PITTSBURGH, PA.—It appears Sidney Crosby is impressed not just with Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews, whom he’s gotten to know over the last little while, but also defenceman Morgan Rielly, whom he has admired from afar.

“You’re aware of who you’re on the ice against,” the Penguins captain said after practice Friday, the day before the Leafs’ visit.

Crosby will probably play a great deal against both Matthews, who centres Toronto’s top line, as well as Rielly and former Penguin Ron Hainsey, who form the Leafs’ top defensive unit.

“I watch games, and you can see that (Rielly) is always up in the play,” Crosby said. “He’s a really good skater, he’s great at getting pucks through to the net. He doesn’t need that huge slapshot, he’s good with those little wristers through traffic.

“He’s a guy that continues to get better year after year. You can see the confidence he’s playing with.”

That’s a huge compliment for Rielly, coming from the game’s best player. The two haven’t crossed paths that much.

Crosby is far more familiar with Matthews. The two share the same agency (Creative Artists) and they hung out a bit at the all-star game last year. They play a similar game: tenacious, fast, opportunistic.

The two also share a lineage; each is a No. 1 pick carrying the weight of a franchise on his shoulders. Crosby, of course, has done it for longer, winning the Stanley Cup three times in the process. So if anyone knows what Matthews is going through as a young player —- the constant media attention, the hopes and dreams of fans — it’s Crosby.

“Just by getting to know him a little bit, just his maturity, the fact that he played in a pro league before he played in the NHL, and played with older guys . . . his demeanour is probably a strength when you’re playing in a market like Toronto, with all the pressures and expectations,” Crosby said. “I think he’s handled it really well.”

In some ways, the Leafs present the Penguins with a younger version of themselves. The Penguins built themselves into back-to-back Stanley Cups by using speed, and other teams followed suit, Toronto among them.

“The evolution of the game, speed is the biggest thing that jumps out to me,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “Every year, teams get faster, and speed becomes the ultimate competitive advantage.

“Toronto has a young team, they can skate, they have good team speed, they move the puck well. They are one of those teams that is playing a similar style that we’ve been playing.”

There’s also a bit of crossover. While Hainsey went from Pittsburgh to Toronto in the off-season, Matt Hunwick went the oher way and has emerged as an important blueliner for the Penguins. Hunwick scored an overtime goal Thursday against the New York Islanders and says he’s looking forward to renewing acquaintances with his old team.

“It’s different playing against the team you last played for,” Hunwick said. “I’ve played for a lot of teams now (he was with the Bruins, Avalanche and Rangers before joining the Leafs) and going into Boston isn’t quite the same as it was right after I got traded. It’s always nice to see the guys you played against.”

He said he was surprised to hear that William Nylander and Mitch Marner weren’t scoring much.

“Willie’s a pure goal scorer, so that does surprise me,” he said.

Matthews, meanwhile, will present Hunwick and the rest of the Penguins with a challenge.

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“He has all the tools,” Hunwick said. “Big guy, can shoot the puck really well. And his line, (Zach) Hyman as the retriever of the puck for him. They just really complement each other really well.

“It will be a good challenge, a really good team. Disciplined. At the same time, I haven’t watched them play this year. I heard they’re playing well, and you can see the standings. They’re getting results.”

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