Matthews, Bunting bantering their way to success

Mitch Marner was going on the other day about how Auston Matthews and Michael Bunting bicker with each other like an old couple.

They needle each other, they know how to push each other’s buttons. They do it with smiles on their faces, knowing the other isn’t taking it too seriously and that goodnatured payback is in the offing.

Take this week. Matthews has six goals in his past three games, but might have had a seventh. It went to Bunting in Monday’s game versus Columbus. Both players whacked at a loose puck. They were both yakking on the bench afterward, Matthews jokingly saying Bunting took his goal.

“I heard the two just bicker and back and forth,” Marner said. “It’s kind of like a divorced couple, to be honest, with those two.”

Bunting corrected Marner. “I don’t think we fight like a divorced couple, maybe an old married couple,” he said. “We have a great relationship off the ice. We joke around a lot. We always cheer for one another and we hang out a lot.”

That chemistry, that friendship that they’ve built off the ice has turned into something incredible on the ice. Matthews leads all NHLers in scoring, on track for his first 50-goal season — maybe 60 — and his second Rocket Richard Trophy. Bunting leads all NHL rookies in goals, and is a candidate for the Calder.

“It’s not everything, but it’s not nothing either,” coach Sheldon Keefe said of the friendship. “That type of banter and that type of chemistry is important. It make you excited to play with a guy. When things are good, things are usually really good because you’re feeding off that energy on and off the ice.

“But it also allows you to have difficult conversations. You challenge each other at the same time. Not unlike any other relationship where the closer you get the more comfortable and confident you are to have conversations or talk about different things.

“It’s great the fact that that’s developed in such a short period of time, this first season of them being together. It speaks to Bunting’s personality. He just puts himself out there, and he’s an engaging guy.”

It was Matthews who reached out to Bunting to ignite the friendship.

“Auston has grown a lot in his office demeanour,” defenceman Morgan Rielly said. “He takes that (leadership) role very seriously. He took a lot of time at training camp to spend time with Michael. And I think they had a bond right away. I give Auston some credit there. He took it upon himself to make that happen, and certainly his work has paid off.”

Matthews is from Arizona. Bunting played in Arizona. So they had something in common.

“He played with some of my buddies in the minors, so we hit it off pretty quick,” Matthews said. “It’s been a lot of fun hanging out with him, a lot of fun playing with him. He’s a really great player and does what he does extremely well. So it’s been a lot of fun just getting to know him. We’ve had a lot of fun off the ice, on the ice and just trying to compete out there and obviously to do the right things.”

Bunting remembers it the same way. “From Day 1, once we got to training camp, we talked about mutual friends and then built the connection and built chemistry on the ice, thankfully, and with Mitch as well,” said Bunting.

“Some of the stuff (Matthews) does, I giggle to myself mid-game because it’s pretty remarkable. He’s such an exceptional player. He’s a fun player to play with. You never know what he’s going to do. He’s one of the best, or the best, in the league.”