McKenna goal lifts Maple Leafs past Sharks 3-1

TORONTO – Gavin McKenna scored the go-ahead power-play goal early in the third period as the Toronto Maple Leafs snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Monday night.

Auston Matthews had a goal and two assists, Nick Paul added an empty-net goal with 40 seconds left, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves for his first home win as a Maple Leaf, NHL.com reported.

Mason Marchment opened the scoring for San Jose at 13:54 of the first period. Tyler Toffoli set up the goal, and the Sharks carried the 1-0 lead into the second.

Toronto tied it on the power play with 12 seconds left in the middle period. Kirill Marchenko found Matthews in the left circle, and Matthews beat Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov for his third point of the night.

McKenna put the Leafs in front at 4:56 of the third, also on the power play. The 18-year-old now has three goals and three assists in 10 NHL games. NHL.com said he is the second Toronto player aged 18 or younger in the modern era to reach six points through 10 games, joining Russ Courtnall in 1983-84, and the fifth to score a game-winning goal for the club.

“That’s a huge night for the group,” McKenna said, according to NHL.com.

The game was the first meeting between McKenna and San Jose winger Ivar Stenberg, the first and second picks of the 2026 NHL draft.

Matthews recorded the 64th three-point game of his career, one shy of Mats Sundin’s 65 for third on the franchise list, NHL.com said. Bobrovsky drew praise from his star forward.

“Bob was great again,” Matthews said.

Maple Leafs coach Jim Hiller said his team did a good job of “staying and going forward.” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky pointed to his team’s offence. “We’re not scoring right now,” Warsofsky said.

Toronto improved to 4-4-2. San Jose fell to 4-4-1 and is 1-3-1 in its last five games. The Leafs had dropped a 4-1 decision to the New York Islanders on Saturday and are without forward John Tavares, who is week to week with a lower-body injury.

The Maple Leafs visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. The Sharks, on the second game of a back-to-back and a six-game road trip, visit the Montreal Canadiens the same night.

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Via NHL.com. Score also confirmed by ESPN.