Sounds like Maple Leafs coach Jim Hiller is going to have a long talk with Gavin McKenna about why the rookie was benched for the second half of Thursday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
asserted
rookie → sound → Sabres
Hiller’s reasoning was a bit rambly when asked by reporters, having to do with holding a lead and playing short-handed in the second half of the second period.
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reasoning → ask → period
“That was my decision,” he said.
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he → say → ?
“We went for a stretch with those penalties.
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We → go → penalties
I wanted to get him out there.
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I → want → him
He sat through those penalties, and then I didn’t get him out there.
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I → sit → him
Then the last few minutes of the period, we’re just trying to get out of that period, I guess you would say.
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you → try → period
“And now I’ve sat him for so long, and he sits in the intermission.
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he → sit → intermission
I probably should have got him out there early in the third.
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I → get → third
I didn’t.
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I → do → ?
So I’ll talk to him about that.”
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I → talk → that
McKenna was last seen on the ice with nine minutes, 49 seconds remaining in the second period, the game tied 2-2.
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game → see → period
Just 10 seconds prior, he had taken a wrist shot from 35 feet.
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he → take → feet
Kirill Marchenko would make it 3-2 in short order, and 4-2 to complete his hat trick heading into the third.
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it → make → third
Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson each took penalties.
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Rielly → take → penalties
It’s not like McKenna did anything wrong.
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McKenna → ’ → anything
Nine shifts, with one shot on net, and two that missed.
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that → miss → net
The Leafs possessed the puck 53 per cent of the time he was on the ice at even strength.
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he → possess → strength
They won nearly 60 per cent of the expected goals.
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They → win → goals
It’s just that Hiller doesn’t trust his rookie defensively.
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Hiller → ’ → rookie
Few coaches trust rookies.
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coaches → trust → rookies
Up by two, that’s understandable.
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that → ’ → two
But once the Sabres tied the game midway through the third, even then McKenna didn’t see the ice.
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McKenna → tie → ice
“We talked about getting him out for the third, but that didn’t happen,” said Hiller.
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Hiller → talk → third
“That’s on me.
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That → ’ → me
Once we got to that stage (tied game) I wasn’t putting him out.
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I → get → him
I’d sat him for 30 minutes.
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I → sit → minutes
It’s not fair to him.
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It → ’ → him
Maybe the coach overthought things.
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coach → overthought → things
Maybe something left unsaid, or unseen, is at play.
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something → leave → play
McKenna, first overall pick in the 2026 draft, was requested by some media for an interview after the game.
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McKenna → request → game
The Leafs decided not to make him available.
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him → decide → ?
It was left to others to speak for him.
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It → leave → him
“It was what it was, but I think he’ll be fine,” centre Teddy Blueger said of McKenna.
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Blueger → think → McKenna
“He’s played really well for us, but you can see what the circumstances dictated.”
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circumstances → play → what
“Those things happen sometimes,” said Leafs captain Auston Matthews.
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Matthews → happen → ?
It’s not a situation you want to be in.
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you → ’ → ?
We’ve all got his back.
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We → get → back
“It’ll just make him hungry for the next one.”
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him → make → one
That’s Saturday, a rematch with the New York Islanders.
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That → ’ → Islanders
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
