Toronto rallied from 3-0 down to beat Nashville 5-4 in overtime on Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena.
The sharpest detail was the breakthrough in the middle of the comeback, as Gavin McKenna scored his first NHL goal and added his first assist in the win.
A 3-0 Hole And A Rookie Breakthrough
For the first half of the night, this looked like a home loss Toronto would want to forget quickly. Nashville built a 3-0 lead in the second period on a goal by Steven Stamkos and two goals from Nils Hoglander, and Scotiabank Arena had every reason to go quiet. The Leafs were chasing the game, chasing the puck, and running out of time to make the evening mean anything.
Then the comeback arrived in layers. John Tavares started the climb, William Nylander continued it, and McKenna delivered the moment the building had been waiting for since the season began. The No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft had been held without a point in his first three games, a short wait that can feel very long for an 18 year old playing under Toronto lights. His first assist had already helped start the climb on the Tavares goal, and his first goal cut the Nashville lead to 4-3 late in the second period, completing a personal stat line that matched the size of the occasion.
McKenna, at 18 years and 290 days, became the ninth youngest Leaf to score his first NHL goal. After the game, he kept the description simple:
“A big monkey off the back, that one felt good. That’s a goal I’ll obviously remember forever.” Gavin McKenna, Maple Leafs forward, published by NHL.com
That is the honest sound of a first goal. No grand speech, no manufactured moment, just relief and memory in the same sentence. For a top pick in Toronto, the first one matters out of proportion to the standings, because every game without it becomes a question. McKenna answered the question inside a comeback, which made the answer louder.
Matthews Finishes It With 14 Seconds Left
The rally still needed finishing, because Nashville had answered once already. Stamkos scored his second goal of the night at 13:30 of the second period to make it 4-2, McKenna answered just over a minute later, and in the third period Toronto forward Jack Roslovic tied the game 4-4 at 8:54, restoring the tension and sending the game toward overtime.
Auston Matthews supplied the finish. The captain scored the overtime winner with 14 seconds left and finished with four points on one goal and three assists, a stat line that underlines how much of the comeback ran through him. Nylander added a goal and two assists, Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves, and Toronto improved to 2-2-0 with all four of its games this season decided by one goal.
That one goal pattern is becoming the early identity of this team. Toronto opened with a one goal loss in the Battle of Ontario, covered in Ottawa edging Toronto in the season opener, and the close games have kept coming. The next test in this launch slate is the Leafs visit to Colorado, where the same core will be asked to produce on the road.
There is a coaching lesson inside the chaos as well. A 3-0 deficit at home can split a bench, especially with a rookie still searching for his first point. Toronto instead stacked its comeback in order, veterans first and McKenna in the middle, so the teenager was joining a rally rather than being asked to start one alone. That sequencing matters for development, and it is part of why this win should help McKenna beyond the single goal on his record.
By The Numbers
- Final score: Toronto Maple Leafs 5, Nashville Predators 4, overtime
- Gavin McKenna: first NHL goal and first assist, at 18 years and 290 days
- Auston Matthews: 1 goal and 3 assists, overtime winner with 14 seconds left
- William Nylander: 1 goal and 2 assists
- Anthony Stolarz: 21 saves
- Toronto record: 2-2-0, with all four games decided by one goal
Why This Night Will Stick In Toronto
Comebacks happen every week in the NHL, and overtime winners fade quickly in a long season. First goals by No. 1 picks in Toronto do not fade. McKenna scored his in a game his team trailed by three, in front of a home crowd that had watched him go pointless for three games, and he did it on a night when Matthews and Nylander were also producing at full volume. The rookie did not have to carry the stars, and the stars did not have to wait for the rookie. They met in the middle of a rally.
Toronto is 2-2-0, still imperfect, still living on one goal margins. But the Leafs now have the moment every rebuild of expectations needs in October: proof that the youngest player on the roster can change a game the veterans started. McKenna will score prettier goals and bigger goals if his career follows the path Toronto hopes for. He will only ever have one first goal, and he chose a 5-4 overtime comeback to collect it.
