The Toronto Maple Leafs face a decisive Game 7 on Sunday, but the availability of forward Matthew Knies remains uncertain.
Head coach Craig Berube told reporters on Saturday that he had not seen Knies and did not have an update on his health status.
Knies appeared to be struggling with discomfort throughout Friday`s game following an awkward first-period collision with Panthers defenceman Niko Mikkola.
Despite remaining on the bench, the 23-year-old forward only played 13:01 minutes, significantly less than his playoff average of 20:11.
“Just conversations with him. Situational,” Berube said when asked about managing Knies’ reduced playing time, especially given the player`s obvious discomfort.
“I played him in situational play more than anything down the stretch there. If he was good to go or he wasn`t good to go, it was more just me talking to him on the bench and understanding where he was at the time.”