Now this? This, Mike Babcock can work with.

For the first time since he arrived in Toronto, he has a chance. That’s all he wants as a coach. He loves the pressure that comes with being Team Canada’s coach because that means the team he is leading is built to win. He loved the pressure that came with guiding a powerhouse Detroit Red Wings team, because he entered every season with a shot at the Stanley Cup.

For one season, that was missing for Babcock. The game’s best (or second-best, depending on how you feel about Joel Quenneville) coach didn’t have a prayer last season. It was about tanking and finishing low enough to draft Auston Matthews. And good for him -- he even pulled that off.

Wednesday, with Matthews scoring four goals in his NHL debut, was the reward for last season.

But while the hockey world was rightly focused on Matthews' four-goal performance, in all its ridiculousness, Babcock was highlighting something else after the game (a 5-4 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators).