Maple Leafs vs. Sharks: Gavin McKenna's Power-Play Winner Snaps Toronto's Three-Game Skid

Everybody in Toronto circled Monday night for the first head-to-head between the top two picks of the 2026 NHL Draft. Ivar Stenberg, the No. 2 pick, finished it minus-1 with a single shot on goal. Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 pick, finished it with the game-winner.

McKenna broke a 1-1 tie on a third-period power play, Auston Matthews scored once and set up the other two Toronto goals, and the Maple Leafs beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 at Scotiabank Arena to snap a three-game skid. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 of 31 shots and finally got to celebrate a win in front of the home crowd as a Leaf.

A Captain's Mistake, Then a Captain's Fix

For 40 minutes this looked like the kind of night that gets a fan base doom-posting. The first period was a parade to the penalty box, with four minors whistled in the opening 17 minutes, and the only goal came at even strength off a Matthews turnover in his own zone. Tyler Toffoli lobbed a puck toward the crease from the left point, Mason Marchment knocked it out of the air with his glove at the top of the paint, and he tucked a backhand past Bobrovsky's left pad at 13:54 before anyone in blue could react.

"It was just a quick move and nice to get it by him," Marchment said.

Yaroslav Askarov spent the next period and change making that lead look sturdy. Toronto kept generating looks at even strength and kept running into the San Jose goalie, who finished with 29 saves. The Leafs were staring at a scoreless second period and a fourth straight loss when they got one more crack on the man advantage in the final minute.

Matthews did not waste it. Kirill Marchenko worked the puck from behind the net to Matthews in the left circle, and the captain hammered a one-timer over Askarov's blocker with 12 seconds left in the period. A goal that late flips a dressing room. Toronto went from grinding to breathing.

"I thought we stuck with it," Leafs coach Jim Hiller said. "I thought we had some really good chances through 40 minutes at even strength, and Askarov made some good saves."

The Turning Point: Cagnoni Sits, McKenna Dances

San Jose handed the door back early in the third. Luca Cagnoni was called for cross-checking Brandon Duhaime at 3:37, and 79 seconds later the teenager who went first overall walked right through it.

McKenna collected the puck at the bottom of the right faceoff dot, danced into the slot and snapped a wrist shot past Askarov's glove at 4:56. It was the first power-play goal of his NHL career, and by his own telling it came off a shift where his teammates won enough loose-puck battles to finally give him a sliver of room.

"That's a huge night for the group," McKenna said. "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."

From there, Bobrovsky closed the shop. San Jose eventually pulled Askarov for an extra attacker, and Nick Paul sealed it with an empty-netter at 19:20, with Matthews and Colton Sissons drawing the assists.

Matthews, McKenna and the Man in the Mask

Auston Matthews had the full redemption arc: the turnover on the opening goal, then a goal and two assists in 20:57 of ice time. NHL.com noted it was the 64th three-point game of his career, leaving him one behind Mats Sundin's 65 for third-most in franchise history. He also took 18 draws and split them right down the middle, nine won and nine lost.

Gavin McKenna played only 11:30 and still decided the game. He now has three goals and three assists through 10 career games, and NHL.com noted he joined Russ Courtnall as just the second Maple Leafs player age 18 or younger in the modern era (since 1943-44) with six or more points through his first 10 games. He also became the fifth player 18 or younger to score a game-winning goal for Toronto. That is the kind of company that makes a rookie card more expensive.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves for a .968 save percentage. Matthews summed up the goalie's night in four words: "Bob was great again," he said. Even the opposing bench agreed. "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," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said.

Yaroslav Askarov deserved better. His 29 saves kept San Jose in it, and the only pucks that beat him came with Toronto on the power play.

Stats That Matter

• Special teams decided it: Toronto went 2-for-5 on the power play, San Jose went 0-for-4. Both Leafs goals against Askarov came with the man advantage.
• Giveaways: San Jose coughed it up 18 times to Toronto's 12, and the first of the night's goals came off one of the Toronto turnovers.
• Shots: Toronto 32, San Jose 31. This was not a beatdown; it was a goalie duel that tipped on special teams.
• Colton Sissons owned the dot, winning 15 of 21 faceoffs while adding an assist on the clincher.
• Darren Raddysh logged 26:39 on the Toronto blue line and picked up an assist on the tying goal.

What It Means

Toronto is 4-4-2 with 10 points after a rough stretch that included a 5-4 loss at Utah, a 5-4 loss to Buffalo and a 4-1 home loss to the Islanders on Saturday. NHL.com put the skid at 0-2-1, and the Leafs needed something to stop the bleeding before a trip to Columbus on Tuesday. A win built on two power-play goals and a sharp goalie will do.

San Jose falls to 4-4-1 and is 1-3-1 over its past five games, per NHL.com. The Sharks are 1-1-1 on a six-game road trip and turn right around to face Montreal on Tuesday in the back half of a back-to-back. Warsofsky did not sugarcoat the issue. "We're not scoring right now," he said. One goal on 31 shots against a goalie in form will do that to a coach's mood.

Closing Take

Before the game, McKenna tried to downplay the storyline the league's marketing department would happily build a commercial around. "It's Leafs versus the Sharks," he said. Fair enough. But the first chapter of this rivalry played out like the opening scene of a franchise movie, where the chosen one does something absurd and everyone in the theater sits up. Stenberg will get his sequel. Monday belonged to McKenna.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes and notes from NHL.com; game details from the Associated Press.