McKenna Scores Game-Winner as Maple Leafs Beat Sharks 3-1 to Snap Three-Game Slide

TORONTO

The future scored the winner, and the captain made sure of everything else. Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft, scored his first career power-play goal at 4:56 of the third period on Monday night, breaking a 1-1 tie and lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks at Scotiabank Arena — a result that snapped Toronto's three-game slide and gave a restless home crowd the ending it had spent two periods waiting for.

Marchment first, Matthews answers

For a long stretch, the night belonged to the visitors and to an old friend. Mason Marchment, who came up through Toronto's organization between 2016 and 2020 before being traded to Florida, opened the scoring at 13:54 of the first period. Auston Matthews turned the puck over in his own zone, Tyler Toffoli kept the play alive at the point, and Marchment gloved the puck down in front, moved to his left and shoveled it over a sprawling Sergei Bobrovsky. It was Marchment's third goal as a Shark — and, remarkably, the third straight time he had scored the first goal of a game, something no Shark had done since 1993.

San Jose's discipline then gave the game away in installments. The Sharks survived a 58-second five-on-three late in the first, Jacob Trouba and Dmitry Orlov sitting for consecutive tripping calls, and Yaroslav Askarov frustrated Toronto's shooters for most of the evening. But with seconds left in the second period, San Jose was whistled for too many men on the ice — Macklin Celebrini jumping on too early — and Matthews made the mistake count. Kirill Marchenko spun away from Trouba in the corner and slipped the puck to the captain, who ripped a one-timer home with 12 seconds left in the period to tie it 1-1. It was Matthews' team-leading seventh goal of the season and the 112th power-play goal of his career, third in franchise history behind only Darryl Sittler (120) and Mats Sundin (124).

McKenna's moment

The winner came on another power play, early in the third. McKenna took the puck from Matthews on the outside, was given a relatively unimpeded path toward the net, and pinged it in off the post past Askarov — then dropped to one knee in celebration, as the Canadian Press described it, after fishing the puck out of a crowd. The goal carried a stack of firsts. It was McKenna's first power-play goal in the NHL, recorded in his 10th career game, bringing him to 3 goals and 6 points through those 10 games. Per the Maple Leafs' game notes, he became just the second Toronto player aged 18 or younger in the modern era (since 1943-44) with six or more points through 10 career games, alongside Russ Courtnall, who had 10 points at the same stage in 1983-84. And the occasion itself was a first: the game was the first NHL meeting between McKenna and San Jose winger Ivar Stenberg, the No. 1 and No. 2 picks of the 2026 draft.

Matthews, who finished with a goal and two assists — his fourth multi-point game of the young season, and 16 points (7 goals, 9 assists) through 10 games — was quick to credit the rookie afterward. "He's not shy of the moment at all. You give him a little bit of time and space, like he had there, he's going to make something happen," Matthews said, via Athlon Sports. "Even what happened a couple nights ago, that stuff doesn't shake him. He just keeps churning away." Nick Paul sealed it with an empty-net goal at 19:19 of the third, assisted by Colton Sissons.

The details underneath

Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots to earn his first home win as a Maple Leaf, while Askarov made 29 saves in the loss. Toronto's penalty kill, which entered the night as the NHL's top-ranked unit at 96.4 percent (27 for 28), killed all four San Jose power plays. Marchenko's assist on the tying goal gave him 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 10 games with Toronto — making him, per the club, the fourth Toronto skater in the past decade with 10 or more points through his first 10 games with the franchise, joining John Tavares, Joe Thornton and Matthews. Star winger William Nylander, a game-time decision after missing the morning skate with an illness, suited up for Toronto.

The win moves Toronto to 4-4-2 and was the response Matthews had demanded after a 4-1 loss to the Islanders, when the captain called for urgency from the veterans, starting with himself. San Jose falls to 4-4-1 and remains one of two teams still without a regulation win this season, in the words of Field Level Media's recap — a strange line for a team with a winning record, and a sign of how many of the Sharks' points have come the hard way. Both clubs are back at it Tuesday: the Sharks visit the Montreal Canadiens, and the Maple Leafs visit the Columbus Blue Jackets. For the rest of Monday's NHL finals, see our Monday night roundup and the Mammoth's 5-4 win over Pittsburgh.