After splitting four home games to begin the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs start a three-game western road trip when they face the Golden Knights on Thursday in Las Vegas.
The baggage for the flight to Sin City will no doubt feel a lot lighter for 18-year-old Toronto forward Gavin McKenna.
After going scoreless in his first three games, the highly touted No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft scored his first goal and added an assist, helping Toronto rally from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Nashville Predators 5-4 in overtime on Tuesday.
McKenna snapped a laser from just above the right faceoff dot over the right shoulder of Predators goalie Juuse Saros and into the top far corner of the net at the 14:31 mark of the second period to cut Nashville’s lead to 4-3.
Jack Roslovic tied the game midway through the third period before Matthews scored with 14 seconds remaining in overtime. Matthews also had three assists, including the primary helper on McKenna’s goal.
Although Matthews finished with a four-point game and the game-winning goal, McKenna was named the first star of the game. He received a loud standing ovation from the sellout crowd at Scotiabank Arena as he came out to take a lap.
“A big monkey off the back, that one felt good,” McKenna said. “That’s a goal I’ll obviously remember forever.”
“That was a goal-scorer’s goal,” Toronto coach Jim Hiller said. “The guys were really excited for him but more importantly it was a big goal in the hockey game. That one you remember. It was really important.”
The breakthrough eased some of the pressure that had been building on McKenna following his scoreless start.
“When you go a few games and you haven’t found the scoresheet, it’s tough,” Matthews said. “It can weigh on you. But at the same time, he just kept sticking with it, and obviously he found it tonight.
“I think you’re going to see him go on a bit of a tear here now, because that weight’s lifted off your shoulders,” Matthews added. “You can kind of just focus, and just go play.”
Now McKenna plays his first NHL road game on the big stage against a Vegas team that lost in six games to Carolina in the Stanley Cup Final in June.
The Golden Knights, first in the Pacific Division with six points, return home after sweeping a two-game Pacific Northwest trip, edging Vancouver 3-2 on Sunday, followed by a 6-2 victory at Seattle on Tuesday.
Tomas Hertl had two goals and two assists, and Jack Eichel also had a four-point game with a breakaway goal and three assists against the Kraken. Captain Mark Stone added a Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, an assist and a fighting major for his bout with Brandon Montour.
The game featured 65 minutes in penalties and a number of scuffles after Seattle’s Ben Meyers picked up a five-minute boarding penalty and a game misconduct for a hard check that sent Victor Olofsson flying into the boards. Olofsson, who had scored twice and leads the team with four goals, had to be helped off the ice with a lower-body injury and didn’t return.
“It’s tough to see ‘Oley’ going down,” Hertl said. “Hopefully it’s nothing serious because he’s had a heckuva start to the season.”
Vegas coach Ryan Craig said he’d have an update on Olofsson on Thursday.
The road sweep came after the Golden Knights lost 4-3 to Anaheim last Friday.
“It was a good road trip for us,” Stone said. “It’s good to finally get rewarded tonight, too, right? I thought we had quite a few chances in the first three games, but we didn’t bury the teams when we had the chances.”
–Field Level Media
