Maple Leafs’ win over Flames reveals optimal line combinations

The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their up-and-downs start to 2025 with a 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames, three days after defeating the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 to sweep their trip through Alberta. These past two wins specifically have shown some promising signs for a team that’s struggled to generate offence at either 5v5 or on the power play, with ten goals scored between the two wins including four power play goals.

One of the ongoing mysteries about this Leafs team is that they seemingly play better when they’re without a star player. Back in November, they went 7-2-0 in nine games without Auston Matthews, and they looked more dangerous offensively against the Flames than they have all season despite being without Mitch Marner. Logically, it doesn’t make sense that the team plays better when they’re without a 60+ goal-capable centre and a 90+ point winger, both of whom are elite defensively.

The number one thing that comes to mind when assessing why the team has been so good without one of them is the idea that they’re simply overthinking everything. Regarding the power play, with so many weapons at their disposal, they’re too focused on finding the perfect play and outsmarting their opponents, when in reality, the game plan should be simple and involve getting pucks to the front of the net. As for their production at even strength, we’ve seen how dominant Matthews and Marner can be when they’re playing together, but we’ve also seen how easy they can be to shut down if their opponent is dialled defensively. If your entire game plan is to “shut down the Core Four” and you can effectively pull it off, you’re going to come out victorious against this group more often than not. It’s why they’re under fire for their playoff performances so often.

At the time of filing, Marner appears to be a game-time decision. Everyone wants him back and healthy, but if that’s the case, they should strongly consider following similar lines to Tuesday night’s affair in Calgary. That involves leaving Max Domi on Matthews’ wing.

Let’s address the elephant in the room off the hop. Max Domi has not been good this season. He was expected to be one of their top secondary contributors offensively, tallying 47 points last season despite only eight goals, but the production has taken a step back in 2024-25. Domi has only three goals on the season and 19 points in 45 games, which isn’t good enough when you have such a top-heavy team. Much of this is due to the fact that he hasn’t been able to find consistent linemates. He’s taken some reps on the wing, some up the middle, and he’s seen most of his success skating alongside Bobby McMann and Nick Robertson. McMann has had a solid season to date, but Robertson has been just as inconsistent as Domi, so when you pair that with limited usage at even strength and even less on the power play, it’s not exactly a recipe for success for a guy who’s best served on an offensive line versus a defensive shutdown line.

After Marner, you can make the argument that Domi is the second-best passer on the team. Do you know what complements a pass-first player? A goal-scorer. Do you know who scores lots of goals? Auston Matthews.

Domi skated alongside Matthews for the first time this season against Calgary, and while he didn’t register a point, it was one of if not his best game of the season. He was engaged, he was a threat off the rush, and he looked like a guy who was playing with confidence and playing to his strengths. When you have him in a role like third-line centre, he has to be thinking about both sides of the puck more than he would on Matthews’ wing, and having to take focus away from his strengths and shift it to an area where he’ll find himself more concerned about not making mistakes than playing his game is not going to do his offensive issues any favours.