McKenna doesn't see ice in final half of Maple Leafs OT loss to Sabres

TORONTO -- Gavin McKenna did not play in the final 32:54 for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.

McKenna, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, played only 6:36, with his final shift coming with 9:40 remaining in the second period.

It was by far the lowest ice time McKenna has seen in the NHL, with his previous low being 12:46 in a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 3.

He entered the night with five points (two goals, three assists) in seven games while averaging 15:00 of ice time.

“You know what? That was my decision,” Toronto coach Jim Hiller said. “We went for a stretch where I think we had those penalties. I wanted to get him out there. He sat through the penalties, and then I didn't get them out there through that stretch. The last few minutes of the period, we're just trying to, you know, get out of the period, I guess you would say. Then now I've sat him for so long, and he sits in the intermission. I probably should have got him out there early in the third.”

After McKenna’s last shift, Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was assessed a minor penalty for holding at 14:35. Then at 18:07, defenseman Morgan Rielly was called for hooking before Zach Benson’s minor for interference 26 seconds later resulted in 4-on-4 play to conclude the second period.

McKenna is not part of the group of players who kill penalties for the Maple Leafs.

He was also on the ice for Jack Quinn’s second goal that tied the game 2-2 at 2:41 of the second period. Mattias Samuelsson stepped around McKenna at the Sabres' blue line before passing up to Noah Ostlund, who then snapped it across to Quinn for a shot from the right circle.

That play could perhaps be a reason why McKenna did not see the ice in the third. Toronto began the period leading 4-2, and Hiller has at times this season scaled back McKenna’s ice time while leading in favor of more defensively conscious players.

“Yeah, I mean, it's OK,” Hiller said when asked about what he thought of McKenna’s game. “It was OK. It was OK. It was fine.”

Hiller then pointed to the time that had elapsed since McKenna’s last shift as the reason why he did not get back on the ice.

However, forward John Tavares had left the game at 2:32 of the third period with an undisclosed injury following a collision with Josh Norris, leaving the Maple Leafs with 11 forwards. And Zack MacEwen, who played 5:27, did not see another shift after 13:57 of the second period, meaning Toronto used only nine of 11 available forwards after Tavares departed.

“Again, the big thing is the penalties. He doesn't get to play,” Hiller said. “We get into the thing, now he hasn't played for 30-some odd minutes. We talked about getting him out in the third, and then, I guess, it just didn't happen. That's on me. And then once we got into that stage, I said I'm not going to put them out there now. I've been sitting him there for 30 minutes. It's not fair to him.”

Captain Auston Matthews said he thinks McKenna will use this circumstance as motivation heading into Toronto’s next game against the New York Islanders on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SNO, SNW, SNP, MSGSN).

"Those things kind of happen sometimes,” Matthews said. “I think everybody has been in that situation before. It's not necessarily a situation you want to be in, but we've all got his back, and I know a game like tonight is going to make him hungry for the next one, to go out there and compete and dominate, and I'm excited to watch that."

Hiller had not met with McKenna when the coach addressed the media following the loss to the Sabres, though he said he would prior to the Islanders game.

As for how that meeting could affect the psyche of McKenna, Hiller said he is not concerned about it having a lasting negative impact.

"He’s very mature, let’s stuff roll off, doesn’t take anything too personally. That’s what I’ve got from him,” Hiller said. “Usually ready to go. There’s been other times I haven’t played him as much and then put him in there and double shifted him, those kinds of things, and he’s responded. So, I’ll talk to him, but I don’t have a big concern about that.”