from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,

“I think the big players do things in big moments just because they do what they do,” Mike Babcock was saying Monday in the hours before his Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. “They don’t deviate. They just believe they’re meant to be there and the more heat that’s on, the more they like it, the more they relish the opportunity.”

Never mind that Babcock was responding to a question about Jonathan Toews when he provided the answer. Held up to a different light – after the Leafs had recovered from a sluggish start and erased a late deficit and skated the Blackhawks into submission – it applied more aptly to his own star centre.

While this wasn’t anything close to a “big moment” for a Blackhawks roster gilded with gold medals and diamond-encrusted Cup rings, it meant something here in Toronto. This was a chance to measure progress while staring down your heroes.

“This was a big game for us as far as who we were up against,” Matthews said after freezing the clock at 3:43 of overtime.

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