Toronto had lost three games in a row before beating the visiting San Jose Sharks on Monday night
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The Maple Leafs flipped the power switch on Monday night against the San Jose Sharks.
A pair of Toronto power-play goals were the difference on at Scotiabank Arena, enabling the Leafs to end a three-game losing streak and beat the Sharks 3-1.
Gavin McKenna used some nifty stick work to score the go-ahead goal at 4:56 of the third period. After making a couple of moves, McKenna beat Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov with a low shot off the far post as San Jose’s Luca Cagnoni served a cross-checking minor.
It gave McKenna the edge in his first match against the Sharks’ Ivar Stenberg nearly five months after they were picked first and second overall respectively in the NHL draft.
Three-point night for Matthews
The goal was McKenna’s third as well as his first on the power play.
After the Leafs had nothing to show for their first three power plays — including a two-man advantage that spanned 62 seconds late in the first period — Leafs captain Auston Matthews finally got one to drop as the second period drew to a close.
There was no hesitation after Matthews took a pass from Kirill Marchenko, going to the top right corner on Askarov at 19:48. Matthews also had two assists for a three-point night.
Nick Paul scored into an empty Sharks net to finish the scoring.
At 13:54 of the first, former Leafs winger Mason Marchment put the visitors up 1-0.
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Tyler Toffoli, the beneficiary of a rare Matthews giveaway in the defensive zone, fed an open Marchment in front of the Leafs net. Marchment then moved to his backhand to beat Sergei Bobrovsky.
After he missed the Leafs’ morning skate because of an illness, William Nylander had three shots on goal on seven attempts.
Bobrovsky had a sharp performance in the Leafs net, making 30 saves.
The Leafs departed after the game for Columbus, where they will take on Matthew Knies and the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
Traded to Columbus for Marchenko at the end of September, Knies has hit a rut, failing to record a point in his past five games.
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