TORONTO — When the Toronto Maple Leafs first began practising shootouts this season, Max Domi wasn’t exactly pleased with his slot in the breakaway order.
The new recruit let coach Sheldon Keefe know it, and Keefe — who rarely makes a decision without data to back it up — reminded Domi that he had yet to score a shootout goal in his nine-year career.
A smiling Keefe remembered that exchange fondly Friday, following Domi’s game-winning snipe glove-side on Flames goalie Dan Vladar in the fifth round of the shootout.
Sure, the shot won’t officially go down as Domi’s first as a Leaf. But a 5-4 shootout victory did trigger a wave of relief and helped Keefe’s Leafs secure a much-needed extra point and wash away the embarrassment of a blowing 4-1 lead to a Calgary Flames team with issues of their own.
“For him to have a moment like that, and come through in the moment, it’s great for him,” Keefe said.
Slowly but surely, things are falling into place for Domi with his hometown team.
Since winger Nick Robertson was recalled from the AHL Marlies at the top of a busy week, and Domi got shifted to centre, the Maple Leafs’ third line has compiled three superb efforts.
The trio of Robertson, Domi, and Calle Järnkrok has found the net in all three outings, combining for 10 points and filling Toronto’s much-needed craving for secondary scoring.
During Friday’s Treliving Bowl, that unit outshot the Flames 7-0 when on the ice together.
“They’ve had a lot of speed,” William Nylander said. “They’re creating a lot of chances and scoring goals, so they’ve been doing a tremendous job. I think all three of them are fitting really well together.”
Credit Järnkrok for his low-maintenance approach and sneaky-hard shot. Credit Domi for his passing knack and offensive vision. And credit Robertson for looking every bit like a legit NHLer this time around.
“His first game was as polished a game that he’s played in terms of how he managed the puck, the decisions that he’s made with it. He’s always had great energy and great pace, but his game has always been a little bit scattered. He looked really organized,” Keefe said.
“There’s a real level of maturity there in terms of knowing when it’s time to make a play and find a play and when it’s time to put the puck into a spot where you gotta go work to get it back, but also take care of it.”
In Robertson’s past recalls, the young shooter has looked eager but raw, busy for effort’s sake.
The Maple Leafs have tried to impress on the prospect that, in the NHL, even the most talented scorers will have nights where they can’t find the net. It’s about how an offensively gifted player finds other ways to affect the game in a positive way when the puck isn’t going in.
Through three games at least, that message seems to have registered – to the benefit of the line and the Leafs.
“We just try and create energy for the group every time we go on the ice,” Domi said. “And since Robbie has been up, he’s been buzzing every shift. He’s been making lots of good plays, and he’s tenacious on the puck, giving us a chance to play in the O-zone quite a bit.
“For a younger guy, he’s real mature with the decisions he’s making. So, it’s playing good hockey and obviously Calle’s play kind of speaks for itself. You guys know how good he’s been. So, just gotta keep it up, keep building.”
With the support scoring picking up, the next step in building out Toronto’s complete game remains the team defence, which had its shaky moments in spite of John Klingberg’s absence. (Trade suggestion: Nikita Zadorov is available. See below.)
In letting another three-goal lead slip Friday, the Maple Leafs have now surrendered a minimum of four goals in all eight home games this season — an unwanted franchise record.
“Four go in again, but not rattled,” Keefe said, spinning positive.
Least rattled of all Leafs these days is Nylander.
The silky Swede hopped the subway and extended his club-record season-starting point streak to 14 games with the game’s opening power-play strike. He then popped in an unassisted shorthanded goal — the first career shorthanded goal for any Nylander — and a beautiful assist to John Tavares for good measure.
“He’s a special player, man,” said goalie Joseph Woll, with a smile. “Just how consistent he is, it’s unbelievable. And then in overtime at the end there, he got to the puck in our zone and the crowd’s already cheering. That’s pretty cool.”
When he wasn’t ripping his team-high seven shots or 11 attempts, Nylander was busy killing penalties or busting up Flames attacks in the D-zone.
“What I would say that I haven’t said yet is that he was excellent defensively tonight. Excellent,” Keefe said. “As good as he was on offence, he was as good defensively.”
Bang. That’s the objective for the Maple Leafs as a whole.
Fox’s Fast Five
• Zadorov’s agent, Dan Milstein, tweeted out this monster open-ice hit from his client on Tyler Bertuzzi:
Fine. Great check.
More interesting, though, was Milstein response to a Flames fan asking if Calgary will be able to keep the pending free agent.
“I don’t think so,” Milstein said. “Not when the best D barely gets the ice time…”
Trade bait Zadorov ranks fifth among Flames D-men in ice time at 18:12, and according to Kevin Weekes, he has requested a move out of Calgary.
• With Ryan Reaves staying on the ice after Thursday’s practice and Keefe floating 11-and-7 as an option, it was natural to speculate that the fourth-liner might be headed toward a healthy scratch.
“No. That was me wanting some extra work,” Reaves said.
“When you’re playing every other day, your practices are shorter, practices are more structured, so you’re not touching the puck as much. I’m a guy that I need to touch the puck to kind of stay in games. Sometimes I don’t play a whole lot.”
Reaves saw just 4:33 in ice time and still managed to be a minus-2 on the night, dropping to minus-11 on the season.
“He’s having some bad luck right now,” Keefe said. “I combed through, I looked at every single goal against that he’s been on for, and I still can’t find one that’s on him in terms of making a mistake. The puck just keeps going in our net.”
• MacKenzie Weegar picked up a pair of assists in this, his 400th NHL game. Not too shabby for a seventh-round pick:
“When you look back on every milestone, it’s one of those things where you’re privileged to play the NHL, and you don’t take it for granted. You look back on the rollercoasters, the ups and downs, the great times, the bad times. It’s been a journey. It’s been a fun journey. It’s another milestone, and hopefully I got many more of those.”
• Nazem Kadri chuckled when I asked him to describe the biggest difference between Darryl Sutter and Ryan Huska.
“Maybe polar opposites,” he said, with a smile.
• Nice touch…