Hiller says he erred in benching McKenna vs. Sabres

Toronto Maple Leafs coach Jim Hiller said keeping rookie Gavin McKenna on the bench for the second half of Thursday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres was his decision, and that he should have played the No. 1 pick earlier in the third period, according to NHL.com.

McKenna played 6:36 at Scotiabank Arena, his lowest ice time of the season. His last shift came with 9:40 left in the second period, and he did not return for the rest of regulation or overtime, NHL.com reported. Sportsnet and The Athletic also reported on the benching.

Hiller said he kept McKenna off the ice during a stretch of Toronto penalties in the second period and then could not get him back into the game. The Leafs took a holding penalty on Oliver Ekman-Larsson at 14:35 and a hooking penalty on Morgan Rielly at 18:07, followed by a stretch of 4-on-4 play. McKenna is not part of Toronto’s penalty-killing group.

Asked about McKenna’s performance, Hiller described it as “OK” and “fine,” NHL.com reported. He said he does not expect lasting harm because McKenna is mature and does not take things too personally, and that he planned to talk to McKenna before the next game.

McKenna had been on the ice for Jack Quinn’s goal that tied the game 2-2 at 2:41 of the second period. Toronto led 4-2 entering the third, but the Sabres rallied and won in overtime. Our game report has the full scoring summary.

The ice time stood out because of how the rookie had been used until now. Entering the game, McKenna had five points (two goals and three assists) in seven games and was averaging 15 minutes per game. His previous low was 12:46 in a 3-2 loss to Ottawa on Oct. 3, according to NHL.com.

The Leafs picked McKenna first overall at the NHL draft in June, as CP24 reported.

Captain Auston Matthews said the team has McKenna’s back and expects the game to motivate him against the New York Islanders on Saturday, NHL.com reported.

Toronto also lost centre John Tavares to an undisclosed injury in the third period, leaving the team with 11 forwards for the rest of the game.

The Leafs face the Islanders on Saturday, Oct. 17. Toronto’s earlier result against Utah is covered in our Mammoth report.

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Photo: file photo of Gavin McKenna with Penn State, not from Thursday’s game.