During the first half of the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs struggled to generate secondary offence. There were built-in reasons for this, as the Maple Leafs had to fend off a wave of injuries to their forward corps, missing eight roster regulars in November, while Auston Matthews battled through an upper-body injury that has kept him out of 15 games.

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube hasn’t been afraid to experiment with his lines, and he found a winning combination on December 15, placing Bobby McMann with Max Domi and Nick Robertson against the Buffalo Sabres, a trio that boasts an alluring combination of speed, shooting with quick releases and playmaking. And while it hasn’t always looked pretty for the Maple Leafs overall, McMann-Domi-Robertson have outscored opponents 8-4 with a 54.3 percent share of the expected goals at 5-on-5, and a plus-eight shot differential via Natural Stat Trick. Berube’s Maple Leafs have been accused of playing low-event, pragmatic hockey (read: boring!) but McMann-Domi-Robertson are primarily winning their matchups by winning in transition.

“I’ve said it before, keeping it simple, sticking to what works for us. I think it’s our speed and our shooting ability as well,” Robertson said of his new linemates prior to a December 21 game against the New York Islanders. “Taking advantage of the time we’re using our feet, taking advantage of shooting the puck. Playing physical as well.”

McMann was a scratch from the opening night lineup, a decision that seemed baffling at the time, and even more puzzling in retrospect. It’s clear that he’s earned Berube’s trust due to his play throughout the year, and he’s now emerged as an irreplaceable member of the team.

“He’s totally different. I used the term the other day (to describe) Matthew Knies: he’s just reckless,” Berube said of McMann after Saturday’s morning skate. “He’s skating and attacking, and that’s his game. He’s got great size, great feet, he’s playing this north hockey and he’s been very successful. I’ve been very pleased with him and his growth as a player, he’s coming along. Coming out of camp, not a great camp, but he’s moving up.”

McMann said he found his aggressiveness since September and is relying on his instinct, rather than overthinking the game, after taking some time to get adjusted to Berube’s system. There’s no turning back now for McMann, who has 12 goals and 17 points in 31 games, while gaining the attention of opponents on the scouting report.

“I think just my aggressiveness. Trying to (do) less thinking on the ice. I think came in this year thinking a bit too much and trying to plan where I was on the ice, and trying to fit perfectly into the systems, but it’s still at the end of the day a hockey game. You’re still reading and reacting and then when I started playing like that, skills take over, and I can trust myself.”

“I think sometimes over the summer, you lose touch with the hockey sense, you haven’t played games in a while. Just trying to find that and because I didn’t necessarily get it right away, or wasn’t feeling good about it right away, I started to overthink it a little bit.”

Here’s an example of Toronto’s third line turning defensive wins into instant offence — Robertson and Domi have been often criticized for poor defensive play, but they’ve been a lot more engaged after breaking out of their respective scoring slumps in mid-December. Here’s an example from a December 18 game against the Dallas Stars, where Robertson picks off an errant pass, finds a blazing McMann down the wing, and he does the rest with a great shot to give the Maple Leafs a 4-2 lead, on a night where all three players proved their intention to remain together.

Here’s another example — albeit, Mitch Marner swaps in for Robertson here, but the rest is all on Toronto’s third line. Marner swoops in, fires the loose puck off the ice to McMann, who puts the Buffalo Sabres defenceman Dennis Gilbert on their heels. McMann bodies Gilbert, spins around and finds a cutting Domi for a beautiful goal, as their chemistry continued to grow throughout December.

I asked McMann if the key to the line’s success is their speed in transition, or if there are other factors we should be paying attention to, following Saturday’s morning skate.

“Transition, one, yeah,” McMann said. “And I think just trusting each other with the puck and trusting each other to do our jobs have been the biggest things. We’re different players and we trust each to do what our strengths are, and that’s what found us success.””

“Anytime you play with guys — or a guy — more often, you get that familiarity and I think we have that and you get to know when they want it, and when they don’t. I think that’s been advantageous because they’re both so good at moving the puck, and we’re good at getting it in and generating offence.”

Here’s an example from a December 28 game against the Washington Capitals, where McMann slams home his own rebound, off a terrific set up from Domi. McMann’s elite speed is the main key to this line, but Domi’s playmaking has been imperative to the team’s success as well.

Domi finished the 2023-24 campaign with 23 primary assists at 5-on-5, which was tied for 7th in the NHL — alongside Leon Draisaitl and Elias Pettersson among others. After overcoming an injury that kept him out of the lineup for eight games, Domi’s playmaking and lateral passing has improved, he’s become a more willing shooter and he’s become a lot more engaged in the defensive zone. If Domi functions as an elite playmaker throughout the second half of the campaign, the Maple Leafs may have found a permanent fix to their secondary scoring woes.

Robertson has four goals since being placed alongside McMann and Domi and it’s allowed him to play a more complete game as well. His game is predicated on his excellent release, but he’s up to six goals and 10 points in 32 games and he leads the Maple Leafs with 10 drawn penalties. Toronto remained patient with Robertson, with many wondering if he’d be traded before the deadline. Brad Treliving may end up moving Robertson after all, but it’s clear that he’s won Berube’s trust for the time being.

It’s curious to see how McMann-Domi-Robertson will fare in the playoffs, particularly against stingier defences. Tampa Bay has allowed the second-fewest high-danger chances at 5-on-5, while Boston and Florida rank fifth and sixth, respectively — it’s paramount for Toronto to win the Atlantic Division, where it can beat Ottawa playing any style, and can take its chances in a track meet against Metropolitan Division opponents. There’s the notion that Domi and Robertson will get muscled off the puck during the playoffs, but both players willingly engage in puck battles, while McMann’s physicality is an underrated feature. Berube can always adjust the line, depending on the opponent, of course, but it’ll be compelling to see how Toronto’s third line fares against superior competition during the regular season.

Matthews, Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares will need some help. Marner is playing at an elite level on both sides of the ice, Nylander is the running for the Rocket Richard, Tavares is having a resurgent campaign with 19 goals, while winning just under 57 percent of his faceoffs. It has arrived in the form of the McMann-Domi-Robertson line, they’re playing electric hockey in a controlled system and may be the optimal third line in the summer, which will be an area of emphasis during the second half of the year.