The Maple Leafs lost 4-1 to the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night. Toronto also lost 4-3 in overtime to the Canadiens at the Bell Centre. Sunday is a day off for the team.
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Gavin McKenna felt the love from Leafs Nation during his NHL pre-season debut on Saturday night. The first overall pick in June’s draft heard a huge cheer when introduced as part of the starting lineup.
“It was super cool,” the 18-year-old from Whitehorse said. “Yeah, to know I got this fan base behind me, it feels good. I think when you hear that, you get almost chills.”
There was a buzz in the building every time McKenna jumped over the boards.
“You could tell when he had the puck, because the crowd would get so excited,” Canadiens goalie Samuel Montembeault told TSN. “He’s a special player and it was fun to play against him.”
McKenna didn’t register a point, but landed three shots on net while playing on Toronto’s second line with John Tavares and William Nylander.
“Being out there with the guys, you know, the talent in this room, very lucky to be able to step on that ice for my first time with guys like [Auston] Matthews, [Matthew] Knies, JT, Willie, all those guys. So I’m just super lucky and I’ll remember this day forever.”
Head coach Jim Hiller gave the rookie left winger plenty of ice time, including a late look with the 6-on-5 unit. McKenna ended up logging 20 minutes and 39 seconds, which was fourth among Toronto’s forwards.
McKenna was whistled for an offensive-zone hooking penalty, but also drew a holding call on Canadiens defenceman Maksymilian Szuber.
“In a game where I didn’t think there was a lot of offence from either team, he was in on three or four chances, so you’ll take that every day,” Hiller said. “So, yeah, I thought he was good. Good start for him.”
“I felt pretty good,” McKenna said. “I thought I created a bit, but also had a couple turnovers, which I think kind of just happens with nerves.”
McKenna is already looking forward to Wednesday’s pre-season game against the Ottawa Senators, which will be the final tune up before things start for real on Sept. 29.
What can the kid take from Saturday’s debut?
“I would just tell him not to overthink it,” said Hiller. “Clearly, he’s a pretty good self-evaluator, you know, and he’ll put that pressure on himself, so I’m not going to go and do that to him this early. And we’ll just see how he adjusts himself to the next game.”
But then Hiller identified one way McKenna can improve.
“If I say one thing to him, just to be a little bit closer to the puck,” the coach continued. “A little bit closer. We want him to have the puck and sometimes in the NHL you’ve got to just get right there and surround it and then make plays out of that rather than, you know, waiting and seeing if somebody can get it to you.”
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Matthews looked good in his first game action since suffering a grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion on March 12.
“He was flying out there,” observed new Leafs defenceman Darren Raddysh. “He’s been flying ever since he got back from the summer. So, yeah, just fun to be on his team once in a while.”
Matthews produced a primary assist and had a game-high six shots on net.
“It felt good,” the 29-year-old centre said. “Maybe first half of the first period, definitely felt pretty rusty, but as the game went on, it felt better and better. And then, you know, as we continue to skate and practice and play one more game, I think just the conditioning of the legs kind of get going a little bit more and [you] transition into game shape a little bit. But, all in all, I mean, it was a good first game. I thought I had some good moments, good opportunities, and take that and go from there and keep building.”
One moment, in particular, stood out as Matthews reached a speed burst of 35 km/h during a rush up the ice. He only hit that number twice last season when he finished with career lows in goals (27) and points (53).
“I thought he was really skating,” said Hiller. “I thought he had the puck, and he looked dangerous. He had a lot of looks. So I liked his game. If I think of one moment in the game was when he rounded the net, came through, kind of sliced through a couple guys, end-to-end. You know, I hadn’t seen that a lot out of him last year, and so that was a really positive thing to see. He was moving, carrying the puck. He was dangerous and the goalie made a couple really good saves on him.”
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Leafs defenceman Marshall Rifai dropped the gloves with Canadiens winger Florian Xhekaj in the second period.
“They were upset that I was going after some of their guys,” Xhekaj said. “They were chatting to me so I was like, ‘Let’s go then’ and he ended up dropping them so it was fun.”
Xhekaj had taken runs at Matthews and Nylander earlier in the period.
“That’s appreciated, obviously,” Matthews said of Rifai. “You know, guys sticking up for each other, that’s what it’s all about.”
Since joining the Leafs organization in the 2022-23 season, Rifai has played mostly in the American Hockey League with the Marlies.
“Marshall’s been around here for a bit now, and he’s one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever come across,” Matthews said. “A guy that anytime he’s been called up, never complains, you know, always doing extra, always finding ways to try to get better. It’s something you really appreciate when you see guys like that in the organization. And appreciated him dropping the gloves like that. He’s played some games with us in the last couple years, and each night he just competes and competes, and he’s got everybody’s back out there, so it’s great.”
