Knights-Rangers: A rematch

Knight Watch: Can London flip the script and knock out Kitchener in this year’s playoffs? The Knights are the favourites, but the Rangers just swept first-place Windsor … Columnist Jake Jeffrey previews the matchup — and the rest of the OHL’s series …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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The London Knights will face off against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last year. Yes, it’s a rematch against the Kitchener Rangers, and they’re coming off a historic series win over the Windsor Spitfires.

The Rangers last week became the first eighth seed in OHL history to sweep the first-place team. They did so last Thursday in convincing fashion, closing out the sweep with a 5-1 win on home ice. In doing so, they also became the first No. 8 seed to get past the first round since 2005.

It’s a reverse of last year, where Kitchener upset London in the first round, and later went on to play Windsor in the second round, losing to the eventual Western Conference champs in five games. Knights fans are hoping for a similar result this season, but the blue shirts won’t make it easy.

Of the eight first-round OHL playoff series, Kitchener was the only lower seed to advance. I’ve said it before, they’re not your typical eight seed. The Rangers added players at the trade deadline and have very strong goaltending in Marco Constantini. They’ve been a different team since a coaching change was made late in the season, and they will prove to be a tough second round test for the boys in green and gold.

The Rangers’ penalty kill was a major factor in Kitchener upsetting the Spits. Despite Windsor scoring at a 25% pace with the man advantage during the regular season, Kitchener held them to just a single power play goal on 16 opportunities in the series sweep — while scoring four shorthanded goals in the process.

Defensemen Simon Motew was a stud on the blueline, posting a whopping plus-10 rating and serving as one of the big factors in the Rangers shutting down Windsor’s high-powered offence.

For Kitchener, their offence came by committee in the first round, with several players scoring timely goals. Mitchell Martin had two big goals and six points to lead the team in scoring, while overager Reid Valade had four goals.

Francesco Arcuri and Danny Zhilkin both had just one goal against Windsor, although both factored into the team’s success. Arcuri scored 48 times during the regular season, so keep an eye out for the Dallas Stars prospect in the second round.

The Rangers will be without captain Francesco Pinelli for the first two games of the series as he serves the remainder of a three-game suspension.

Brett Brochu was phenomenal in the first round, posting a league-leading 1.34 goals-against average with two shutouts in London’s sweep of Owen Sound. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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It’s looking like a goaltending duel between two overage netminders. Brett Brochu had a pair of first-round shutouts, allowing just six goals on 112 shots, while Marco Constantini had a shutout and turned aside 130 shots for Kitchener, allowing just seven goals over the span of four games. Brochu was recently named OHL Goaltender of the Week. Constantini earned the same distinction the week prior.

A handful of Knights made an appearance in the league’s annual coaches poll. Among Western Conference teams, Logan Mailloux was tied with Owen Sound’s Colby Barlow for hardest shot, and he was also voted second best offensive defenseman, tied with Guelph’s Michael Buchinger.

Sean McGurn was voted third best on faceoffs, while a pair of Knights received shootout honours. George Diaco was voted best shootout shooter; he scored on six of his seven opportunities this season. Brett Brochu was named the best shootout goalie for the second straight season, stopping 16 of 20 shots against him to pick up five shootout victories. Brochu was also named the second best puckhandling goalie.

Some locals were also recognized. In the Eastern Conference, Oshawa’s Dylan Roobroeck was voted third among most improved players, while the Peterborough Petes’ Michael Simpson was the second best puckhandling goalie and third best shootout goalie. In the West, Saginaw’s Hunter Haight was voted the third best skater.

LONDON VS. KITCHENER: A BREAKDOWN

The Knights won five of six against the Rangers this season, including all three games in Kitchener. Reid Valade had four goals in four games in the first round against Windsor, and he had six in six games during the regular season against London.

Keep an eye out for the Francescos, Pinelli and Arcuri. Pinelli, who will miss the first two games of the series while he serves the back end of a suspension, had two goals and seven points in four games against London this season, while Arcuri picked up five points over five games, finding the back of the net twice.

For London, Easton Cowan enjoyed a fair amount of success against Kitchener this year with five goals and nine points over six games. George Diaco and Ryan Winterton both had eight points in the season series.

Special Teams:

Power Play: London 21.3% (10th), Kitchener 21.1% (12th)
Penalty Kill: London 78.9% (6th), Kitchener 77.4% (11th)

Goals For: LDN 269 (8th), Kitchener 257 (9th)
Goals Against: LDN 214 (4th), Kitchener 240 (7th)

Season Series (London won 5-1):

Kitchener 1 @ London 5 (Mar 26)
London 4 @ Kitchener 3 OT (Feb 14)
Kitchener 4 @ London 5 (Feb 8)
Kitchener 5 @ London 2 (Jan 22)
London 7 @ Kitchener 3 (Jan 17)
London 4 @ Kitchener 0 (Nov 25)

And now …

OHL Playoffs (2nd Round) - London Knights (2) vs. Kitchener Rangers (8) (best-of-7 series)
Game 1: Thurs. Apr. 13 (7:00pm vs. Kitchener Rangers)
Game 2: Fri. Apr. 14 (7:00pm vs. Kitchener Rangers)
Game 3: Sun. Apr. 16 (2:00pm @ Kitchener Rangers)
Game 4: Tues. Apr. 18 (7:00pm @ Kitchener Rangers)
Game 5: Thurs. Apr. 20 (7:00pm vs. Kitchener Rangers) (if necessary)
Game 6: Sun. Apr. 23 (2:00pm @ Kitchener Rangers) (if necessary)
Game 7: Tues. Apr. 25 (7:00pm vs. Kitchener Rangers) (if necessary)

AROUND THE OHL

Second round playoff series — and predictions …

Ottawa vs. Peterborough — Ottawa in 5

Fresh off a first round sweep, the Petes will have their hands full with the first place 67’s. There should be some decent back and forth in this one, but I’ll give Ottawa the edge. The tandem of Luca Pinelli and Logan Morrison combined for 12 goals and 22 points in their first-round win over Oshawa in five games. Peterborough will have to catch fire offensively to have a shot in this one.

North Bay vs. Barrie — North Bay in 6 

A good head-to-head matchup here between top defensemen Ty Nelson and Brandt Clarke. North Bay is looking for a return trip to the Conference Finals, but they’ll have to contain Clarke in order to do so. Despite not scoring in the first round, pass-first forward Matvey Petrov had 10 assists in six games for North Bay, while Kyle McDonald found the back of the net seven times in their series win over Mississauga.

Sarnia vs. Saginaw — Sarnia in 6

The Sting have never made a conference final, but this looks like it could be their year. Sarnia, one of the deepest teams in the OHL, did face some adversity in the first round but held on to eliminate Guelph in six games. Saginaw’s Matyas Sapovaliv was the OHL’s top scoring forward in the first round. He had seven goals and 15 points over eight games.