The NHL’s last two No. 1 overall picks will meet for the first time tonight as Auston Matthews‘ Toronto Maple Leafs host Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers.
Matthews went first overall at the NHL draft last June in Buffalo, one year after McDavid became an Oiler as the top pick in Florida.
Edmonton enter play as one of the league’s hottest teams, winners in seven of nine to start the season.
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They’ve been led by McDavid, their 19-year-old captain tied for first in league scoring with 12 points.
The Newmarket, Ont., native will be making his first NHL appearance in Toronto after he missed last season’s Leafs-Oilers meeting due to injury.
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Matthews, a fellow 19-year-old, has come out firing with six goals and 10 points in his first nine NHL games.
He and fellow rookies William Nylander (11 points) and Zach Hyman have formed Toronto’s most threatening offensive line thus far.
READ MORE: Maple Leafs rookie Auston Matthews scores 4 goals in 2 periods in NHL debut
The Leafs have struggled to start the year though, dropping seven of their first nine games, including consecutive losses to the Canadiens and Islanders over the weekend. The club has, however, won two of its first three games on home ice.
Edmonton, meanwhile, is a perfect 3-0-0 on the road.
The last time McDavid and Matthews saw each other in Toronto they were teammates. The duo, mustering three points apiece, connected as an awesome threat (alongside Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele) for Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey.
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