An injury to Sam Lafferty has advanced the timeline for Matthew Knies’ NHL debut to tonight’s game vs. the Florida Panthers (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet).

Currently carrying just one goaltender and one extra forward in order to accommodate their nine defensemen on the roster and Matthew Knies’ new entry-level contract, short-term injuries to Calle Jarnkrok and now Sam Lafferty have thrown best-laid plans for Knies’ debut out the window. Instead of giving the 20-year-old a day or two to settle in and perhaps take a morning skate with the team first, Knies will make his NHL debut tonight in Florida very shortly after joining the team and clearing medicals.

That means the Leafs will return to 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Knies slotting in on a line with Alex Kerfoot and Noel Acciari, and Luke Schenn dressing as the #7 on the backend. Unable to recall an emergency backup goaltender from the AHL, their backup goaltender will be ATO signing Nick Chenard, whose final season of his OHL career just ended with the Owen Sound Attack’s sweep at the hands of the London Knights.

Certainly, Knies’ debut brings an added layer of intrigue on the Leafs‘ side to a game that’s already very meaningful from the Panthers’ perspective. With their playoff hopes slipping away at the time, Florida scrapping out an overtime win — very much against the run of play over the 60 minutes — in Toronto back on March 29 was the start of an incredible six-game winning streak with their backs against the wall. They’ve outscored their opposition 28-9 over this run.

Florida is now tied with the Islanders for the first wildcard spot with 90 points apiece with two games left to play, and the Penguins are one point back of the Isles and Panthers also with two to play. The Panthers could clinch a playoff spot tonight with a regulation or overtime victory paired with a regulation loss by the Islanders against the Washington Capitals.

Entering that game in Toronto on March 29, goaltender Alex Lyon had lost four of his last five with a .864 save percentage. Including that 3-2 OT win over the Leafs, Lyon has now won six straight with a save percentage of .956 including one shutout. To watch a 30-year-old journeyman in Lyon pull this off at this time of the year under these circumstances conjures up memories — albeit in a much smaller number of games — of Andrew Hammond’s run in Ottawa when he went 20-1-2 to get the Senators into the playoffs back in 2014-15.

The Leafs have a chance to exact revenge for March 29 and end this current tear for their division rival, and where they might lack an edge in desperation, they should be entering the game the far looser team with good recent memories from their visit to this building on March 23 when they lit up the Panthers for seven goals in a 7-2 victory.

All eyes will be on #23 in white, Matt Knies, as he looks to acquaint himself with the league and maybe even force himself into some conversations around the playoff lineup, although expectations should be kept in perspective tonight for obvious reasons given the circumstances.

The 11/7 lineup should give Sheldon Keefe extra opportunities to spot him in for some scoring situations next to the team’s top talent provided he doesn’t seem too overwhelmed by the environment, game speed, and physicality in his early shifts. It will not be similar to Nick Abruzzese’s debut out of college last April against a Philly team that was just playing out the stretch; the Panthers will be playing at playoff speed and intensity tonight. Hopefully, Knies’ mature frame, hockey IQ, and recent experience in do-or-die Frozen Four and Big Ten championship games make for a quick adjustment.

Right into the deep end. Let’s see what the kid has got.

Head to Head: Panthers vs. Maple Leafs

In the season-to-date statistics, the Panthers hold the advantage over the Leafs in three out of five offensive categories, but the Leafs hold the advantage in five out of five defensive categories.

Game Day Quotes

Sheldon Keefe on the decision to throw Matthew Knies straight into a game:

It wasn’t the plan initially, but Lafferty — in addition to Jarnkrok — is unavailable today. We had to move up his plan to get him in here tonight.

A great opportunity for him to get right in. It hasn’t been ideal circumstances for him in terms of his travel and even his day-to-day medicals and all of these kinds of things, but ideal circumstances passed us by long ago. Here we are.

Keefe on the expectations for Knies in his debut:

It has been such a whirlwind for him playing in the Frozen Four and losing in that overtime there, traveling back with his teammates to Minnesota to settle some things there, and then returning back to Florida here today.

We had to get him out to get some medicals and different standardized testing they have to do before they can play. Maybe that is tiring for him. Maybe it is less thinking and time to worry about things. Just go out and have fun.

Our mindset for it is just to give him an opportunity to get comfortable in the league with this little time we have left. He is a great prospect and a player we are really excited about. We will just give him a chance to play and try to get him as comfortable as possible as quickly as possible.

Keefe on the decision to start Knies with Alex Kerfoot and Noel Acciari:

I want to keep our top six intact from the last game. It is a tricky one.

At the same time, we have 11 forwards, so things will move around quite a bit. I think it is important that I try to get him some of the — let’s call it — easier or less difficult matchups and just allow him to get out there and get comfortable.

I have him lined up with Acciari and Kerfoot, who are two veteran guys that talk a lot, know the structure, and are reliable defensive players. There will be some movement with 11 forwards tonight.

Paul Maurice on the high-pressure game for the Panthers vs. the Leafs’ lack of anything to play for:

A skilled team sometimes not having as much pressure on them makes them even more dangerous because they can make those plays. They’re not missing the playoffs if they force something. We expect we’re going to have to play our best game of the year.

I don’t think they’re taking their foot off it right now. They’re prepping for something.

That first round gets talked a lot about in Toronto so they want to be right and ready for that. I think they will go fast and hard.

Ryan O’Reilly on Matthew Knies’ NHL debut:

I am excited to see him play. There has been a lot of talk about him. I have seen some clips here and there. I am excited to see him. Going to the finals, and being a Hobey Baker finalist… it is going to be pretty cool.

It’s a crazy last little stretch for him, but it’s so exciting coming to this team — such a good team – for his first game. It is going to be a really cool experience for him.

Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines

Forwards
#58 Michael Bunting – #34 Auston Matthews – #16 Mitch Marner
#91 John Tavares – #90 Ryan O’Reilly – #88 William Nylander
#23 Matthew Knies – #52 Noel Acciari – #15 Alex Kerfoot
#12 Zach Aston-Reese – #64 David Kämpf

Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe – #78 TJ Brodie
#55 Mark Giordano – #3 Justin Holl
#44 Morgan Rielly – #37 Timothy Liljegren
#2 Luke Schenn

Goaltenders
Starter: #35 Ilya Samsonov
Nick Chenard (ATO)

Extras: Erik Gustafsson, Conor Timmins
Injured: Sam Lafferty, Calle Järnkrok, Matt Murray, Nick Robertson, Jake Muzzin, Victor Mete

Florida Panthers Projected Lines

Forwards
#23 Carter Verhaeghe – #16 Aleksander Barkov – #10 Anthony Duclair
#27 Eetu Luostarinen  – #15 Anton Lundell – #19 Matthew Tkachuk
#94 Ryan Lomberg – #12 Eric Staal – #13 Sam Reinhart
#54 Givani Smith – #6 Colin White – #21 Nick Cousins

Defensemen
#42 Gustav Forsling – #5 Aaron Ekblad
#18 Marc Staal – #62 Brandon Montour
#28 Josh Mahura – #7 Radko Gudas

Goaltenders
Starter: #34 Alex Lyon
#72 Sergei Bobrovsky

Injured: Spencer Knight, Patric Hornqvist, Sam Bennett

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