Matthew Knies records second career NHL hat trick

Toronto Maple Leafs left winger Matthew Knies of Phoenix, Arizona registered his second career National Hockey League hat trick on Wednesday. He accomplished the feat in a 4-3 Maple Leafs win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

Inside Look at the Hat Trick

Knies put the Maple Leafs up 2-0 at 3:33 of the first period. Auston Matthews of San Ramon, California and Mitch Marner of Markham, Ontario picked up the assists. Knies then put the Maple Leafs up 3-2 at 2:03 of the third period on the power-play. John Tavares of Mississauga, Ontario and Marner had the assists. Knies then scored the overtime winner from defenseman Morgan Rielly of Vancouver, British Columbia and Matthews at 2:56 of the extra frame. It was Knies’s first NHL overtime winner.

Knies joining Maple Leafs history

Knies also becomes the seventh Maple Leafs player ever to complete a hat trick in overtime. He follows Babe Dye of Hamilton, Ontario in a 7-6 Toronto St. Patricks win over the Hamilton Tigers on January 10, 1923, Myroslav Frycer of Ostrava, Czechoslovakia in a 5-4 Maple Leafs win over the Chicago Black Hawks on March 30, 1986, Eddie Olczyk of Chicago, Illinois in a 6-5 Maple Leafs over the Detroit Red Wings on April 12, 1988, Glenn Anderson of Vancouver, British Columbia in a 4-3 Maple Leafs win over the Quebec Nordiques on March 17, 1992, Wendel Clark of Kelvington, Saskatchewan in a 6-5 Maple Leafs win over the Detroit Red Wings on March 4, 1994, and Mats Sundin of Bromma, Sweden in a 5-4 Maple Leafs win over the Calgary Flames on October 14, 2006. Olczyk’s overtime winner and hat trick came in the playoffs.

Knies’s first NHL hat trick

Knies’s first NHL career hat trick came earlier this season. He accomplished the feat in a 6-4 Maple Leafs win over the Boston Bruins on January 4, 2025.

Matthew Knies in 2024-25

Knies has 29 goals and 26 assists for 55 points in 74 games. He was a +2 with 43 penalty minutes, 15 power-play points, six game-winning goals, one shorthanded point, 40 blocked shots, 180 hits, 12 takeaways, and 48 giveaways. Knies’s shorthanded point came in a 7-3 Maple Leafs win over the Montreal Canadiens on January 18, 2025. Knies set up David Kampf of Chomutov, Czech Republic with one minute and 34 seconds left in the third period.

First in the Atlantic

With the win, the Maple Leafs moved into first place in the Atlantic Division. They have a record of 48 wins, 26 regulation losses, and four losses in extra time for 100 points.