Domi's two-goal night against the Vegas Golden Knights has proven Sheldon Keefe's move of John Tavares down in the middle-six forward group was the right call.

LAS VEGAS — It had to be done. The only question is how long is it going to last?

During the Toronto Maple Leafs' first game of their current four-game road trip, head coach Sheldon Keefe moved John Tavares down to the team's third line and promoted Max Domi. Seeking a more spread-out offense and trying to get more from his players, Domi was thrust into more responsibility playing alongside William Nylander and Tyler Bertuzzi. At the same time, Tavares carried young teammates Bobby McMann and Nick Robertson on his wings.

The result has seen the Maple Leafs get more secondary scoring as a whole, a problem that has plagued them for most of the season. On Thursday against the Golden Knights, the secondary output reached a peak as all four lines got on the scoresheet in a 7-3 win.

Domi, in particular, thrived with his first two-goal performance as a Leaf. He was signed to a one-year, $3 million contract this summer, so more was expected offensively. After starting the season as a winger, he seemed to find his groove at center and the move up to the second line has done wonders.

"His checking defensively coming back and tracking and getting back above the puck and using his speed and tenacity to close and kill plays defensively has been tremendous and that’s what’s going to allow him to continue to play a role in a situation like that," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Domi. "When he’s skating and competing at that level he can play against anybody in the league. And we’ve seen what he can contribute offensively. Whether it’s scoring like he has tonight or making plays and facilitating for others."

Of course, this came at the cost of demoting the team captain to a role he hasn't occupied since signing a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Leafs on July 1, 2018. The demotion was further enforced when Tavares was moved off of the first power play in addition to the 5-on-5 adjustment.

But the shift has benefitted Tavares, who has scored an even-strength goal in back-to-back games for the first time since October.

"It's been great," Keefe said of the change. "It feels like our depth has been a real factor here."

If Domi can continue to contribute like he has over the last couple of games, Keefe will likely stick to it. After deploying the change in St, Louis, Keefe didn't like how it looked but felt it needed a longer runway. 

All it took was just accepting that an $11 million player may need to adjust. 

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