MATHESON: IT’S 97 VERSUS 87
Star power will light up Rogers Place
No. 99 vs. No. 66 was always NHL appointment viewing, and so it is with Nos. 97 and 87 today.
There was a palpable buzz when Wayne Gretzky went headto-head with the heir-apparent-to-the-throne Mario Lemieux, but they were on the ice together just 25 times even though their teams squared off 44 times from 1984-85, Super Mario’s first NHL season, and ’98-99, Wayne’s last.
At one point, the Pittsburgh Penguins icon was fighting cancer and hobbled by a bad back and a sore hip.
One March 1996 night, Mario scored seven points against Gretzky’s St. Louis Blues, though. On Halloween 1989, Gretzky notched a hat trick and three helpers for the Los Angeles Kings against the Penguins, the only NHL team Lemieux played for.
Seven times, each player had at least two points in their manoo-mano duel.
And now we have Connor McDavid vs. Sidney Crosby for just the fifth time Tuesday. McDavid has two goals and five assists in the first four games and Crosby just one assist, but the Penguins are 4-0, winning two in extra time.
Crosby’s played 98 shifts to McDavid’s 102 in the four meetings. Crosby says McDavid — with his back-to-back Art Ross awards and a Hart Trophy, not to mention his electrifying skating and puck-handling — is the best player in the world right now.
“I think McDavid has set himself apart just based on the awards and the accolades he’s got and the consistency he’s had,” the Penguins captain (five assists and no goals in six games this year) told NHL.com last week.
McDavid, who has scored 11 points in six games, defers to Crosby, who has three Stanley Cup rings and two Olympic golds to his credit, not to mention two Harts as league MVP and two scoring titles.
Other than the obvious, the
They do things that other can’t. You have to pay attention as a coach, a fan, a teammate.
goals and assists (1,171 points in 870 games), McDavid has tried to soak up what Crosby’s really about. By any measure, Crosby is one of the 10 greatest players ever. The awards, the team wins, the points (1.3 per game, top five in history). And Crosby is only 31 years old.
“His offence speaks for itself, but you watch his overall 200foot game and his work in the faceoff circle. He’s solid defensively,” said McDavid.
“He’s the perfect mix of everything. He’s got that flash but also the grind to his game.”
McDavid remembers the team losses more than the points in their head-to-head meetings.
“I don’t think we’ve beaten them, so we need to beat a team that knows how to win,” said McDavid.
Milan Lucic saw Crosby an awful lot when he was in Boston and knows what he brings to the table.
“It’s very special when Connor and Sid play each other,” said Lucic. “It’s a game a lot of people tune in for, and as an athlete, you want to be in, playing in front of and with greatness.”
Oilers head coach Todd McLellan had Crosby on a Canadian world championship team overseas, so he’s seen him as a foe and as a contributor on his squad and likes great players, like all coaches.
“You get to watch these stars go head-to-head and there’s usually more motivation. They’re proud, successful players,” said McLellan. “They do things that other can’t. You have to pay attention as a coach, a fan, a teammate. When they’re on the ice, usually something good is going to happen.”
Penguins bench boss Mike Sullivan is dispassionately trying to win a hockey game as a coach, but he’s also a fan, so yes, McDavid vs. Crosby registers with him on an emotional level.
“Sid has been so good and for so long, and in my books, he’s the best 200-foot player in the game,” Sullivan told Pittsburgh writers after practice in Banff Monday. “There’s a reason why the Penguins have won the Stanley Cups they have when Sid’s been here because he’s been a big part of that.
“We’re very fortunate to have the athletes we do in our league, the next generation of players and they’re exciting to watch, McDavid being one, (Auston) Matthews being another.”
And not just Crosby, there’s Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh.
He’s long played second banana to Crosby, but on anybody’s scale, he’s one of the top 20 players in the world today and has been for a decade, the equal of Sid in a lot of ways.
“When he’s at his best, he’s one of if not the top player in the league. I still scratch my head as to why Malkin isn’t in the top 100 players of all-time because he’s that good,” said Lucic. “I know everybody is keying on the Crosby and McDavid matchup, but in the dressing room, we have No. 71 in the back of our minds as well.”