Maple Leafs News & Rumours: McKenna Gets His Moment & Matthews Finds His Game

The Toronto Maple Leafs had quite a night against Nashville. They fell behind 3-0, came back, and eventually won 5-4 in overtime. That’s the sort of game that can leave a coach with plenty to talk about.

Jim Hiller seemed particularly interested in two things. Gavin McKenna finally scored his first NHL goal, and Auston Matthews put together the kind of game that made his coach stop and take notice. There was also a little experimenting with the lines, including more Matthews and William Nylander together at five-on-five.

Gavin McKenna Finally Gets His Moment

McKenna didn’t just score his first NHL goal. Hiller liked how he scored it. He called it a “goal scorer’s goal,” noting that McKenna got his feet around the puck on the strong side and put real zip on the shot. That’s interesting because McKenna has been described, quite rightly, as a playmaker. Hiller seemed to enjoy seeing another side of his game.

And the timing mattered, too. Nashville had just restored a two-goal lead when McKenna scored 61 seconds later. Hiller wasn’t interested in treating it as some ceremonial first NHL goal. It was an important goal at an important moment in the game.

McKenna had been waiting for his first point, and then suddenly he had a goal and an assist. More importantly, he contributed to a comeback. Maybe that’s the sort of thing that can help a young player stop thinking about whether he’s supposed to be succeeding and just start playing.

Auston Matthews and William Nylander Might Be Worth Watching

Hiller also made it pretty clear that Auston Matthews had something special going on Tuesday night. Matthews finished with four points, including the overtime winner, but Hiller said he wasn’t really talking about the numbers. He wanted people to watch Matthews shift by shift.

He talked about Matthews’ work all over the ice, including winning battles in the defensive zone. But the word Hiller kept coming back to was “will.” He said Matthews had a strong “will to win.” That’s a pretty good compliment from a coach.

Hiller also liked what he saw when Matthews played with Nylander. He admitted it’s tempting to put two extremely talented players together, but he doesn’t want to overload one line and lose the lineup’s balance. Sometimes, though, the timing is right. Maybe Tuesday was one of those times.

Matthews and Nylander were both strong at the same time, Hiller said, and they complemented each other well. That’s something worth watching, because if those two can find another level together without weakening the rest of the lineup, Hiller has another option to play with.

What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?

The funny thing about a 5-4 overtime comeback is that you can find plenty to like and plenty to work on. Hiller wasn’t pretending Toronto played a perfect game. He actually started his postgame comments with the simplest thing possible: “We won.”

That’s probably exactly the right focus. The Maple Leafs have played games where they’ve looked better and didn’t get the two points. But this one showed some things Hiller can build on. McKenna scored his first goal and recorded his first assist. Matthews looked determined to make a difference. And the team didn’t completely abandon its defensive structure when it fell behind.

Now Hiller has to decide whether the Matthews-Nylander combination was a one-night thing or something worth trying again. And McKenna gets to wake up the next morning knowing that the first NHL goal isn’t hanging over him anymore.

Sometimes one game can change the conversation.