Another game featuring the Florida Panthers. Another fight. Routine stuff. On March 11, it was the Panthers’ agitator-in-chief, Sam Bennet, who started the brawl with a stick jab to Nikita Zadorov‘s back. Unfortunately for him, it was the Bruins’ defenseman who ended it as he instantly dropped Bennett onto the ice with a barrage of punches that could only be stopped by the referees’ intervention. On Thursday, as the Panthers went toe-to-toe with the Toronto Maple leaves at The Scotiabank Arena in a high-octane clash of the table toppers, it was defenseman Nate Schmidt who did the honors and suffered a fate similar to his teammate.  

Just minutes into the first period with the Leafs leading 1-0, forward Max Domi landed an absolute peach of a hit on Carter Verhaeghe, that sent the latter flying. Schmidt wasn’t ready to let that go unanswered and made his feelings known by slamming Domi into the sideboards moments later.

One thing led to another—as it often does in hockey—and gloves were dropped. Schmidt managed to land the first punch. The rest was all Domi. He pulled the defenseman down by his sweater and absolutely pummeled him before skating into the penalty box. The fans loved it. His teammates loved it. It was sheer ‘Domi’-nation. 

After all, this wasn’t the first time, Domi was getting his hands dirty. 

Back in April 2024, the New Jersey Red Devils rookie defenseman Simon Nemec thought it was a good idea to rough up Leafs star Auston Matthews, and boy, did he regret it big time because Domi didn’t pull any punches. “That what he’s all about,” Matthews said after the game, putting respect on his teammate’s name. “He’s a team-first guy. He’s always gonna stick up for his teammates. I didn’t think he had to do that. But obviously he felt the need to. And I’m always appreciative of guys standing up for one another, and myself as well,” he added.

And guess what? It was not only his fists that did the talking that night, it was also his stick as he set up Matthews for his record-breaking 67th and 68th goals of the season. The Toronto Maple Leafs, however, lost the match 5-6. Call it a coincidence, but the scoreboard on Thursday also had a similar story to tell.

After the scuffle, Sam Bennett came to the rescue for the Florida Panthers, with a power play goal. The Panthers then managed to get a healthy two-goal lead in the second period itself thanks to the go-ahead goal by Niko Mikkola and a second by Bennett. Even though Domi cut the lead down to 3-2, the Maple Leafs could not breach Sergei Bobrovsky again who stopped 23 shots to keep Florida in control.

All in all, Thursday’s match had everything that you would expect from a clash between top teams that are not just looking to qualify for playoff spots but are looking to do it in style by winning the divisional title. At least, that is what you’d think. Well, Max Domi has a different way of looking at it.

Max Domi’s shocking confession before the Florida Panthers game

The Leafs are currently 2nd in the Atlantic Division after winning 39 out of 65 games. The Panthers, the top contenders in the division, just extended their lead by 4 points with the latest victory. Alright. But that being said, the Toronto Maple Leafs forward has stated that he does not care about winning the divisional title.

“That sh– doesn’t matter to us. We’re just trying to beat every team we play against, and every game is just as important,” said Domi ahead of Thursday’s clash. But even though it is a bit shocking, it’s not the worst attitude to have at this juncture of the season. His teammate and Maple Leafs forward Steven Lorentz, however, had a slightly different take. Lorentz said, “We’re preparing for a playoff-like game. You can say that about a lot of games, but it’s no secret that both teams are battling for that first-place spot.”

While the Maple Leafs have qualified for the playoffs in all of their last 8 seasons, they have managed to win a divisional title only once in that span of time, and that was when they topped the North Division in the pandemic-hit 2021 campaign.

If nothing else, another divisional title, would definitely help the confidence of the Maple Leafs going into the playoffs. However, for that, they’ll have to make sure that they win more than just fist fights.