Auston Matthews and Sidney Crosby wreck each other in scary collision

It was a major game last night with heavy playoff implications, as the Pittsburgh Penguins took on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto. For the Leafs, their reservation in the postseason has already been confirmed for an eighth straight season, while the Penguins are fighting for every possible point to avoid a 2nd straight year of missing the annual dance. 

When it was all said and done, the Penguins picked up a valuable point, but missed out on the extra as Jake McCabe was the hero in overtime.

But it was a play that took place earlier in the game that had just about everyone talking. The two best players on both respective teams in Toronto's Auston Matthews and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby came together in a devastating collision with 48 seconds remaining that left both players laying on the ice. 

A better slow-motion replay: 

Thankfully, neither player appeared to be injured, and both would continue in the game. Matthews would even go on to score his 65th goal of the season in the 3rd period. 

For Matthews, he wanted to clear the air afterward and explain that the collision with his fellow superstar wasn't intentional in any way.

"I just tried to get in the lane to block the shot and my momentum was going that way, and I think his momentum was coming my way and I didn’t see him until the last second," Matthews said. 

"It was unintentional and I was just hoping he was okay, honestly," he continued.

Matthews is the clear front-runner for the Maurice Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal scorer with an astounding 65 tallies, the most by an NHL player since Alex Ovechkin hit the same mark back in the 2007-08 season.

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