Max Domi lands in tough spot in Toronto ahead of tomorrow’s game
The decision was made by head coach Craig Berube ahead of the matchup against the Senators on Saturday. Full story and projected lineup below:
The Toronto Maple Leafs were dealt another blow up front on Wednesday night when forward Matthew Knies was injured in the second period, struggling to get up from the ice after colliding with Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko. He did not return to the game and is out day-to-day with a knee injury, and while he skated on Friday, he is expected to miss Saturday’s game against the Ottawa Senators.
Head coach Craig Berube therefore turned to someone who’s been feeling the heat lately. At practice, it was confirmed that Max Domi was moving to the top six, getting promoted with Knies and veteran forward John Tavares out.
It was recently reported how Domi has been falling out of favor in Toronto, and even mentioned as a potential trade candidate under the radar ahead of the March 7 deadline.
This was perhaps brought up in order to get Domi going, as he get back on track and follow coach Berube’s advice to take more shots.
This is his chance with this promotion, that could be a blessing unless he screws it up and breaks under pressure.
Domi is in a tough spot as he needs to prove he can be that top forward he claims to be, and I guess his first test comes tomorrow against the Senators.
In the meantime, there was good news at the aforementioned practice on Friday, when goalie Anthony Stolarz officially returned for the first time since mid December. He departed after a couple of drills.
These are the projected lines from practice on Friday:
McMann - Matthews - Marner
Domi - Holmberg - Nylander
Lorentz - Kampf - Robertson
Quillan - Minten - Reaves
Ekman-Larsson - Tanev
Rielly - McCabe
Benoit - Myers
Hakanpaa - Timmins
Woll
Murray
