Saturday night’s meeting between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers saw Connor McDavid lead the Oilers to a 6-3 win at Scotiabank Arena.McDavid finished the night with two goals and an assist driving Edmonton’s offense as the Oilers scored five unanswered goals across the second and third periods to pull away. Matthews, meanwhile, was held off the scoresheet failing to record a goal or an assist.For years, Leafs-Oilers games were marketed around these two generational talents sharing the ice. During the post-game discussion on Sportsnet 590 The Fan, analysts JD Bunkis and Sam McKee questioned whether the matchup still carries the same weight it once did.“So I got excited to see the game on the schedule just like you did,” Bunkis said. “But watching it tonight, my question coming out of this is, is it going to have the same juice given the gap between the two guys we used to bill this about has never been greater?”McKee agreed, noting how the Matthews-McDavid comparison once felt legitimate. That window, as Bunkis pointed out, coincided with Matthews’ peak seasons including his 69-goal campaign and Hart Trophy win achieved while McDavid was healthy and still producing at an elite level.At the time, the debate centered less on who was better and more on how narrow the gap might be in high-stakes situations. Watching Saturday’s game, that discussion felt distant.“How many times my biggest Auston Matthews ‘I noticed him’ moment was a backcheck on McDavid,” Bunkis said. “One guy was creating a million plays at the net and a bunch of goals, and the other guy, you were hoping for a good backcheck.”Auston Matthews has not ‘shrunk away’ from the rivalryDuring the conversation, the analyst discussed that what made the contrast more concerning was Auston Matthews’ history in this specific matchup.Sam McKee pointed out that games against McDavid and the Oilers were once moments Matthews leaned into:“He used to show up for this game. He cared about this game. He was competitive with McDavid. This isn’t one he ever shrunk away from… and tonight it was just not noticeable.”McKee mentioned that there was a sense of loss in watching a matchup that once defined regular-season hockey lose its edge.“It's just, it really sucks. It really sucks because you know, you didn't really, you took it, I guess we didn't, maybe we didn't take it for granted when it was really good,” he said.When Matthews and McDavid were pushing each other at their peaks, it was appointment viewing according to McKee. Now, the feeling is that those nights may already be in the past and that whatever this rivalry once promised might never fully return.