Gavin McKenna’s first NHL goal arrived with a top-corner finish, a first assist and a first-star skate at Scotiabank Arena, as the Toronto Maple Leafs edged the Nashville Predators 5-4 in overtime on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old winger beat Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros at 14:31 of the second period, wiring the puck upstairs for the first point of his NHL career after opening with three scoreless games. The building, packed with 18,792, gave the No. 1 pick from the 2026 NHL Draft a roar he will carry for a long time.
His parents, Willy and Krystal McKenna, were not in the rink for it. They had returned to Whitehorse, Yukon, roughly 2,500 miles northwest of Toronto, after watching his first three games in person. They saw the breakthrough from home, three time zones away.
“It was so great to see,” Willy McKenna said.
For Gavin, the family message waiting on his phone after the game mattered as much as the noise in the arena.
“They’re super proud,” McKenna said. “Obviously you want them to be here. But for them to be watching at home, well, I’m sure it was a special moment for them at home.
“I wouldn’t be here without them. They mean the world to me. I love them.”
After the horn
McKenna took a lap after being named the game’s first star, with the Toronto crowd on its feet. Then came a national television interview outside the room, followed by the texts from Whitehorse.
The puck from his first goal is headed north.
“It’s going home and going in my trophy case for sure,” McKenna said.
There was a measure of relief in his postgame smile, too. The rookie had fielded questions over his scoreless start, including a call from one local commentator to send him to the Toronto Marlies. Tuesday’s goal and assist gave him an immediate answer on the ice.
“It’s a big monkey off the back,” McKenna said. “That one felt good. Yeah, that’s a goal I’ll remember forever.”
Asked whether three games felt like a long wait, he did not hesitate.
“I’d say it felt longer,” he said. “But I think every single game I’ve been trying to get better and better. And I thought obviously tonight was my best one. So I think I’m taking steps in the right direction.”
Auston Matthews, Toronto’s captain, drove the Leafs attack with a goal and three assists. He knows the spotlight that comes with being a first-overall pick in Toronto and expects the rookie to be freer now that his first point is behind him.
“When you go a few games and you haven’t found the scoresheet, it’s tough,” Matthews said. “It can weigh on you. But at the same time, keep sticking with it.
“Obviously he found it tonight. And I think he’s going to go on a tear here now because that weight’s kind of lifted off your shoulders, and you just kind of focus and go play.”
The game also put four first-overall selections on the scoresheet, only the fourth such game in NHL history. Matthews, selected in 2016, and McKenna were joined by Toronto’s John Tavares, the 2009 top pick, and Nashville’s Steven Stamkos, drafted first in 2008. Stamkos scored twice for the Predators.
Stamkos offered some perspective before the game. He went without a point in the first seven games of his own career, though he noted the environment in Tampa Bay did not match the daily Leafs attention surrounding McKenna.
“When you come to a place like this, it’s a pressure cooker, right,” Stamkos said. “I walked into our hotel last night and the TV was on in the hotel, and it was all Maple Leafs. There’s not many cities you walk into and it’s like that.
“That’s just the way it is here.”
The veteran Predators forward also pointed to McKenna’s support system. Tavares and Matthews have both helped the teenager settle into the league, with Tavares opening his home to McKenna and his family. McKenna also spent Sunday night at Matthews’ house, where the evening consisted of sandwiches, football and sleep.
“I’ve learned so much from those two,” McKenna said. “They’ve been very special to me, and they’ve helped me a lot.”
McKenna made sure to thank the Maple Leafs supporters before leaving the room, calling Toronto a special place to play and saying he loves the fan base. Then it was time to get back to his family in Whitehorse — and eventually send home the puck that started it all.
