Toronto Maple Leafs beat Sharks 3-1 as McKenna scores winner
The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-1 at Scotiabank Arena. Gavin McKenna scored the game-winner, Auston Matthews finished with three points and Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves in Toronto’s comeback victory.
against the San Jose Sharks at the Scotiabank Arena on October 19, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Bailey McLean/Bailey McLean)
The Toronto Maple Leafs secured a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena, with 18-year-old Gavin McKenna scoring the game-winning goal and Auston Matthews contributing three points to lead Toronto’s comeback.
The Toronto Maple Leafs trailed after the opening period but responded with a power-play goal from Matthews late in the second before McKenna put the hosts ahead in the third. Nick Paul added an empty-net goal in the final minute to secure the result in front of 19,011 fans.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 of 31 shots for Toronto, while San Jose goaltender Yaroslav Askarov made 29 saves on 31 shots before leaving the net for an extra attacker.
The victory gave Toronto its fourth win of the 2026-27 season and improved its home record to 3-3-1.
Toronto Maple Leafs overcome early deficit against Sharks
San Jose opened the scoring at 13:54 of the first period when Mason Marchment scored his third goal of the season, assisted by Tyler Toffoli.
The Sharks carried their 1-0 advantage into the second period, where both teams continued to generate scoring opportunities. Toronto recorded 10 shots in the middle frame, while San Jose produced 13, but the Maple Leafs eventually found their breakthrough on the power play.
With just 11 seconds remaining in the period, Matthews scored his seventh goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1. Kirill Marchenko and Darren Raddysh collected the assists on the play.
The goal was Matthews’ third on the power play this season and the 112th power-play goal of his NHL career. He now sits third in Maple Leafs franchise history in that category, behind Mats Sundin with 124 and Darryl Sittler with 120.
Marchenko’s assist also extended his productive start in Toronto. Through his first 10 games with the club, the forward has recorded four goals and six assists for 10 points.
He became the fourth Toronto player in the past decade to register at least 10 points in his first 10 games with the franchise, joining John Tavares, Joe Thornton and Matthews.
Gavin McKenna delivers historic game-winning goal
The decisive moment came at 4:56 of the third period when McKenna scored on the power play to give Toronto its first lead of the night.
Matthews and William Nylander assisted on the goal, McKenna’s third of the season and sixth point through his first 10 NHL appearances.
The 18-year-old became just the fifth Maple Leafs player aged 18 or younger to score a game-winning goal, joining Jack Hamilton, Ted Kennedy, Bud Poile and Busher Jackson.
McKenna also joined Russ Courtnall as the only Toronto players aged 18 or younger in the modern NHL era, beginning in 1943-44, to record at least six points through their first 10 career games.
Toronto maintained its narrow advantage throughout the remainder of the third period, with Bobrovsky preserving the lead as San Jose searched for an equalizer.
Paul eventually secured the victory at 19:20, scoring into the empty net after receiving assists from Matthews and Colton Sissons.
The goal was Paul’s second of the season, while Sissons recorded a point in consecutive games for the first time during the campaign.
Auston Matthews reaches another Maple Leafs milestone
Matthews finished with one goal and two assists, bringing his season total to seven goals and nine assists for 16 points through 10 games.
It was his 64th career three-point game, moving him within one of tying Sundin for third place in franchise history.
Matthews also factored on a game-winning goal for the 123rd time in his career, placing him two behind Nylander and Mitch Marner, who each have 125. Only Sundin and Dave Keon have recorded more such contributions in Maple Leafs history.
Toronto’s special teams were another important factor in the victory. The Maple Leafs converted two of their five power-play opportunities while successfully killing all four San Jose advantages.
The Sharks finished without a power-play goal despite generating 31 shots overall. Toronto held a narrow 32-31 advantage in shots and won 32 of the game’s 63 faceoffs.
Bobrovsky was named the game’s first star, followed by Matthews and Askarov.
The Toronto Maple Leafs finished the night with a victory built around timely special-teams scoring, a strong performance from their goaltender and another significant contribution from McKenna.
For a team still working toward consistency early in the season, the comeback provided two points and another encouraging performance from its young forward.
