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 The rookie center took the ice first, and his teammates watched him
take a few laps before they joined him.
When action on the ice actually counted, Domi scored a goal to help
beat his father's old team as Arizona edged Toronto 4-3 at Air
Canada Centre.
Domi, selected 12th overall by the Coyotes in the 2013 draft, has 10
points in his first season. His father, Tie Domi, was drafted by the
Maple Leafs and played more than 10 seasons in Toronto.
"You're really in the zone on the game day and not thinking too
much, so you don't get out of sync too much," he said when asked
about playing as a pro in Toronto for the first time. "You're
definitely excited about it -- and I was for sure excited about it
-- but it's a hockey game, and that's all I really looked into it.
"At the end of the day, you're here to play hockey and nothing else.
Everything else is just part of it. You get through it and you just
focus on playing hockey. It was a big game for everyone. We had some
big goals throughout the whole lineup. It was fun to see and
definitely fun to be a part of, and we'll take the win for sure."
Regarding the pregame prank, Domi said, "That was funny. I saw
(former junior teammate) Bo Horvat do it last year (with Vancouver),
and he's one of my best buddies, so I was getting a big kick out of
that. I thought I was going to have to do that the first game I
played. ... It's usually about one lap, but I think I got seven or
eight, so it was a good warmup, for sure."
The Coyotes led 3-1 after the first two periods on goals by Domi,
right winger Shane Doan and defenseman Klas Dahlbeck. Center Kyle
Chipchura made the margin 4-1 early in the third period.
Domi and Doan scored their goals on first-period power plays. The
Coyotes had a third power-play goal in the opening period disallowed
because it was determined that center Martin Hanzal tipped in the
puck with a high stick.
Hanzal later left the game with an undisclosed injury.
Center Shawn Matthias got his first goal and first point as a Leaf
in the first period.
Left winger James Van Riemsdyk and defenseman Morgan Rielly scored
third-period goals for the Leafs to cut into the Coyotes' lead, but
it was a case of Toronto finding its offense too late in the game.
The Coyotes (5-3-1) earned their second victory in a row, with
goalie Mike Smith making 24 saves. They are 4-1-1 on the road.
The Leafs (1-5-2) have yet to win at home in three tries. Toronto
goalie James Reimer stopped 20 shots, but he also whiffed on
Dahlbeck's goal from just inside the point on the short side.
Coyotes' coach Dave Tippett liked his team's work ethic.
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"I thought we competed hard on loose pucks, kept it a simple, real
disciplined game, and capitalized on some opportunities," he said.
"Our power play got us a couple big goals. I don't like the two
goals we gave up in the third -- we made a couple mistakes -- but
for the most part, we competed really hard. We hung around and found
a way to win."
He praised the effort of Domi.
"He plays a real dynamic game," Tippett said. "He's tenacious.
People look at his skating, but the thing we've been telling him to
do more is shoot. He's got a great shot -- forehand and backhand.
"I'm sure he was happy. I'm sure his family was happy. It's a really
good story for an unbelievable kid. There's a lot pressure on him, a
lot of spotlight on him, and he's been so humble to his teammates --
such a great person in the dressing room."
Leafs coach Mike Babcock was disappointed with his team's overall
effort.
"We can't give that many chances, but we've also got to fix our
penalty kill, that's the bottom line," he said. "To me, we can be
structurally better than that to be in better spots, and if you
don't want to be in better spots we'll find someone else who wants
to be in better spots. ... Since I've been here, I've never seen
that before. I've never seen us compete at that level. We're not
competing at that level. We're going to fix it."
NOTES: Maple Leafs C Byron Froese dressed for the second consecutive
game since he was recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. C
Tyler Bozak missed his third consecutive game with a lower-body
injury. ... Toronto D Jake Gardiner missed his second consecutive
game with an upper-body injury. ... Toronto RW Mark Arcobello,
signed as a free agent in the offseason, appeared in 27 games for
the Coyotes last season, collecting nine goals and seven assists.
... The Coyotes recalled C Tyler Gaudet from Springfield of the AHL
on Sunday, and he made his season-debut against the Leafs. ... The
Coyotes' roster includes two players, LW Anthony Duclair, and Max
Domi, who played for Team Canada in the gold-medal game of the 2015
World Junior Championship game earlier this year at the Air Canada
Centre. ... Dave Tippett is the longest-tenured and winningest coach
in Coyotes franchise history.
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