It was certainly a spirited tilt on Saturday night so much so that Xhekaj’s brother, Arber, watched the highlights during his own stay in the penalty box during the split-squad game taking place in Montreal.
“It was my first one in five, six months so I had some anger to let out,” Florian said with a grin.
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Toronto’s only goal during the game at Scotiabank Arena came courtesy Raddysh during a second period power play. Raddysh’s 97.6 mph point blast broke the stick of Josh Anderson before being accidentally deflected in by Mike Matheson.
“He’s obviously got a bomb and a big shot threat up there, and he’s deceptive,” Matthews said of Raddysh, who led all NHL defenceman with 10 power-play goals last season. “I mean, he made some great plays to me and I’ve got to put that in. Yeah, you can just tell he’s got so much poise up there and really can maneuver and quarterback a power play extremely well and has that big shot to kind of cap everything off.”
The Leafs, who practised the power play for the first time on Saturday morning, converted on just one of six chances against the Canadiens during the game in Toronto.
“We had a lot of chances,” Raddysh noted. “I think that was the first time we’ve actually been out there against a PK that’s been going hard. So, yeah, I liked it. We’ll watch the video, go through what we need to work on, and take it for the next game.”
The Leafs generated five shots on the power play. The top unit featured two newcomers with Raddysh and Jack Roslovic joining Matthews, Nylander and Tavares.
“When they got in the zone, they moved the puck around,” Hiller said. “They had more chances, of course, to score than the one that went in. So there was some positive stuff there.”
Raddysh was playing his first game with the Leafs since joining his hometown team via a sign and trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“It was pretty cool,” the 30-year-old said. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about this since the day it happened. It was only pre-season, but it was pretty cool to step on that ice in the Leafs jersey.”
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Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 10 of 11 shots in his first action with the Leafs.
“It was a good game,” said the 38-year-old goalie. “The building was great, great energy, great to play some hockey. I thought the guys did a great job to keep the shots on the outside. Yeah, we’ll keep building. It’s the first game. We’re getting together, building the chemistry, building the good emotions here. So I’m just going to keep working.”
Brobrovsky debuted a new mask during the game courtesy designer Dave Gunnarsson.
“I got the Leafs logo,” he noted. “I got the Arhangel Mihail... Just keep it simple. I’m orthodox, and I believe in God.”
Bobrovsky logged 28 minutes and 36 seconds before being relieved by Anthony Stolarz midway through the second period.
Bobrovsky bested the Leafs in two playoff series during his time with the Florida Panthers. What’s it like to see him in Toronto’s net now?
“It’s an absolute treat,” Matthews raved. “I’m not going to lie, I was so excited when we signed him. And just to be around him, I mean, the stories, the hype around him and just the professional that he is and how he looks after himself, just his focus, it’s extremely impressive. I couldn’t be happier to have him on our side.”
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After skating on the fourth line during the first two practice days at training camp, winger Dakota Joshua did not suit up in Saturday’s games.
“He’s dealing with something,” Hiller confirmed.
Joshua’s injury may open the door for Steven Lorentz, who skated as the 13th forward in the first two practices.
Lorentz, like so many Leafs, is looking to bounce back after a down year.
“You just got to get back to basics,” he said. “I don’t know if losing a piece of my identity [is the right way to put it], but there was just some times where I struggled with confidence,” the 30-year-old from Kitchener, Ont. said before Saturday’s game.
“I was just almost trying too hard a little bit at times, and that can kind of throw you off your game. I think you just honestly have to go back and simplify, and I play a simple game to begin with. So rather than going out and thinking, you know, you’ve got to make a big splash here and try and run every guy in sight, you know, you’ve just got to play the right way, check when you have to check, use your stick, use your speed, and play smart along the boards. It’s just simple things, but that’s when I get back to my game. That’s when I start feeling more confident.”
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Leafs lines on Saturday night in Toronto:
Knies - Matthews - Roslovic
McKenna - Tavares - Nylander
Lorentz - Quillan - MacEwan
Groulx - Koblar - Nansi
Andrae - Raddysh
McCabe - Tanev
Rifai - Danford
Bobrovsky starts
Stolarz
Leafs line on Saturday night in Montreal:
Cowan - Paul - Sissons
Duhaime - Blueger - Lettieri
Brisson - Shaw - Tverberg
Pezzetta - Rybinski - Johnstone
Ekman-Larsson - Blankenburg
Mermis - Stecher
Chadwick - McWard
Akhtyamov
Hlavaj
