BOSTON -- Whenever I think about Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, I think about Bon Jovi.
It was a Toronto Maple Leafs home game in their rookie seasons, back in November 2016. They were seated on the bench next to each other. "Livin' On A Prayer," the seminal hair-rock classic that was released a decade before either of them was born, blared over the Air Canada Centre speakers during a stoppage in play. As is tradition everywhere from wedding receptions to karaoke bars, they sang along.