You had to notice the social sell.
Branded like a proper heavyweight title fight — and not a third-round series in a sport that romanticizes the concept of team and rarely focuses on the individual — the Western Conference Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche was presented as McDAVID vs. MacKINNON on the NHL's online platforms over the weekend.
All that was missing was DRAISAITL vs. MAKAR in smaller font below in an effort to highlight a featured showcase worth tuning in for on the undercard.
To steal from a sport built exclusively on the selling power of certain individuals who can make the masses pay attention says everything about the opportunity that has fallen in the NHL's lap ahead of a third round of what has been an exceptional and unbelievably entertaining Stanley Cup Playoffs to this point.