The Montreal Canadiens' three game experiment having Max Domi play on the wing is over. Head coach Claude Julien has announced Domi will move back to centre for the Habs game against the New York Rangers Saturday Night.
"Over the last few games, we've noticed that Max isn't skating as well on the wing as he was at centre. What's surprising is that he spent the majority of his career at wing. When he played center last year, he used his speed the right way. That's why we decided to put him back at centre," explained Julien. "I believe Max Domi is better at centre than wing. We're putting him in a good position to have success."
Domi had his best year in the NHL last season playing centre for a full season for the first time. He put up 28 goals and 44 assists for 72 points, career highs in all three categories. He had just one assist in his last three games at wing. Domi will be back at center Saturday flanked by Artturi Lehkonen on his left and Nick Suzuki on his right.
"Me and Lehky have played together a lot. He's an easy guy to play with. He gets pucks. He goes in there and wins battles and ties guys up so you can come with speed and get the puck and create offense that way. I love playing with Lehky. It's great and I'm excited about it," said Domi.
"Suzi's a great player. He's still a young kid, and he already has the confidence of a guy that's been in the League for many years. That's exciting. He's a great kid, extremely humble and works very hard in practice. He's got a heavy shot. Smart player. He's in the right spot at the right time. I think we're just getting started with some chemistry. As we keep finding it, we'll get better and better."
For the Canadiens, they're hoping Domi can find that magic that he seemed to have last season once again with the move.
Source: NHL.com
