Since Auston Matthews and Max Domi were reunited on the Toronto Maple Leafs' top line about a dozen games ago, the duo has begun to show signs of growing chemistry.
Flanked by winger Bobby McMann, the line has offered an encouraging mix of skill, power, and production. More importantly, the new combination has ignited a spark in the play of both Matthews and Domi, who each spent a large portion of the early season struggling.
It can't be ignored that since Leafs' coach Craig Berube reinvented his first line, the Maple Leafs have played their best hockey of the season. The movement among the team's forwards has also produced other effective groups.
Offense has not been a problem for Toronto for most of the season, but since the reshuffling of the forward units, there has been an uptick in goals.
New Top Line has Invigorated Matthews
Before the season, many thought Domi was a natural replacement for the departed Mitch Marner on the Maple Leafs' top line beside Matthews. Remember, Domi played most of the 2023-24 season with Matthews during his franchise-record sixty-nine goal campaign.
For a variety of reasons, there were many moving parts to Berube's forward lines during the first part of the year, and Domi and Matthews weren't given much of a chance to reignite their chemistry. For the past dozen games, they have been reunited, and they are finding their groove.
The Maple Leafs have gone 9-1-3 during that stretch and have scored four or more goals in nine of those games. Matthews has regained the form of being the NHL's best goal scorer. He has recorded 17 points over his last 11 games, scoring ten goals. He has scored in six of his past nine games, with a hat trick and a two-goal game among the highlights.
Domi has 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) since rejoining Matthews on the strength of three multi-point games. McMann has chipped in with six goals and two assists during the twelve games together.
In a 4-3 comeback, overtime victory over the Winnipeg Jets to conclude the Leafs' recent road trip, McMann's tip-in tied the game in the third period. Matthews set up Domi for the game-winner in the extra session. Domi had set up Matthews for his 24th goal of the season earlier in the game.
The Maple Leafs' newly constructed top line of Domi-Matthews-McMann has an expected-goals-for-percentage of 52.9 over the past twelve games. The only trio involving Matthews that is higher is the early-season combination of Matthew Knies, Matthews, and Easton Cowan (61.9%).
Cowan, however, has been part of a solid third line with Nick Robertson and Nicolas Roy. That group has a 57.4 expected-goals-for-percentage. With William Nylander being sidelined for most of the recent hot streak, John Tavares, Mattias Maccelli, and Knies have been together on the second line. Their expected-goals-for-percentage is 54.5.
The emergence of the Domi-Matthews-McMann top line has created a domino effect throughout the Maple Leafs' lineup, allowing Toronto to spread its depth more effectively and generate production across multiple lines.
Still, the most significant development is Matthews returning to his dominant form, driving play and setting the tone offensively. As the season moves into its second half, that resurgence, combined with improved line balance, positions the Leafs well as they push for a playoff spot.