» LEAF TAKEAWAYS: Matthew Knies catches Lightning in a bottle

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The win that could turn out to be the most important for the Maple Leafs’ first-place hopes was one of their most difficult this season.

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Playing Tampa Bay back-to-back after a loss to the Stanley Cup champions in Sunrise, Fla., with the Bolts ready to tie Toronto with a regulation win, required a full 24-hour reset and the Leafs did it.

Our takeaways from a 4-3 overtime thriller that moved the Leafs to 100 points and opened a three-point lead on Tampa and six on the Panthers for home ice in any series:

THAT’S A KNIES FINISH

He hits, he fights, he shoots, he scores.

What’s not to like about Matthew Knies, that ‘other’ Arizonan on the Leafs top line, now on the verge of 30 goals? His first ever overtime goal was of the highlight variety, having just tried a bold between-the-legs pass to Morgan Rielly that would’ve been a thrilling winner itself. Rielly circled to retrieve his own rebound in the corner, fed it to Auston Matthews who, instead of shooting, fed it to Knies for the tap-in.

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All three of his goals came on the doorstep where he doesn’t mind wiping his boots. He’s the first Leaf with three goals and a roughing minor in a game since Niklas Hagman in 2009 according to NHL Stats.

“He’s just a confident person in general,” said Matthews. “He has a pretty good idea of who he is and what makes him successful and he really leans into that. He’s got a big personality and all the guys on the team really get a laugh out of him. He brings great energy into the room every day.”

Knies returned the compliment, having signed two years to the day after leaving the University of Minnesota.

“I’ve learned from the leadership, a lot of guys here who played a lot of years in this league,” he said. “I just have follow their footsteps.

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“I’ve said I want to play my best hockey at this time of year and I think it’s really coming along.”

Ten goals in nine career games against the Lightning would make him Public Enemy No. 1 in Tampa if the Leafs play them at some point in playoffs. And Matthews would be a handful for the Panthers or Ottawa Senators, too.

DIALING FOR STOLARZ

It was a 1 and 1A horse race most of the year in the Leafs net, especially when it took Anthony Stolarz a little while to get fully healthy from minor knee surgery. While Joseph Woll wasn’t the reason Toronto lost the night before in giving up just two goals, Stolarz surrendered just one even-strength in winning his sixth straight.

When he stopped Brayden Point on an overtime breakaway and then stared down Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov, it was more evidence the veteran is best prepared to take the Game 1 reins against whoever the Leafs play. Not to say Woll doesn’t get back in at some point of a series after playing the Bruins last year and as the rotation has worked so well, but Stolarz just seems to have everything, even luck, going his way with four games remaining.

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Stolarz said he figured with all the speed the right-shooting Point was coming in on him with, the Bolts star would try over the pad and under glove.

“I kind of just threw everything out there. (Kucherov) can make plays not many guys can make,” Stolarz said. “We did a good job taking away his time and space. I think he got an apple (assist), but at the end of the day, he’s a dynamic player.

“Right now, it’s all about the two points. We’re battling for the division, for home ice and to be able to beat a team of this calibre on the second of a back-to-back, we have to continue to build on that.”

LIFE OF RIELLY

Defenceman Rielly, who was part of the breakdown on a goal in Florida, could’ve been under the hot spotlight again when Point took the puck from him on the breakaway. Yet he led Toronto with seven of their season-high 33 shot blocks and had an assist on the winner as Craig Berube trusted him with Tampa’s most dangerous forwards out during 3-on-3 play.

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The most interesting part of the Leafs defence, aside from them all embracing Chris Tanev’s rubber-eating role, was Berube’s new pairings. Simon Benoit and Chris Tanev, Philippe Myers and Oliver Ekman-Larsson and some mixing of Rielly and Brandon Carlo with the others gave the coach a look at other options as the team survived another game without the injured Jake McCabe.

Tampa did hit the net 28 times as the Leafs struggled to clear at times, but it was some good intel for the staff. Still to be determined is if Jani Hakanpaa can make a depth contribution once the end of regular season allows the big blueliner to return from salary cap restrictions.

Lhornby@postmedia.com

X: @sunhornby

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