Auston Matthews expects a hungry Gavin McKenna when the Maple Leafs host the Islanders on Saturday, two nights after the rookie's benching.
“I know a game like tonight's gonna just make him hungry for the next one to go out there and compete and dominate,” Matthews said, via Arun Srinivasan.
“I'm excited to watch that.”
The captain added that everybody has been in that situation before and that the room has the rookie's back.
If John Tavares can't go Saturday, there's no excuse left. The kid goes back on the top power play and gets real minutes.
A benching for a teenager is like a red mark on a school paper. It stings, but the good ones use it to study harder.
McKenna logged a season-low 6:36 on Thursday and never saw the ice after the midway point of the second period.
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Auston Matthews backs Gavin McKenna after Maple Leafs benching
Tavares is now listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed issue.
He has 7 points but sits at -5. Four of those points came on the power play.
When Tavares returned last week, McKenna was bumped back to the second power-play unit.
The rookie has 5 points on a $1,075,000 cap hit.
Matthews leads the team with 13 points, including a game-winner.
Jim Hiller has already said he'll talk to the rookie about Thursday's usage.
Easton Cowan, his linemate, logged 16:39 in that same game.
Toronto is 3-3-2 and has dropped two straight.
Kirill Marchenko scored three times Thursday, and Buffalo still won in overtime.
The Islanders arrive at 3-3-1, still winless on the road.
Bo Horvat has 3 power-play goals, and Ilya Sorokin sits at .934.
Toronto beat the Islanders 2-1 in the season opener, and San Jose visits Monday.
Sergei Bobrovsky sits at .896, while Anthony Stolarz is at .875.
Does Hiller hand McKenna the bigger role Saturday, or ease him back in?
The captain has set the expectation publicly. Now the coach and the kid both have to live up to it.
Should Gavin McKenna return to the Leafs' top power play if John Tavares sits?
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