London Knights vs. Erie Otters — 7 p.m. — Budweiser Gardens, London, Ont.
Broadcast: 6:30 p.m. — AM980 and the Radioplayer app
(Western Conference semifinal tied 1-1)
Forget Game 1 and Game 2
The Knights and Otters met last Thursday and Friday in Erie to open their second-round series.
There were memorable moments. Any of Tyler Parsons’ 46 saves in the first 60 minutes of the series would lead the way. He robbed Dylan Strome twice and Anthony Cirelli at the edge of the crease on a power play and became the first goalie to shut out the Otters this season.
Darren Raddysh headlined Game 2, becoming the first Erie defenceman in franchise history to record a playoff hat trick. Raddysh also added an assist in a 5-1 victory.
The Knights pulled the goalie with 7:36 to go in the third period and kept Erie without a shot for more than five minutes as they pressed to close the gap. The Otters held and arrived in London with the teams even at a win apiece.
The Knights were drained, both physically and emotionally, playing a Game 7 against Windsor and then the opening games of round two in the span of four days.
Erie was likely a little rusty after an eight-day layoff.
That means there really hasn’t been a real read on this series yet.
Game 3 will be a much better demonstration of how the clubs match up.
Keys
For the Knights, it will be continuing to create tough sledding for Dylan Strome, Taylor Raddysh and Alex DeBrincat. In Game 2, Erie head coach, Kris Knoblauch actually broke up the trio to try to free them up, moving Raddysh off the top line. It worked to the extent that Raddysh wristed home a goal with 2.5 seconds left to stretch the Otters’ lead back to three goals.
The three didn’t always play together during the regular season. Look for the Otters to try to keep London guessing, given that the Knights have last change.
Offensively, the Knights know that their good chances will be limited. That’s just how Erie plays. They must score when the opportunity comes.
Erie gets pucks out of their zone very quickly, and London has had times when their cycle down low or play along the end boards has helped them to generate opportunities.
Power shortage
The Knights and Otters can put out power-play units that would scare large creatures in the dark.
So far, it’s the penalty-killing units that have the bragging rights when it comes to special teams.
Despite what Erie fans might want to believe, the Otters have had the edge in power plays with eight, and are the only team to score a goal on the man advantage. And they have one.
Knights’ assistant coach Dylan Hunter chalks that up to playoff hockey.
During the regular season, Erie and London were number two and three, respectively, in power-play percentage behind the Owen Sound Attack. The Knights and Otters were 0.8 per cent apart.
Season recap
It began early with exhibition games in Clinton on Sept. 8, and London on Sept. 13.
There were six games between the clubs that counted in 2016-17.
London bookended a pair of victories around four Erie wins. The first game came in September when the Knights were missing 12 players still away at NHL training camps. Erie was without six regulars, and London won the game 6-2.
The teams met again on Oct. 15 in Erie, in a game that was all Erie. The Otters won 7-1.
Then came a big break in the schedule. The next meeting didn’t take place until Jan. 27 and saw the teams go into the final minute of the third period tied 3-3. A spin-around shot from the right point by Kyle Maksimovich was tipped in by Dylan Strome and the Otters went onto a 5-3 victory.
Two weeks later, the Otters won 5-1 at home and then returned to Budweiser Gardens on March 10 and held London’s offence to a single goal again in a 4-1 final.
The Knights got a final chance in Erie on March 14 and won. It marked the first time London went through an entire game with a full lineup. Tyler Parsons made 41 saves and Sam Miletic scored twice in a 3-2 victory.
That win gave Erie home-ice advantage at the time.
Now, the Knights have wrestled that away in round two, after handing the Otters their third loss all season in regulation on home ice.
Erie comes in looking to build off a Game 2 win and take back home ice.
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