The Key Factor Behind Max Domi's Late-Season Resurgence Revealed
Max Domi has been a lot better as of late, and it couldn't come at the perfect time for the Maple Leafs, but one analyst seems to have a very good idea as to why.
Given how rough the beginning and middle of the season was for Max Domi, he's certainly picked things up as of late. Since returning to play from the 4 Nations break, he has 10 points in 18 games, which while not overtly impressive, is a big turnaround from earlier on.
It's the perfect time too, as Toronto needs to get as much secondary offense as possible come playoff time, and the emergence of Domi, and perhaps some newfound chemistry with Scott Laughton can bring the team a lot of success in the postseason.
Speaking of Laughton, one NHL analyst believes that the reason Domi has been so good recently is due to some pressure from the newcomer.
Jay Rosehill Believes Scott Laughton's Arrival Influencing Max Domi
Speaking as a guest on TSN 1050's FirstUp program, the former Maple Leafs defenseman and co-host of the Leafs Morning Take podcast explained why Domi has picked things up as of late:
Once they kind of brought in a guy (Scott Laughton) that starts to push him a little bit, that it lit a fire under him, and you saw him last night, he looked great, and he's been dishing that puck.
He needs to tighten it up a little bit with some of the lower percentage plays, but you can tell that he's got his confidence back.
He needs to tighten it up a little bit with some of the lower percentage plays, but you can tell that he's got his confidence back.
It's taken a lot of time for Laughton to get acclimated into the team's fold, but has two points over his last three games, and finally scored his first goal as a Leaf against San Jose.
Adding Laughton and Domi together could bring the team a lot of success according to Rosehill, and now that the newcomer is no longer new, it can lead to good things:
And you know, if you can get Laughton going here now, once he's settled into being a Maple Leaf, line like that could really, really do some damage in the playoffs. And I think that's the whole idea.
It would certainly helps things immensely if Laughton and Domi started to pick things up offensively, and bringing in a more defensively sound player at the deadline should give Domi a bit more freedom and confidence to play his game without having to constantly worry about defending.
This season, Domi hasn't had a great one offensively however does still have 30 points in 66 games (8G, 22A) and with eight games left in the season, he could end up hitting close to 40 points by the end of things.
It's a great sign too because the team is paying him $5M per season, and if he didn't start producing, it's going to be a huge waste of money.
So thankfully Max Domi has started to pick things up, because it could be the difference between another first round exit or a deep playoff run.
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AVRIL 1 | 558 ANSWERS The Key Factor Behind Max Domi's Late-Season Resurgence Revealed Is Max Domi going to be the surprise reason why Toronto wins in the first round? | ||
| Yes | 402 | 72 % |
| No | 156 | 28 % |
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