D’Amico’s offensive resurgence has helped bring balance to Spitfires’ offense

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Overage forward Daniel D’Amico’s offensive resurgence has helped to bring balance to the Windsor Spitfires’ offense.

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The Spitfires entered Thursday game against the Sarnia Sting at the WFCU Center with the top-rated offense in the Ontario Hockey League. But for a good chunk of the season, the names that jumped out were league scoring leaders Wyatt Johnston, Matthew Maggio and Will Cuylle.

After months of line juggling, Spitfires’ head coach Marc Savard may have finally found that elusive balance. D’Amico has joined rookie center Ryan Abraham and Maggio as a trio while Alex Christopoulos has moved onto Johnston’s line with Cuylle.

“Right now, we like that balance,” Savard said. “As good as (Maggio, Johnston and Cuylle) are together, to be successful we had to find a second line and now we feel like we have 1A and 1B.”

Maggio is having a breakout season while Abraham’s confidence has grown the further he’s gotten into his first season. But it’s D’Amico, who had back-to-back campaigns, that has finally found his form.

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“D’Amico is playing some of his best hockey,” Savard said. “Early in the year we loved him, but then he had a tough stretch and went through COVID. (Now,) that second line, with Maggio and Abraham, has really balanced off the scoring.”

Windsor rode a season-high, seven-game winning streak into Thursday’s game against the Sting. The one common thread in the seven wins is D’Amico has scored at least one goal in each of those wins and has 11 goals over that stretch after netting just 15 in his first 52 games this season.

“I’ve probably been with all of the top nine forwards,” D’Amico said. “I’ve been on the first line, the second and third.

“I was a little frustrated with my role and not being able to put pucks in net and get points, but it’s the end of the season and this is the most important time and glad I’m going now.”

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In his first season as head coach, Savard remained high on D’Amico, even when the veteran wasn’t putting points up on as consistent a basis as he had envisaged.

“I’ve been hard on him all year, but I love him as a hockey player,” Savard said. “This (offensive burst) is what we thought.

“He’s had an up and down year and he’ll admit it, but I’ve told him, ‘For us to go anywhere, we need Daniel D’Amico,’ and he knows that. Now, he’s moving at a high clip and he brings a lot to the table when he’s going.”

D’Amico, who is approaching 250 games with the club despite not playing in 2020-21, gives credits to his linemates.

“I think we just, over the past 10 games, we talk to each other on and off the ice,” D’Amico said of the trio. “We have a good relationship and move the puck when it needs to be moved. We all make each other go.”

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With eight games left, D’Amico needs four goals to hit 30 on the season. With Johnston (41), Cuylle (38) and Maggio (35) having already hit that mark, it would give the Spitfires four players with 30 goals for the first time since 2009-10. That season, where the club went on to win its second Memorial Cup, had six players reach that mark in Taylor Hall (40), Justin Shugg (39), Adam Henrique (38), Greg Nemisz (34), Eric Wellwood (31 ) and Scott Timmins (30).

“Right now, I’m just excited for the team,” said D’Amico, who also has been deadly in shootouts this season and leads the team with a perfect five-for-five performance. “I’ve scored a bunch in the last seven games. That won’t be the main focus (down the stretch), but with the two good players I’m playing with, (the chances will) come.”

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