Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews opens up on the challenge of facing Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby

PUBLICATION

Tom Banks
October 12, 2024 (10:02 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

Sidney Crosby will go down as one of the best centers to ever play in the NHL, and going up against him is still a challenge according to Leafs star Auston Matthews.

Even at 37-years of age, Sidney Crosby remains one of the best players in the entire NHL, and given his legacy, there's no doubting he'll go down as a top-10 player in NHL history. Unsurprisingly, this means that many players around the NHL, especially opposing centres will mark the date of games against the Penguins on their calendar, with Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews addressing the matchup ahead of their Saturday evening clash.

"He's always a tough guy to play against," Matthews said via Leafslatest on Saturday. "It's always a really good challenge. Like I've said before, what he's been able to do over the course of his career is pretty incredible. His consistency continues to be impressive, even in year 20. He's one of the top players and someone we have to look out for on the ice; he's very dangerous, so it's a fun challenge."

While Matthews is considered the best goal scorer in the NHL, he's never quite been the total package like Crosby, who combines leadership, a strong defensive game and involving his teammates to become arguably the most well-rounded player of his era. Last season, No. 87 racked up the goals with 42 goals and 94 points in all 82 games played, and it's clear that someone like Matthews would want to model his game on Crosby.

Despite the different team rosters coming into this one, both have Stanley Cup hopes on the back of one win and one loss thus far in 2024/25, making this an important matchup to establish early season momentum, and with two stars going head-to-head, you won't see a better matchup in the NHL all week.