto’s 23 hits.
“I thought he was excellent tonight, more aggressive than he has been,” Berube said. “Not only physical and closing out plays, but he moved in the offensive zone and advanced the puck.”
Woll singled out Steven Lorentz for key shot blocks throughout, two off the same foot moments apart on the same penalty kill, and four of Toronto’s 26.
GREBENKIN BREAKS IN
What an NHL debut for Nikita Grebenkin, called up Tuesday night and getting the Vegas bench riled up by squashing Shea Theodore in the first period, albeit from behind and a little too close to the boards.
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His day ended with a knockabout media scrum as the giddy Russian’s command of English was tested. The Leafs stayed back at warmup to give him the traditional rookie warm-up lap, with the crowd cheering.
“Nice day, long day. I enjoy team win,” he said with a gap-toothed smile. “Thank you team, thank you general manager (Brad Treliving), coach helped me. I waited a long time for NHL play.”
Yes, the 6-foot-2 forward enjoyed the hitting.
“I like hard hockey. The team speak to me, ‘backcheck, forecheck and pay cheque’ (like the old hockey saying),” he quipped.
The studious Woll loves playing with Grebenkin already.
“Most of my read on his personality is from non-verbal cues,” Woll said. “I wish I knew more of what he’s saying because he’s so positive and happy all the time.”
MINTED GOAL
Centre Fraser Minten wasn’t sure where the souvenir puck was going to wind up from his first NHL goal, but he couldn’t have asked for a better feed from William Nylander after he came over the boards on a line change and the Knights lost sight of him.
“I stayed in the quiet ice and I know Willy sees everything,” he said. “I felt more assertive, more confident (than last year’s non-eventful four-game trial). It’s less awe.
“You think about your first goal a lot, but you don’t know how it will happen.”
Lhornby@postmedia.com
X: @sunhornby
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