McKenna Lifts Maple Leafs Past Sharks With Third Period Goal

The Toronto Maple Leafs ended a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks at Scotiabank Arena on Monday, as Gavin McKenna scored the go-ahead goal in the third period. Auston Matthews contributed a goal and two assists, helping Toronto secure the win on home ice.

McKenna broke a 1-1 tie at 4:56 of the third period with his first NHL power-play goal. The 2026 NHL Draft's No. 1 pick collected the puck near the bottom of the right face-off circle, moved into the slot, and beat Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov with a wrist shot to the glove side.

Nick Paul sealed the 3-1 result with an empty-net goal at 19:20 of the third period. Toronto improved to 4-4-2, ending a skid of three consecutive losses, while San Jose fell to 4-4-1 after losing four of its past five games.

McKenna described the decisive sequence as a collective effort by his teammates, highlighting their work to regain possession and create room for his shot.

"That's a huge night for the group. That whole shift, the puck was bouncing around, and a lot of battle wins from the guys, and had a little bit of time and space in front. Shot low glove and it went in. (I was) pretty fired up." McKenna said.

The matchup also marked the first meeting between McKenna and Ivar Stenberg, whom San Jose selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Stenberg finished with a minus-1 rating and one shot on goal in 14:27 of ice time.

Before the game, McKenna acknowledged the attention surrounding the two highly selected prospects but emphasized the importance of the team result.

"Obviously, a lot of talk between us and he is a good player. He's having a good start to the year, but at the end of the day, I don't really go out thinking it's McKenna versus Stenberg. It's Leafs versus the Sharks.

It's a team game so I'm looking forward to playing against them." McKenna said.

Matthews tied the game at 1-1 with a power-play goal at 19:48 of the second period. Kirill Marchenko passed from behind the net to Matthews in the left circle, where the Toronto forward scored with a one-timer over Askarov's blocker.

Matthews recorded his 64th career three-point game, moving within one of Mats Sundin's franchise record of 65 for the third-most such performances in Maple Leafs history. Toronto coach Jim Hiller praised his team's persistence after several opportunities went unanswered during the opening 40 minutes.

"I thought we stuck with it. I thought we had some really good chances through 40 minutes at even strength, and Askarov made some good saves. I thought we did a really good job just staying and going forward today." Hiller said.

Matthews said Toronto delivered a strong performance across different aspects of the game and credited the team's goaltending.

"I think that's just top to bottom, hard game, really good young skilled game, and I just thought all facets of the game we were really solid. Bob was great again." Matthews said.

San Jose opened the scoring at 13:54 of the first period through Mason Marchment. Tyler Toffoli sent the puck toward the net from the left point, and Marchment controlled it with his glove near the crease before lifting a backhand shot over Sergei Bobrovsky's left pad.

Marchment explained that Toffoli's ability to keep the puck in the attacking zone created the scoring opportunity.

"I just saw (Toffoli) keeping it in. I just tried to stay under him and made a great play through everyone. It was just a quick move and nice to get it by him." Marchment said.

Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots to earn his first home victory with Toronto, while Askarov made 29 saves for San Jose. Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky acknowledged that his team created opportunities but struggled to convert them into goals.

"I think we're all right. We know we can feel it. We're not scoring right now.

We're getting some good looks. We got some good chances. I thought 'Bob' played really well, but there are still some consistency issues in our game, just all over with the puck and without it."

Warsofsky said.

McKenna recorded his third goal and third assist, reaching six points through his first 10 career games. According to the NHL, he became the second Maple Leafs player aged 18 or younger in the modern era, dating to 1943-44, to reach at least six points in that span, joining Russ Courtnall, who recorded 10 points in 1983-84.

San Jose remains on a six-game road trip with a record of 1-1-1 during the trip. The Sharks are scheduled to face the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday in the second game of a back-to-back. Forward Alexander Wennberg also briefly left Monday's game with an upper-body injury and did not return before the final moments, according to Warsofsky.