Toronto Maple Leafs winger Matthew Knies was absent from Thursday’s morning skate ahead of their game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The 23-year-old American has 12 goals and 26 assists over 43 games this season, his fourth in Toronto.
In other lineup news, forward Nick Robertson, who missed Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Utah Mammoth after blocking a shot against the Colorado Avalanche a night prior, returned to the ice on Thursday’s for Toronto’s skate.
Joseph Woll was in the starter’s net.
This will the Maple Leafs’ first game against winger Mitch Marner, who joined Vegas this summer after an up-and-down nine-year run in Toronto.
Marner and the Golden Knights are in Toronto next Friday.
The Maple Leafs used a recent 10-game point streak to jump back into the playoff hunt and currently sit one point behind the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins for the wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference.
Maple Leafs’ Practice Lines
Lines at Leafs skate
F
McMann – Matthews – Domi
Maccelli – Tavares – Nylander
Cowan – Roy – Robertson
Lorentz – Laughton – Jarnkrok
D
Rielly – Carlo
McCabe – Ekman-Larsson
Benoit – Stecher
Benning – Myers
G
Woll
Hildeby
Stolar