McDavid Put on a Show in First Head-to-Head Meeting with Crosby

Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid faced off, literally, for the first time in their careers on Tuesday night, and the show was as great as they are.

McDavid won the battle on the score sheet, putting up three helpers to up his league-leading assist total to 11, but Crosby and his teammates got the two points that matter, winning 4-3 on Conor (Sheary's) game-winning goal late in the third period.

The other key thing to watch was the line-matching battle between Oilers head coach Todd McLellan and Penguins' bench boss Mike Sullivan, but it wasn't much of a battle at all. After the opening faceoff, it was evident that McDavid and Crosby were going head-to-head on most shifts all game—best-on-best, just how it should be.

Aside from a brief span in the second period, Sullivan, with the last change, continued to match Crosby against McDavid. It was all eyes on them, battling in open ice, at the faceoff dot, and along the boards in the defensive and offensive zones. The two generational talents—who grew up with the brightest of spotlights on them since the youngest of ages—wouldn't want it any other way.

Crosby finished without a point for the first time this season, while McDavid assisted on all three Oilers goals, including this beauty.

McDavid's speed and skill is so clearly beyond that of anybody else in the arena, except that guy he was facing off against. The 19-year-old Oiler was winning the individual battle, but team success has been the epitome of Crosby's decorated career—and that was represented to the fullest on Tuesday.

On top of a copious amount of skill and the work ethic to match, mastery of the 'little things'—while able to lead teams to two Stanley Cups and two Olympic golds over the past decade—is what truly makes Crosby a first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the best players the game has ever seen.

Crosby stuck to that script Tuesday. He finished with zero points on the night for the first time this season, but, like he seemingly always does, combined enough of the little things to lead the Penguins to victory. On top of winning the draw that lead to Sheary's game winner, Crosby won 8 of 11 faceoffs against McDavid, and was a beast along the boards and around the net.

Although not nearly as decorated with team accolades as Crosby, the skills and qualities that make Crosby the player he is— innovative skating style, vast hockey IQ, slick hands—are those same traits that McDavid possesses. Pittsburgh missed the playoffs during Crosby's rookie year, but found its way to the postseason in his second campaign. By 2009, the Penguins had won a Stanley Cup on the back of their franchise saviour.

With a ten-year age gap between Crosby and McDavid, and their teams competing in opposite conferences, we should cherish and savour every second we get to witness these two greats share the same ice.