McKenna gets benched, scores as scuffling Leafs lose for fourth time in five games

TORONTO — Gavin McKenna had the puck on his stick, looking to make a play in the offensive zone with the Maple Leafs already in a hole.

The No. 1 overall pick in June’s NHL draft spotted Maple Leafs defenceman Jake McCabe in open ice on the opposite side of the rink.

Canadiens forward Chris Kreider read the rookie winger’s mind, intercepted the pass and raced the other way before burying a breakaway chance for a 3-0 lead.

McKenna found himself stapled to the bench for the rest of the second period before scoring in the third as part of Toronto’s failed comeback attempt, which ended in a 4-2 Montreal victory.

The 18-year-old’s performance Saturday was a lot like the Maple Leafs’ first 18 games — some good, some bad, and not enough overall.

Toronto, in short, needs to find some traction fast.

The club sits with the same record — an 8-8-2 mark — as it did at this stage of last season’s disastrous 78-point showing that ended with its first playoff-less campaign in a decade.

“There were some good things,” said veteran defenceman Chris Tanev. “We need to do it for 60 (minutes), and we’ve been saying that for a long time now.”

The Maple Leafs have lost four of their last five games in regulation and sit second-last in the high-flying Atlantic Division. Toronto opened a season-high six-game homestand with Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth and is in the middle of a difficult gauntlet that includes a Sunday date with the red-hot New Jersey Devils, followed by matchups against the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Edmonton Oilers.

“Urgency always has to be high,” said Maple Leafs forward John Tavares, back Saturday after a nine-game absence with a lower-body injury. “We can look at all that and who we’re playing against and the calibre and expectations of certain teams. But in this league, every game’s important — they all matter.

“Important for us to regroup and get back at it.”

That’s what McKenna said after his second-period turnover, which started the sequence leading to Montreal’s first goal.

“I knew I was gonna probably sit for that one,” he said. “My teammates, in the second intermission, came in and talked to me, and (head coach Jim Hiller) pulled me aside and talked to me.

“He said he was gonna get me out there again, which felt good. I appreciated that from him, and honestly, it fired me up. Just an unfortunate bounce.”

Maple Leafs winger William Nylander scored Toronto’s first goal in the third on a power play before McKenna made it 3-2 just 55 seconds later. He liked the youngster’s response.

“Obviously doesn’t want to make that turnover,” Nylander said. “He realizes it when he makes the play … it’s great for him to come back and get a huge goal. Sometimes that happens. You just gotta forget about it and move on.

“He answered the bell.”

Hiller, who benched McKenna for the second half of a game last month, kept the details of their intermission conversation private.

“You just can’t do it — you can’t continue to do it — you know what I mean?” he said of turning the puck over. “But he’s a great young player. Bounced back, good attitude, all that kind of stuff.

“(He’s) trying, learning, come a long way, so it’s all good. It’s just tough sometimes.”

The same could be said for the Maple Leafs right now.

“Sometimes we start the game well, and then we dip off,” Nylander said of Toronto’s uneven performances. “It’s been hard. Sometimes first period’s good, second period’s good, third period’s good. I couldn’t tell you why.”

The answers need to come soon.

“If there’s no urgency, then you’re in the wrong league,” Tanev said. “It’s just playing smarter hockey, supporting each other and understanding situations.”

EARLY DEPARTURE

Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly didn’t return after Saturday’s first period with a lower-body injury.

“He’s played really well,” said Hiller, who didn’t have an update post-game. “He’s had a really good, probably three weeks, as good as I’ve seen him in a long time. Really been helping us.

“His confidence is back. It’s a big blow, so hopefully it’s not too long.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2026.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press