It will be only the first of many meetings in what could and rightly should become one of the NHL's best rivalries - No. 1 versus No. 2, the Edmonton Oilers star versus the Buffalo Sabres' knockout, Connor McDavid versus Jack Eichel. The two top talents are set to square off for the very first time in their nascent NHL careers Tuesday night as the Oilers travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres at First Niagara Center.
Only, it wasn't supposed to happen this way. The Oilers and Sabres actually played one another in December, but McDavid missed the game due to a broken collarbone that was supposed to keep him sideline for an extended period of time.
In typical All-World fashion though, McDavid returned sooner than expected and will now face off against the man who went just behind him this past July in the draft, along with the rest of the struggling Sabres team. Really, this game wouldn't be worth watching were it not for McDavid and Eichel. The Sabres are on the bottom step, staring into the NHL's basement and thinking hard about taking that last final leap into the Auston Matthews sweepstakes.
The Oilers already have their feet firmly on the dirty-strewn, moldy floor.
And while McDavid's 37 lost games certainly had a big hand in Edmonton's struggles this season, it's unlikely that even with his having been fully healthy that Peter Chiarelli's team would have been able to seriously compete for a postseason spot. Unfortunately, it also makes it difficult to compare and contrast the efforts of two of the league's best young players.
Eichel is third in the NHL in scoring among rookies, having collected 17 goals and 41 points. McDavid has 10 goals and 29 points in just 27 games, for a ridiculous 1.07 point per game pace. McDavid was even named the NHL's "Rookie of the Month" for February after he collected 12 assists and 17 points in 14 games. Now, whether he'd be able to sustain that over a full 82-game season is unlikely, even considering his natural skill, but it's impressive nonetheless considering the injury complications he's already faced.
And you may have to look no farther than Eichel to see the kinds of issues McDavid could have been facing had he stayed in the lineup the whole season. After starting the season with 10 points in the first 20 games, Eichel has managed just one goal in his last 13 outings. It's not a bad pace - it's just a downturn and likely points to a player struggling with the transition from playing fewer games against lesser competition to playing against men at the professional level.
With Eichel centering the Sabres' top line and McDavid currently the pivot for Todd McLellan's second group, it's likely the two won't spend much time together on the ice Tuesday night. But that won't stop plenty of people from tuning in for a glimpse of what is likely the future of the NHL.
