EDMONTON – You don’t get many late November games like this one.
The kind of day where there’s a buzz in the air when you arrive at the rink because everyone knows that something special might happen. Some doubt was briefly introduced when Auston Matthews didn’t participate in the Toronto Maple Leafs morning skate, but Mike Babcock said he’d be in the lineup against Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers despite battling a cold.
Even the veteran head coach seemed enthused about seeing the game’s top two young stars on the same ice at Rogers Place.
"All great players do it right all the time," said Babcock. "That’s what they are. They’ve got elite drive trains so they’re dying to play against the best, they want to be in the big moments. That’s what great players are."
This is the third time they’ve faced one another in the NHL.
McDavid had a goal and an assist while Matthews scored once in the first two. Toronto won both games.
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By its nature, hockey doesn’t set up in a manner that spotlights the individual matchups. Matthews and McDavid have played head-to-head for fewer than 12 evenly-played minutes – the shot attempts were 15-14 for Toronto – and it was unclear if Oilers coach Todd McLellan was inclined to use last change in Thursday’s game to get them out together more often.
"With hockey, it’s a little tougher, yeah, because not one individual can dominate like LeBron James can in basketball," said Leafs centre Nazem Kadri. "Just because he’s got the basketball in his hand for 85 per cent of the game and he’s on the floor the whole time. So everything runs through him.
"Hockey is more of a team concept and you need other guys to contribute more than any other sport, really."
Still, there is a symmetry here.
Like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the 1980s, they found themselves linked together early in their careers and play in opposite conferences. In a nice hockey-related twist, they are both viewed as saviours for passionate, long-suffering Canadian markets.
McDavid was named captain of the Oilers before his 20th birthday and Matthews is a good bet to get that honour from the Leafs before his 21st comes around next September – although Babcock suggested Thursday that his top centre still has some growing to do first.
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The Toronto brass loves that its best player sets an example through his dedication and hard work, but "the best player’s also 20 years old," said Babcock.
"OK, so, leadership – as much as we like to rush leadership, leadership usually comes when you’ve figured out your own game," he added. "When you’re working for a living and you’re not doing a very good job, you’re not worried about everyone else. You’re focused on yourself, getting yourself going. When you’ve got everything going good and you become a real veteran pro like [Ron] Hainsey and like [Patrick] Marleau, you have lots of time for the other people.
"But when you first arrive in the league you’re trying to figure it out yourself. So rushing leadership is tough, too."
On individual talent alone, McDavid and Matthews arrived in the NHL capable of producing at an elite level. They are currently among the league’s top-20 leaders in scoring on a per-game basis despite enduring some health challenges.
McDavid lost 15 pounds because of a recent illness – "He’s through it now," McLellan said Thursday, "He is beginning to put some weight back on, his energy level’s going back up" – while Matthews missed four games this month with a suspected back injury. Then he picked up a cold during this tour through Western Canada.
None of that dampened the enthusiasm leading into a game that stands out even for the participants.
"Whenever you’re going up against one of the game’s best, you want to bring your best," said McDavid. "I mean you have to when you’re going up against guys like [Sidney] Crosby and Matthews."
Tonight we get one of those nights. They don’t come around too often.
