"They're tremendous young players that are taking over the league right now," defenseman Kris Letang said. "They're incredible. Sometimes you're playing against them and you get caught watching them. Matthews has a great release, great hands, he's good around the net. McDavid has speed. Watch the highlights of him. You have to be focused and ready to go."
"Those are two tough games. Those are two dynamic players that are game-breakers," blueliner Brian Dumoulin said. "Whenever you're matched up against those guys you have to be dialed in. Those are important matchups and an important two points. You have to be really on your game."
Letang and his defensive partner Dumoulin will certainly have to be ready to go as the duties of trying to post back-to-back zeroes against generational stars will fall upon their shoulders.
"It's not easy but it's fun, especially when we do our job and do it well," Dumoulin said. "(McDavid is) the type of guy that they create a lot of offense through. So if we can shut him down it gives us a better chance to win."
McDavid, the first-overall draft pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, already has an impressive resume in his young career. He has twice won the NHL's scoring title (2017, '18) and Ted Lindsay Award as the best player as voted by the league's players (2017, '18). McDavid also was named the NHL MVP (Hart Trophy) in 2017.
"If you don't want to make the Sports Centre highlight the next day you better be on your game and be ready for them because they bring it every night, and they're young and hungry," Letang said.
But keeping McDavid in check is easier said than done.
"(McDavid is) going to have his space and it's tough to close a gap on him. He has such game-breaking speed that it's tough to play right up in his face," Dumoulin said. "The more you can lever him to the outside and try to make him create space from along the boards, you're better. He's so good in space, in front of the net and coming down the rush. You have to try to keep him to the outside."
McDavid has drawn a lot of parallels in his career to Sidney Crosby. Both players were dubbed the next great generational talents and selected first overall. Both players achieved a lot of individual success early on in their career with awards and accolades. And both are equally regarded as the best player in the world.
While both players leave the arguments and debates to media and fans, Crosby has a lot of respect for McDavid.
"He's a great player. He's done an amazing job since he's gotten into the league," Crosby said. "He's off to another great start. I think every night there are those matchups that you look at. He's always a challenge to play against. You've got to make sure you're ready to go."
The Crosby-McDavid matchup always generates a lot of hype. But regardless of which team grabs the two points, it's the fans that win.
"I think we're very fortunate to have the athletes that we have in our league," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said. "As a pure hockey fan I think it's exciting to have the type of athletes that we have with our whole league. That's what makes hockey as exciting as it is at this particular time in the history of the game. There are a lot of real good players from different generations. That's a lot of fun when you're a hockey fan."
