Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi is gearing up for his first game of the preseason after missing time at the start of camp due to a lower-body injury.

He won’t get a fresh crack at rekindling chemistry with Auston Matthews in this one, as the captain was not fully active in the morning skate and likely will get the night off. Domi will likely instead be skating down the middle between Matthew Knies and Nick Robertson for Saturday’s contest against the Montreal Canadiens.

Speaking with reporters after the morning skate, Domi says he feels healthy and is looking forward to getting back into game action.

“It’s part of the game man, it’s part of pro sports. You’re gonna get injured,” he said. “Luckily, we have a great staff and the work you gotta put in before and after skates a little extra stuff to try and not lose an edge. And now I feel great.”

Now that he is ready to get back into the swing of things, the one area Domi wants to focus on is continuing to build on the identity that head coach Craig Berube established in his first season manning the bench. Domi knows that the identity is to be hard to play against, play with a lot of energy, and roll through all the lines evenly.

Entering Year 2 of the Berube era, Domi feels more prepared for what it will take to thrive in the system.

“When you have a new coach coming in, there’s always a little bit of uncertainty with drills and practice or systematic things and whatnot, and just getting to know them on a personal level,” he said. “ We all have a great relationship with Chief and everyone loves him.  Some of the new guys get to know him pretty quickly here, but it doesn’t take long. I think that chemistry goes on the ice as well as off the ice, and the player-coach connection as well.”

Part of that sense of comfort is making sure the new arrivals feel comfortable in their new surroundings and their new teammates. Domi felt that Matias Maccelli is fun to be around and brings a lot of skill to the team, described Nicolas Roy as unbelievable, and said that James Reimer is an ‘awesome dude’.

Of course, the most important thing for Domi to focus on right now is getting himself back into game mode and ramping up the intensity for the upcoming season.

“You wanna win for sure, but it’s just a lot of timing and get the rust out a little bit,” he said. “Get back to playing into a game. It is impossible to simulate until you play, so that’s always the thought process for the first game or two of the preseason.”