No. 1 draft pick Gavin McKenna scored his first NHL goal with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night against the Nashville Predators. The 18-year-old netted the goal on goaltender Juuse Saros in the second period of his fourth professional game, taking a pass from Auston Matthews and beating Saros with a high shot before celebrating on one knee at Scotiabank Arena. McKenna also recorded an assist on William Nylander's first goal, earning his first NHL point.
Toronto won the game 5-4 in overtime. The Maple Leafs had missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade the previous spring but secured the first overall pick in the June draft lottery, selecting McKenna. The Yukon native, who played college hockey at Penn State, joined several new offseason additions including goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, defenseman Darren Raddysh, and winger Kirill Marchenko.
Prior to the game, McKenna had averaged 14 minutes and 32 seconds of ice time with three shots on target and a minus-3 rating through his first three games. The Associated Press contributed to the report.
Source: ESPN NHL · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing