McDavid, Matthews fire blanks in Round 1 of rivalry
Neither player makes scoresheet in Leafs' 3-2 win
For the first time since Team North America was a thing, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews were reunited on the ice.
Only this time, they lined up at opposite ends.
Both recent No. 1 NHL draft picks were pretty quiet about the matchup, but the Twittersphere was on fire with talk of the next great rivalry since Crosby-Ovechkin.
Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid as: these 90s pop stars. <a href="https://t.co/q8Yq9jLefV">pic.twitter.com/q8Yq9jLefV</a>
—@splendourellaWhat's really fun about the Matthews vs McDavid hype is that last year it would've just been "Oh hey, McDavid's in town!".
—@brycin92Hall of Fame legends Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr even turned up to witness the event.
But, like many "rivalries", it didn't live up to its hype as neither player even made the scoresheet.
But daddy this was supposed to be McDavid vs Matthews <a href="https://twitter.com/EdmontonOilers">@EdmontonOilers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/oilers?src=hash">#oilers</a> <a href="https://t.co/nhozWaQDPb">pic.twitter.com/nhozWaQDPb</a>
—@mcmanus17Instead, the spotlight quickly turned from the McDavid-Matthews Bowl to the Nazem Kadri Show when the Leafs veteran set his mind to pestering Edmonton's No. 97.
A little love tap. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EDMvsTOR?src=hash">#EDMvsTOR</a> <a href="https://t.co/ttxcEAWUDp">pic.twitter.com/ttxcEAWUDp</a>
—@EdmontonOilersKadri trying to annoy McDavid, Lucic threatens to squash him like a bug. Gotta love hockey. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Leafs?src=hash">#Leafs</a>
—@MikeInBuffaloThis fresh new rivalry was eaten up by fans online.
Shot of Kadri after getting line matched with McDavid <a href="https://t.co/gr7X4FOAEM">pic.twitter.com/gr7X4FOAEM</a>
—@JtreenhWaiting for <a href="https://twitter.com/cmcdavid97">@cmcdavid97</a> to make <a href="https://twitter.com/43_Kadri">@43_Kadri</a> look like fool like. <a href="https://t.co/7aWSaaXtVe">pic.twitter.com/7aWSaaXtVe</a>
—@KennyZoobsMcDavid has officially passed the baton to Kadri, he is now the best player in the world.
—@_ChilladelphiaAnd as if by fate, Kadri even managed to steal the puck from McDavid just 12 seconds into overtime to score the game-winning goal.
Another look at the Kadri winner <a href="https://t.co/YauYQOvVHb">pic.twitter.com/YauYQOvVHb</a>
—@LeafsNewsBest game of Kadri's career?
—@MadelnCanadaThe winner of the McDavid-Matthews Bowl: Nazem Kadri.
—@ari_shapiro