Eichel fuels rivalry; calls out Matthews' mentality!

Matthews' teammates were quick to come to his defense

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Eichel fuels rivalry; calls out Matthews' mentality!
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A young rivalry appears to be brewing between the Buffalo Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs... On Friday, the Leafs got the better of their rivals, shutting them out entirely and winning a preseason game 3-0. 

Before the game, Sabres star forward Jack Eichel offered a new vision of Toronto's prodigy Auston Matthews - and one that now following the defeat, he most likely believes in even more. 

“I think Auston has a bit of a confidence and a swagger to him,” Eichel told Postmedia in a candid interview. “He’s got a bit of that ‘(bleep) you!’ mentality in him. And that’s a good thing. He doesn’t think he has to owe anyone anything.”

Matthews' teammates were quick to point out on TSN that, although the 19-year-old is confident in his abilities, they do not agree with Eichel's assessment. To them, and to most fans who see Matthews as a humble and soft-spoken kid, the forward is not cocky. 

"I definitely think he carries himself well in the locker room, and he is not an arrogant guy at all," netminder Frederik Andersen pointed out. "He has been able to stay pretty grounded."

Eichel's words should intensify the rivalry between both clubs, as the Sabres forward did put it simply:

“It’s part of the rivalry,” he said. “We don’t like them. They don’t like us.”