The Toronto Maple Leafs blow a 4–2 lead and lose 5–4 to the Buffalo Sabres in overtime. Kirill Marchenko records a three-point night, including a hat trick, but the postgame focus turns to rookie Gavin McKenna, who is benched for roughly half the game and plays limited minutes after the second period.
Multiple outlets report that coach Jim Hiller reduced McKenna’s role after about the 10:20 mark of the second period, leaving him with 6:36 of ice time in one account. Hiller later acknowledges the decision and says he should have used McKenna earlier or handled his decreased role differently. Auston Matthews publicly supports McKenna, stating the team has his back, while other coverage frames the situation as a puzzling coaching choice amid Toronto’s struggles to slow play and find a spark in OT.
While outlets vary in emphasis—some foreground Marchenko’s performance and others center on McKenna’s benching—the common thread is that Hiller takes responsibility and explains the choice after the loss, with Toronto’s near-comeback ultimately failing.
