With no goals this season, Max Domi isn't sweating his lack of offense provided the club keeps winning. But the team needs more from him. Max Domi has been counting the days he's been out of the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup. The forward has missed eight straight games with an upper-body injury. He was placed on the team's injured reserve on Nov. 20, retroactively to four days earlier when the Maple Leafs defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in overtime. Domi fully participated in Toronto's practice on Monday in New Jersey, even skating on the team's second power play unit, which usually suggests a player is ready to return. When Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube was asked if Domi could return against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, the head coach responded with: "Yes." The 29-year-old forward spoke on Monday for the first time since being placed on injured reserve. Although being out of the lineup has been difficult, Domi says he's feeling good after "three weeks" of not playing. "I take a lot of pride in being available for the team, trying to help the team win. And sometimes that entails playing through things here and there, and then it gets to a point where you've got to let it heal and whatever that might be," Domi said. "And in my case, it was just a decision that we decided the rest would benefit, not just myself, but the group as well." It's been a challenging start to the season for Domi. Through 19 games this year, the forward has just six assists, with his last one coming on Oct. 21. He hasn't scored a goal since Toronto's 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Apr. 6. Berube has said he'd like to see the forward shoot more and continued that message in New Jersey on Monday after practice. "I think Max has got to maybe take a little bit different approach and not be such a selfless player and shoot more and just get into the net and greasy areas a little bit more. He's that type of player that. He could score goals there," the coach said. On the other hand, Domi admits that not having a goal this season hasn't bothered him. He's only focused on helping the team win, which, he says, is all that matters. "I could care less if you have 90 goals or zero goals. If you're on the ice and help the team win, you're doing your job and you're helping out," said Domi. "So, there's always other ways you can help out, but certainly you want to play your best hockey and keep getting better on a daily basis. So, I'll just focus on that." 57 of Toronto's 80 goals this season have come off the stick of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, or Matthew Knies. The rest of the Maple Leafs' forwards have combined for 16 goals. Berube wants to see Domi and Nick Robertson — who both have a past of scoring goals — find the net more for Toronto. If they are to have any success going into the postseason, they need to find their secondary scoring. "He's a strong guy and a heavy guy. So I think for him, and a lot like Nick Robertson, they've got to get on the inside more and get around that net and score some decent goals. And we need them to. We need those guys. We need secondary scoring."
