Max Domi is a very interesting player. At first glance, his point totals don’t exactly give the impression of an elite forward. He doesn’t score many goals but thanks a fair amount of assists he usually hovers around the 50-point mark for the season.

So, how will a player who has scored an average of 12 even-strength goals per season help the Canadiens with their scoring woes? In Domi’s case, we need to dig a little deeper than a cursory glance at his overall numbers.

Of Domi’s 66 career even-strength assists, 47 were of the primary variety, indicating that not only is he a good playmaker, his passes lead directly to goals. Since he’s entered the league, Domi has produced among the NHL’s elite when it comes to primary assists.

But the numbers only give us the end result, and not how Domi managed to become one of the premier playmakers in the NHL. For that, we have to turn to video evidence.

There are a few things that are apparent when watching Domi set up his teammates. The first is that he’s a magnet for defenders. His ability to create controlled entries in the offensive zone paired with his penchant for attracting defending players leads to many quality passing opportunities.

For example, here he enters the zone on what looks like a rather harmless play. His speed through the neutral zone forces defenders to back off.

He then cuts to the middle of the ice, confusing the opposing coverage. All the while, his linemates continue to make their way to the net. He draws the defenders in, leaving his teammates in a numerical advantage if he manages to thread the needle through the defence.

This ups the degree of difficulty on the pass, but Domi is an excellent passer, and it presents little to no problem. He even uses his backhand in this particular situation to give him a little more space to execute the pass.

The result is an odd-man rush that leads to a goal.

Another way Domi is able to create confusion on the ice is by making adjustments through the neutral zone.

He maintains a lot of speed, but slightly changes his angle of attack as he approaches the blue line, tempting defenders to abandon their position in an attempt to steal the puck.

Sensing that Domi is in a perfect situation to be swarmed, the opposing team converges on him. But he maintains control of the puck during his zone entry, all the while keeping an eye on his passing target, who has a lot more open ice to work with.

Domi uses an excellent saucer pass to find his streaking linemate, and the result is an open shot and a goal.

Notice that the pass forces the opposing goaltender to readjust, which is another one of Domi’s strong points. Goalies are constantly in motion while he’s in the offensive zone.

While speed remains one of Domi’s greatest strengths, his ability to slow down the play and use opposing players’ momentum against them also yields good results.

In this play he once again streaks down the left side of the ice, forcing the defenceman to back into the defensive zone as fast as he can.

This is the perfect opportunity for Domi to slam on the brakes, and take a look around the ice. By doing so he throws off the timing of the defenders, and opens up a scoring lane for Kevin Connauton.

The Wild converge on Domi, who makes no mistake and finds Connauton with a perfect pass, which leads to a goal. The Wild’s defensive setup is quite porous, if not borderline comical, but that’s due in part to Domi’s shiftiness while he creates controlled offensive zone entries. It’s really hard to get a read on what he intends to do.

Here we see Domi attacking the defenceman head-on, forcing him to commit to taking the body. But Domi’s ability to change his angle of attack on a whim comes into play.

As he enters the zone with control of the puck, he cuts back towards the middle of the ice, shedding his coverage in the process. This opens up a couple of passing options, although his linemates are relatively well covered.

What seems like a normal shift turns into a goal-scoring play due to Domi’s vision and high hockey IQ. He’s aware that Jason Demers is joining the play, and leaves the puck for his streaking defenceman.

Domi then barges into the defence, creating confusion and a screen in front of Bishop, which leaves Demers all the time he needs to pick a corner and cut the Stars lead in half.

Finally, here we see Domi use his strength to create a goal-scoring opportunity. He decides to attack the defender head-on once again, but he can’t shake his coverage.

The defender rightfully takes the body, which usually eliminates forwards from the play. But in this case, Domi’s strength prevails, and he manages to keep control of the puck with just one hand.

He pushes the puck to a streaking Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has a ton of free ice to work with, given that the defenders have already backed off.

The result, as you may have guessed, is a goal.

We’ve covered Domi’s first-rate ability when it comes to controlled entries and offensive awareness. But it’s not the only thing that makes his playmaking elite.

He does a great job at forcing goaltenders to move. Time and time again, his pass-first instinct leads to trouble for goaltenders. A moving goaltender is a vulnerable goaltender, and that’s exactly what Domi creates.

That’s not to say Domi always makes the right decision. Often times he will choose to pass while he is in a prime scoring area, but his unique playmaking skills often lead to goals for his teammates, which is why I’m fairly certain that whoever ends up on a line with him will enjoy an overabundance of scoring opportunities.

Not all playmakers are created equal. Some can gain the offensive zone with the greatest of ease. Others can easily thread the needle through three defenders. Some, albeit very few, are able to make goaltenders constantly readjust and move.

Domi can do all three with a lot of speed, and more importantly, without sacrificing his defensive responsibilities.

Last year the Canadiens created a reasonable amount of scoring chances, but in most cases, the goaltenders were already in position to make the save, which led to a lack of finish among the forwards.

A playmaker like Domi can do wonders when it comes to a lack of scoring, because he makes life easy on his linemates and hell on his opponents.

(Top photo credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)