Matthews strikes first in the battle of the first overall picks

While the Connor vs. Auston narrative faded away in their first matchup thanks to the unbelievable shutdown performance of Nazem Kadri, Auston Matthews was the first of the 2015 and 2016 first overall picks to score in a Leafs/Oilers Matchup.

The goal, which is Matthews’ 10th of the season and his fourth in three games after a highly-publicised drought, came on the powerplay in the last second of an interfere penalty against McDavid’s linemate Milan Lucic, who was caught getting in the way of Roman Polak. 

Just as sweet, though, was the fact that William Nylander was the man who made the pass. Nylander has been talked about in a rather negative light in the mainstream media of late, so for him to make an immediate impact on the scoresheet tonight is all the sweeter. The Leafs remain up 1-0 against the Oilers late in the first period.