Eastern Conference Round 1: Mississauga Steelheads (2) vs Ottawa 67's (7)

Other Previews
(1) Peterborough vs (8) Niagara

(3) Oshawa vs (6) Sudbury

(4) Kingston vs (5) Hamilton

(1) Erie vs (8) Sarnia

(2) Sault Ste. Marie vs (7) Flint

(3) Owen Sound vs (6) Kitchener

(4) London vs (5) Windsor

Record vs "East" Should say "West"

Record vs "East" should say "West"

Interesting Series as you cant put much stock into their season series as all but 1 game was before the trade deadline and Mississauga didnt truly ice a full lineup till game 4. Ottawa on the other hand has played all the top teams in the East very tough. Conversely the Steelheads absolutely feasted on the bottom 5 in the East suffering only 2 regulation losses all year.

Players to Watch

Mississauga

Spencer Watson: OA forward who came over in a mid season trade with Kingston. Was still recovering from surgery at the time of the trade and Mississauga's turn around coincided with his insertion into the lineup on December 12^th. Picked up 53 points in 41 games helping solidify the top 6 of the Steelheads. Added 17 points for Kingston last year in the playoffs in 9 games. Look for him to put up similiar numbers for the Steelheads.

Ville Saarijarvi: Another aquisition whose Steelheads debut was delayed due to injury. One of the best possesion defenders in the OHL and an elite offenise driving pick moving defender. Saarijarvi picked up 31 points in 34 games while taking an insane 154 shots in that period of time.

Ottawa:

Auston Keating: 2015 1^st round pick has had a stellar sophomore season with 41 assists. Voted 3^rd most underrated player in the Eastern Conference.

Tye Felhaber: 3^rd year forward who came over in a mid season trade with Saginaw. Missed part of February and March with injury but suited up in the 67's final 3 games of the regular season. In my opinion was the Spirits best forward vs SSM in the 2015 playoffs. If he can become that player again it could be real trouble for Mississauga.

Keys to the Series

Mississauga: The Steelheads need to keep the puck away from the 67's. They are more skilled and have better finishers. Maintaining possession and dominating in the chances department will make a difficult task almost impossible for Ottawa.

Ottawa: Ottawa has had lots of success this season vs the top 5 teams in the East. They are a team that seems to play better against stronger competition. They are clearly the underdogs on paper but have the pieces to push Mississauga. They will need strong goaltending which is a given. They will need to force the Steelheads into penalties. Mississauga was on the PK 50 more times than on the PP during the season. If Ottawa can exploit this it could make a big difference in a short series.

Season Series

Nov 13^th

OTT 5 @ MISS 3

Dec 4^th

MISS 6 @ OTT 3

Dec 18^th

OTT 4 @ MISS 3

Jan 24^th

MISS 6 @ OTT 1

Other Series Previews

From @DominicTiano is his Playoff preview for all 8 series

From @NaitSayger comes his OHL playoff preview for SportsNet

Prediction

Steelheads in 6. A healthy Mississauga team will be just too difficult for Ottawa to overcome. This 67's team is still another year away but should be able to steal a game or two.